Episodes
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Renowned Irish songwriter, John Spillane, is set to release a brand new album entitled In Another Light, recorded live with Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra.
We talk to John about this album and how he writes such timeless songs.
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IMLÉ - an unconventional band with a unique sound all performed in the Irish Language - return with their second album entitled Fáilte Isteach.
The album is a follow-up to 2017's self-titled debut IMLÉ which was described as "a ray of hope for the future of newly-composed music in Irish" by Nós.ie.
Spearheaded by duo Pádraig 'MC Muipéad' Ó Conghaile (rapper, singer, lyricist, synths & producer) & Cian Mac Cárthaigh (guitar, bass, beats & producer), Fáilte Isteach sees Ó Conghaile & Mac Cárthaigh working with an eclectic group of musicians who make up the latest incarnation of the IMLÉ collective.
Regular contributors Karl Odlum (Producer & multi-instrumentalist), Fergal Moloney (singer-songwriter & producer) & David Hingerty (Drummer & percussionist) return and are joined by bi-lingual vocalist, composer & songwriter Ríona Sally Hartman and Conamara native Róisín Seoighe, who began life as a Sean Nós singer but who is now writes & sings her own newly composed material in Irish, as well as Ross Whyte a Scottish composer, sound artist and one half of Scottish Gael Electronica duo WHYTE.
Lyrically the album covers many different themes - from a call to action against intolerance, xenophobia & racism (Dúiseann Muid Suas) to the highly unrealistic environment of social media with imagery & profiles depicting perfection (ÉAD) but ultimately the message of the album is to celebrate the small beautiful things, the everyday and a shared life - as expressed on their first single from the album Do Chuid Jeans.
The melting pot of musical styles & perspectives creates a body of work that mixes Hip-Hop, Indie, RnB, Trip-Hop and Dance music amongst other genres but ultimately results in a sound that is unique to IMLÉ.
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Exile on Main St. is the 10th studio album by the rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 26 May 1972. It is the culmination of a five-year productive frenzy but also one of the darkest periods in the group's history. The album is stamped with Keith Richards' rock n' roll signature.
Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill look back at this terrific album.
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Sounds of System Breakdown is a live electronic music project led by London-based Dubliner Rob Costello. Ed Costello and Richie Kelly are the other members of the band.
The project mixes electronica with guitar, drums and bass in a way which adds a unique, live vibe to their sound.
On this episode, we discuss the group's 3rd album Desperate Creatures.
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Luke O'Neill is a professor of biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin.
In 2020 he won the An Post Irish Book of the Year Award for best popular non-fiction book for ‘Never Mind the B*ll*cks Here’s the Science’, published by Gill which was a best seller. He also won the Science Foundation Ireland Science Communicator of the Year Award, for his media work on COVID19.
In 2021 he published 'Keep Calm and Trust the Science- a remarkable year in the Life of an Immunologist' with Gill publishers, which is his diary covering the COVID19 pandemic.
In this episode he tells us why he love Revolver by The Beatles.
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine".
Revolver expanded the boundaries of pop music, revolutionised standard practices in studio recording, advanced principles espoused by the 1960s counterculture, and inspired the development of psychedelic rock, electronica, progressive rock and world music.
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Pop is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Flood, Howie B, and Steve Osborne, and was released on 3 March 1997 on Island Records. The album was a continuation of the band's 1990s musical reinvention, as they incorporated alternative rock, techno, dance, and electronica influences into their sound. Pop employed a variety of production techniques that were relatively new to U2, including sampling, loops, programmed drum machines, and sequencing.
Recording sessions began in 1995 with various record producers, including Nellee Hooper, Flood, Howie B, and Osborne, who were introducing the band to various electronica influences. At the time, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. was inactive due to a back injury, prompting the other band members to take different approaches to songwriting. Upon Mullen's return, the band began re-working much of their material but ultimately struggled to complete songs. After the band allowed manager Paul McGuinness to book their upcoming 1997 PopMart Tour before the record was completed, they felt rushed into delivering it.
We delve into U2's less talked about album.
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The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records.
Inspired by American experiences, literature, and politics, U2 chose America as a theme for the album. Recording began in January 1986 in Ireland, and to foster a relaxed, creative atmosphere, the group primarily recorded in two houses.
We discuss the big album.
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Emma Langford is an Irish singer-songwriter from Limerick City.
She released her debut album, Quiet Giant, in 2017 – for which she received the Best Emerging Artist award at the inaugural RTE Radio 1 Folk Awards.
Emma released her second album, Sowing Acorns, in 2020.
Emma also curates the Limerick Lady Festival, an initiative which aims to promote female musicians to tackle the issue of gender imbalance in the music industry.
In October 2021, it was announced that Langford has been included on the longlist for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in two categories; Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill talk with Emma about Sowing Acorns.
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Picturehouse are a band from Dublin, Ireland. The band are most famous for their song "Sunburst" from the album Karmarama in Ireland.
In this episode Paula and Dan talk to Dave Browne from the group about the album and dive into their favourite tracks.
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John Harris is a British journalist, writer and critic. He is the author of The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock (2003); So Now Who Do We Vote For?, which examined the 2005 UK general election; a 2006 behind-the-scenes look at the production of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon; and Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll (2009). His articles have appeared in Select, Q, Mojo, Shindig!, Rolling Stone, Classic Rock, The Independent, the New Statesman, The Times and The Guardian.
