Kristen Sinclair

Source: Die Morgen This interview was conducted on behalf of the now-defunct GiggingNI in 2018. When GiggingNI calls Ed Lay , he’s got the small issue of a broken shower on his hands. At home in Somerset, housekeeping and rehearsals are keeping him busy before heading out on tour for three months. When not dealing with such mundanities, he is most likely to be found behind the drum kit for Editors , arguably Britain’s most successful post-punk outfit. Hot on the heels of summer festival season, the Birmingham five piece are preparing for a string of dates across the UK and Europe to promote their latest LP, Violence . Belfast’s Ulster Hall will play host to Editors on 15 th October, the band’s first gig in the city in three years. It’s a pleasant coincidence then that a Northern Irish band played such a seminal role in Ed Lay’s musical education.  “My first gig was a band called Therapy? at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire; it’s just that feeling, the power of the bass in you

Edited by Birdy Francis The first dream I can remember having was a nightmare. I was confronted with a massively oversized skeletal spider, nearly half the size of my five year-old self, crawling slowly towards me in my bed. It was made entirely of bluish jagged bones and was eerily contorted as it crept along the duvet sheets. I woke up bolt upright in bed to my parents trying to quieten my screams. From then on, any bad dream I had was called a ‘jaggy spider’, and the term has stuck with me to this day. Whilst my life so far has been peppered with countless colourful and vivid dreams, with jaggy spiders few and far between, that specific one has made the most significant impression on me. I used to believe lots of strange things could prevent having a jaggy spider, like not eating cheese or Wagon Wheel biscuits before bed.   Much like I don’t know if there’s any truth in my remedies for bad dreams, scientists don’t know for certain why we dream either. There is a lot of pseu

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct GiggingNI in 2018. Launching his new EP all round the light said :, County Down troubadour Joshua Burnside returns for his second headline gig at The Empire, Belfast. Joined by local veterans Lambing Season and the newly-signed Brash Isaac , Burnside proves unrivalled in his craft and cements himself as a champion of the NI music scene. An ample crowd is already gathered before the first act even take to the stage, in what might be south Belfast’s only properly air-conditioned venue (and in 22°C+ heat, there’s only so much a cold beer can do). Lambing Season , an experimental folk group, are back for their first gig in years. Squeezed onto The Empire’s tiny stage, the seven-piece create brass-heavy, folk-infused soft rock vaguely reminiscent of Arcade Fire. The band is fronted by multi-instrumentalist Gerry McCrudden who gives direction to his bandmates’ atmospheric harmonies and very talented trumpet playing. It’s easy

Many great songwriters write best about what they know. Some, on the other hand, abandon the familiar and look to the stars for musical inspiration. The mystical chaos of the great beyond has influenced many a composition over the decades, from the classical suites of pre-WW1 to the Space Age of the sixties, and the cosmic alt-rock of more recent years. Encompassing jazz to electronic sounds, musicians have found a muse in the planets, aliens and stars of our universe. From obvious classics to lesser known gems about historical events, conspiracy theories and the outright fantastic, here is a mere handful of the galaxy’s best tracks inspired by things out of this world. BABYmouth zine, space-themed Issue 2, edited by Phoebe Plant   Hallo Spaceboy // David Bowie featuring Pet Shop Boys No space-themed playlist would be complete without David Bowie, and lots of him. In fact, he almost warrants an entire space-themed playlist himself. His breakthrough hit ‘Space Oddity’, re

Rat Out Records' event at The Sunflower (Source: my own) Belfast is famous for many things – ships, conflict, Van Morrison – but not quite hip-hop. Unlike the other Irish cities which have spawned the likes of Dublin duo Versatile or Limerick’s The Rubberbandits , the subculture hasn’t gained the same notoriety and recognition in the North. As a genre created by African Americans in 1970s New York, it may be fairly easy to see why the Irish brand of rap hasn’t exactly had the same level of success. Despite this, Northern Ireland is by no means lacking in musical talent; the region has produced big names like The Undertones, Snow Patrol and Two Door Cinema Club. Even on a more grassroots level, the local indie rock and folk scenes in Belfast and Derry are booming. While it may seem that we prefer our music with a catchy chorus and three chords, Belfast’s underground rap scene is alive and kicking if you’re prepared to look for it. A simple Soundcloud or Bandcamp search