Keep It Fresh

FIGHT LIKE APES

And if your not already than shame on you. Currently Dublin’s hottest band, Fight Like Apes are fantastic four piece with no lead guitar. Bass, drums, synth and the wonderful voice of Mary Kay are all rolled into a dancey, shouty and sometimes sinister package. Unusual lyrics make every song on the soon to be released EP, a must listen. The band are only just over the 6 month mark on the gig scene but are already proving a must see live act. Sometimes aggressive but all together loving, Fight Like Apes can do no wrong in 2007.

MP3 Fight Like Apes - Lend Me Your Face

Debut EP ‘How Am I Supposed To Kill You If You Have All The Guns?‘ is released May 18th on CD and 7″. EP launch party at Antics:Crawdaddy May 23rd.

I enjoyed the TV series (it ran for 4 seasons so someone must have liked it) but my god I can’t believe how bad the film is. If you’ve seen the trailer that really is about as funny as the film gets. Some interesting cast cameos put a smile on your face with some mild laughs throughout but sometimes I found myself laughing because I felt I had too. With one of the film’s biggest laughs ruined by the trailer the film come to a miserable flop of an ending. I haven’t seen a film this bad in a long time. The leap from 20 minute episode to feature film has gone so wrong here I’m really starting to question the fate of the up coming Simpsons feature.

I’ve never seen them live before so it’s great to know that they don’t just stand there and hit the play button. A taste of things to come this summer. Yay!

LES BIEN

When these two Irish boys stand on stage they have enough style to fill a bumper issue of GQ but that folks is a mere nicety. Music comparisons to Daft Punk are easy but Les Bien come across with more personality both in their music and their live performances. The crossing of dance beats with catchy guitar riffs is a tried and tested formula but Les Bien have still made it their own thing with a little help from the 1980’s. They move easily from Air-esque chilled numbers to full on Chemical Brothers like assaults and all the time keeping a slight 80’s vibe running with the help of some well placed blips and squeaks. To date Les Bien only have one EP (Nous Sommes) under their belt which I don’t think is available to buy anymore. EP number two is on the way but it sounds like its been a problem ridden journey. The duo played as part of this years IMRO showcase so I hope that will up the profile. Ultimately these guys are about having some fun so be sure to catch them live this week at Antics club night in Crawdaddy.

Les Bien - Nous Sommes

Les Bien - Something

Les Bien - Rise Up

Les Bien play Antics @ Crawdaddy Wednesday 18th April. Doors 11pm.

On Friday night I entered the Fast Forward Film Festival which has resulted in me sleeping for the last 14 hours. I’ve loved every minute of it. The basic idea behind the festival is that bunch of crazy people get together at 5pm on Friday, are given a few basic briefs and then have 24 hours to write, produce, shoot and edit a three minute film. There were 15 films submitted in total which ranged from the hilarious to the totally bizarre. For anybody who’s ever worked in film you’ll know that putting a film together in 24 hours is no mean feat. All the entries were screened last night at The Back Loft and I was really impressed at the overall quality. Nobody is gonna put together a fully polished film in 24hrs put you can have alot of craic trying. You can see the fruits of our labour by clicking the link below. Major thanks to everyone involved. Look out for the directors cut soon! There’s a few odd bits in the film (well the whole thing is odd) as certain things had to be included in the film as part of our brief…like a lock of hair for example.

*** WARNING: This film contains a semi-naked me ***

Fast Forward Film - The Breakout

Nina Hynes has had a strange career. Every-time there’s a step into the limelight, be it Meteor Nominations or successful debut album Staros, Nina always took a step back to do her own thing, which to be honest, I really admire. Debut album Staros was released in 2002 with success here and abroad and is one of my favourite records. Instead of rushing back to the studio for album number 2, Nina returned to college in 2004 to study sound engineering. She pressed limited hand-made EPs on her own label, experimented at live shows, organised art house performances for a limited number of fans and collaborated with a host of musicians, guest staring on their records.
Now Nina is back with her second studio album Really Really Do. The Husbands make a welcome return along with a new collaborator, French musician/engineer Fabien Leseure. This time round the record is a more heavily produced affair but still keeps that Nina charm. Its the build up to this album and what appears to be a bit of a PR plan behind it that I find most interesting. With plenty of radio airplay, a new look website, dates on this years IMRO showcase (including being selected for the best of show) and key gigs around the country following the albums release, I would hope that the album and Nina get the attention they deserve.

Nina Hynes - Flutter And Wow

Nina Hynes - Universal (taken from Staros)

Really Really Do is released today April 13th. The album launch takes place at the Sugar Club tonight and there’ll be t-shirts on sale and everything…

Nina and Fabien perform as part of the IMRO Best Of Tour Showcase tomorrow night in the Village. RSVP for that here.

The Chemical Brothers have released details of the 6th LP, We Are The Night, which is due June 19th releasing through Astralwerks. And true to form this record, like the five before it, features a bevy of guest collaborators from the obvious to the not so obvious. Here’s the tracklisting and my one word opinions on the guest stars…

01 No Path to Follow
02 We Are the Night
03 All Rights Reversed ft. Klaxons - Trendy
04 Saturate
05 Do It Again ft. Ali Love - Excellent
06 Das Spiegel
07 The Salmon Dance ft. Fatlip - Exciting
08 Burst Generator
09 A Modern Midnight Conversation
10 Battle Scars ft. Willy Mason - Unusual
11 Harpoons
12 The Pills Won’t Help You Now ft. Midlake - Interesting

Do It Again ft. Ali Love is the first single due for release soon. I’ve never been unimpressed with a Chemical Brothers album so I’m looking forward to this release. The Chemical Brothers kick off a European tour in Bucharest on May 25th. Details here.

pic:danden 

My god! I can’t believe I havent posted since February 28th. Well podcast issues are nearly sorted so fingers crossed that will resume normal transmission shortly. In podcast news Irish Blog Award winner nialler9 has started a podcast so be sure to check that out here.

Look out for new feature “This Week You Should Be Listening To…” starting this Sunday. It does exactly what it says on the tin. In between is the usual mix of mp3’s and news. There’ll also be a “new look” to kick off the return. Yum.

If you not busy tonight be sure to check out the Selection Box @ Karma, Fishamble Street were myself and the Aero vs Moro boys will be playing the choons.

And as this post draws to a close here’s a Simian Mobile Disco remix brought to you from the cool gang at fluo kids. Let’s Make Love…again.

CSS - Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (SMD Remix)