In 1991, Harris joined Melody Maker. Between 1993 and the summer of 1995, he wrote for the NME. In 1995, he was named editor of Select magazine after a brief stint with Q.
In 1995, Harris resumed his career as a freelance writer, writing about pop music, politics and a variety of other subjects. His articles have appeared in Q, Mojo, Rolling Stone, The Independent, the New Statesman, The Times and The Guardian.
On this episode, we talk to John about Blur by Blur; their 1997 album.
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Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995. Jagged Little Pill was a commercial success, topping the charts in thirteen countries. With sales of over 33 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jagged Little Pill was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning five, including Album of the Year, making the 21-year-old Morissette, at the time, the youngest artist to win the top honour (until Taylor Swift won it at 20). Rolling Stone ranked Jagged Little Pill at No. 69 on its 2020 list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In this video, Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill look back at the iconic record .
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Prof. Luke O'Neill is professor of biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin. He's also a big music fan and the lead singer of The Metabolics. In this episode of the Big Album Show he discusses the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2 with Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill.
Achtung Baby was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound.
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OK Computer is the third studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. The album depicts a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer has been said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. We discuss the brilliant album.
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We talk about about Oasis's difficult 4th album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, released on 28 February 2000.
It's easy to forget what a cultural phenomenon Oasis were.
Perhaps Metallica Drummer Lars Ulrich put it best when speaking about the oasis zeitgeist.
He said,
"In the mid-90s, wherever or whoever you were when it was going down, you felt it … in the streets, in the pubs, the music press, on the radio, in the gossip rags, the concert halls, and affecting everything from the way people dressed, the way they cut their hair, what football team they supported, the way people communicated, one’s accent … the list goes on and on.
The Oasis phenomenon cut across all shapes, sizes, boundaries and classes. Everybody knew Oasis, and in some way were impacted by them. And if they didn’t love them, it was often the polarising opposite. But most importantly, nobody didn’t care. Everyone had an opinion. Everybody had a thought. Nobody ignored them. No one."
We think it's fair to say that this album certainly polarises opinion.
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Much of the music in The Exorcist is used as sound effects for psychological impact. It’s not traditionally scored in any true sense. In this episode, we look back at the soundtrack to the iconic film, including Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. We also discuss the film itself.
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The 4 of Us are a band hailing from Newry, Co Down. They released their first album, Songs for the Tempted on CBS Records in 1989, with the single "Mary", becoming one of the most played songs ever on Irish radio. the album went double platinum in Ireland and won Best Album of the Year at the Irish Music Awards. It's consistently on people's lists of Irish albums you must hear.
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On the latest pod, we are talking about Stories from the Surface by the amazing, dazzling Irish band Ham Sandwich.
Originally formed on a good Friday in noughties, they have rightly built up a reputation as one of very best live acts.
Their lives show and their 2010 White Fox built them up a supportive and loyal fanbase and Stories from the Surface rocketed right to the top of the charts when it was released in April 2015.
Over the course of ten tracks, they bring you their unique house blend of indie folk rock, with infusions of disco and funk. There's tremendous fun and joy, perhaps best captured by the lead single Illuminate.
The album's incredibly catchy melodies are paired with lyrics which are often equally rememberable.
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Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill interview Jake Reilly, drummer from The Blades. The band formed in the late 1970s in Ringsend (known by locals as Raytown): An urband area in Dublin's docklands. The original line-up released two seven inch singles: "Hot For You" and "Ghost of a Chance", before a reshuffle in 1981 which saw Jake join the band. That would be the line up which would release the brilliant album Last Man in Europe which includes classic tunes such as Down Market, Got Soul and Pride. It’s a record every music lover needs to put on their turntable.
The Blades have since gone on to reform, playing a number of gigs and releasing a studio album in 2016 called Modernised as well as an EP and a live album. They’ve also been inducted into the Irish Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. A snare drum belonging to Jake sits in the museum in Temple Bar. The drum has been, and I quote ‘to every corner of the country – Battered, beaten and bruised from Ballybunnion to Ballyshannon.” On this episode we look back at The Blade’s boxset Those Were the Day, released in 2000 - It features the tracks from Raytown Revisited and Last Man in Europe plus a few bonus tracks.
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On this episode of The Big Album Show, Paul Dillon and Dan O'Neill delve into Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black.
The Big Album Show is an independent podcast recorded in Ireland.
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It was the year that Soccer hooligans rioted in Lansdowne Road, Jack Charlton retired, and Ireland voted to allow divorce. 1995 was also the year Whipping Boy released their stunning second album Heartworm.
Recorded between September and November 1994 in Windmill Lane Studios, it included tracks such as Twinkle, When We Were Young and We Don't Need Nobody Else. It's an album that is highly respected by many music fans. It's emotional; it's powerful; it's timeless. And it’s about to be reissued on double vinyl and cd, featuring a number of b-sides and demos.
Whipping Boy consisted of Ferghal McKee on Lead Vocals, Paul Page on Guitar, Myles McDonnell on Bass and Colm Hassett on Drums. Formed in Dublin in 1988, they initially went by the name of Lolita and the Whipping Boy before shortening their name when their female guitarist left the band. Throughout their career, the band released three albums on three different record labels. But it is Heartworm, released on Columbia records, that has cast the longest legacy.
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