Pat Grossi, better know as Active Child, is having a pretty exciting summer. After a lot of build up, this August saw the release of his debut album You Are All I See (which I previously wrote about here). The same month he also kicked off his first headline tour in North America. Double Win. The tour saw Active Child make a stop off in Toronto to play The Garrison on September 14th, I popped over to the venue to have a chat with Pat before the show.
Settling down to a beer at The Lakeview, my favorite diner in Toronto, we got to talking about the process behind his album, life on tour, and getting Pat to visit Ireland!
Dubliner James Vincent McMorrow has hit the ground running since his debut album “Early In The Morning” was released in Ireland last year. There was the Choice Music Prize nomination, and a triumphant return to this years Electric Picnic which saw him play two stunning sets. But all the work isn’t done yet.
James and his band are currently on tour in the US and Canada building up significant buzz along the way. I chatted to him this week ahead of his sold out Toronto show at El Mocambo. Arriving at the venue just after sound check, we got talking about the album, touring, some interesting collaborations, and…The Neptunes!
O Brother Where Art Slough!
I dropped into The Academy to meet indie upstarts Brother on the afternoon of their sell out Dublin show. One of the most talked about bands of the moment, they’ve recently adorned the cover of NME, stoked up nostaglia and debate about Brit Pop in equal measures and also managed to incur the wrath of Liam Gallagher!
They’ve been awarded the Philip Hall NME Radar Award and were one of the bands picked by the BBC as a Sound of 2011, and we were lucky enough to get to speak to them on their whistle-stop visit to Ireland.
The Clink talks music, philosophy and some nonsense with one of the bands of the moment, The Naked And Famous.
Unless you’ve been hiding out under a rock for the last year you can’t fail to have read about or heard dubstep maestro James Blake. His melancholy, sometimes yearning vocals and skilful arrangements have brought a multitude of admirers. He’s a Q Magazine Face Of 2011; runner up in the Brit Awards Critics Choice for 2011; and the Youtube video for the hit Limit to Your Love has over 3 million hits. To cap it all, his eponymous debut album hit the streets last month to amazing critical acclaim. The Clink was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to James.
Pushing Hands are a band I randomly came across a few weeks ago through their lovely music video for Between Us Now. It’s always a plus when you find a new band who’s songs actually strike a cord.
The recently formed band may only have 3 tracks on their myspace, but I like what I’ve heard so far. Think warm, laid back indie pop. Between Us Now is a slow burner, but then songs like Cold Hands (featured below) shows their more upbeat side. Singer Freddie Webb has got a tone to his voice that stays with you, almost similar to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club on their more acoustic tracks.
A Clink first, the guys were kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the band and what we can expect to see next.
