The Underground of Happiness

himeji to los angeles. glasgow to berlin. belfast to nashville. enjoy. x Playlist 1. Oh No Noh – Dog years (Teleskop) 2. Bella Wakame – Shades of Nambei (Umor-Rex) 3. Echolalia – Little bird (Full Time Hobby) 4. Geckos – Lo Hice (Org Music/PIAPTK Recordings) 5. Junk Drawer – Nids Niteca (Pizza Pizza Records) 6. Keeley Forsyth & Matthew Bourne – Talk to me (Fat Cat Records) 7. Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila – Closing time: The party is over (Pingipung) 8. Quinie – Macaphee turn the cattle (Upset The Rhythm) 9. Albertine Sarges – Stand near your fire (Moshi Moshi) 10. Deradoorian – Digital gravestone (Fire Records) 11. Le Volume Courbe – Two love (Duophonic Super 45s) 12. Sam Prekop – Light shadow (Thrill Jockey) 13. Water Machine – River (Fat Cat Records) 14. Damian O’Neill – Inside out (Tompkins Square) (Imaginational Anthem XIV) 15. Me Lost Me – A souvenir (Upset The Rhythm) 16. Lael Neale – Tell me how to be here (Sub Pop Records) 17. Eddie M...

Playlist 1. Daisy Rickman – Signpost to the stars (Fire Records) 2. Ariel Sharratt & Mathias Kom – Never work (BB*Island) ( playing Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, Apr 16 2024 ) 3. The Go! Team – Junior kickstart (Memphis Industries) ( playing The Button Factory, Dublin, Sept 30 2024 ) 4. Kelsey Michael – Music of the waves (Dimple Discs) 5. Ella Ronen – Truth (BB*Island) 6. Hochzeitskapelle – Silver rider (Alien Transistor) 7. Magic Tuber Stringband – Days of longing (Thrill Jockey) 8. Marie Klock – Se goinfrer de rage (Pingipung) 9. Saicobab – Nyrtaman (Thrill Jockey) 10. Martin Rev – Mari (bureau b) 11. Elsa Hewitt – Citrinitas (Tompkins Square) 12. Dumbo Tracks feat Rubee Fegan – Daughter of flood (bureau b) 13. John Hynes – In over my head (bandcamp) 14. Harry Taussig – Etude in G Major #7 (take 2) (Tompkins Square) 15. Manu Delago feat Mad About Lemon – Paintings on the wall (One Little Independent) 16. Bobby Oroza – Queen of the barrio (Big Crown Records) 1...

A bumper crop for this late summer. Enjoy. x Playlist 1. The Doomed Bird of Providence – Businessman found dead in a shop at Mildura (bandcamp) 2. Sam Prekop & John McEntire – A ghost at noon (Thrill Jockey) 3. The Magnetic Fields – ’69: Judy Garland (Nonesuch) ( playing Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Sept 8 ) 4. The Burning Hell – Dirty microphones (BB*Island) ( playing Bush Hall, London, Oct 21 ) 5. Kathryn Williams – Radioactive (One Little Independent) ( playing Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Wareham, Aug 18-22 ) 6. Craig Fortnam – New gold (Best Behaviour) 7. Mitski – The only heartbreaker (Dead Oceans) 8. Sinead O’Brien – Holy country (Chess Club) ( playing Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Oct 26 ) 9. Æ Mak – Sun God, I'll Be Your Woman (Spacer Records) 10. Elephant – Calling (Excelsior Records) 11. Thee U.F.O. – Transparent seed (Gelatinous Records) ( playing Electric Avenue, Waterford, Aug 13 ) 12. The Besnard Lakes – A jacket for a rainy lady (Full Time Hobby) 1...

Part 2 of this lookback. Enjoy. x Playlist Cathal Coughlan – Owl in the parlour (Dimple Discs) Alasdair Roberts og Volvur – Nu solen gar ned (Drag City) Ann Scott – Sweetheart (Raghouse Records) Bobby Oroza – I got love (Big Crown Records) Brainstory – Bye bye (Big Crown Records) Daniel Blumberg feat Josephine Foster – The world to come (from the soundtrack of the film The world to come ) (Node Records/Wise Music Group) Ed Dowie – Number Eight Wire (Needle Mythology) Henrik Lindstrand – Enghave lys (Alex Somers rework) (One Little Independent) Fine Place – It’s your house (Night School Records) Junior Brother – Life’s new haircut (Strange Brew) Low – Days like these (Sub Pop) Lucy Gooch – Rain’s break (Fire Records) M Ward – Birthday (Anti) Pretty Happy – Sea sea sea (Art For Blind) Rats on Rafts – Osaka (Fire Records) Ruthann Friedman – Hurried life (Tompkins Square) (reissue) Sack – What a way to live (Dimple Discs) St Vincent – Pay your way in pain (L...

More tunes from the universe. Enjoy. x Playlist 1. Soccer96 – Carry us home (Moshi Moshi) 2. Telefís – Mister Imperator (Dimple Discs) 3. Craig Fortnam – Peter Roy and Ron are gone 4. Richard Dawson – weaver (Weird World) 5. Vapors of Morphine – Irene (Schnitzel Records Ltd.) 6. Lewsberg – The corner ( playing Moth Club, London, Nov 23 ) 7. Mocky – Bora! (Heavy Sheet) 8. El Michels Affair – Ala vida (Big Crown Records) 9. The Allergies – Love somebody (Jalapeno Records) 10. Dragon Welding – Frog (Dimple Discs) 11. Stereo Total – A la sortie du lycee (Tapete Records) 12. Me Lost Me – Sing to the sun 13. Rozi Plain – Silent fan (Memphis Industries) 14. Ruthann Friedmann – Hurried life (Tompkins Square) 15. Jessica Pratt – Back baby (Drag City) 16. The Association – Windy (Warner Bros) 17. Sparks – So may we start (Milan Records) (from the soundtrack of the film Annette ) 18. Prefab Sprout – Appetite (acoustic) (Epic) 19. Mose Allison Trio – Autumn song (...

A round up of my favourite music released in 2020. Despite everything, it seems like a marvellous year for recorded sound. Enjoy and stay well. x Playlist Sleeper & Snake – Shoot through (Upset The Rhythm) Louis Philippe & The Night Mail – Rio Grande (Tapete) Emily Barker – Sonogram (bandcamp) Arch Garrison – The more I know (Believers Roast) Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy feat. Sean O’Hagan – Wish you were gay (Drag City) Skinshape feat. D’alma – Sua alma (Big Crown Records) Caribou – Home (Merge Records/City Slang) The Hamrahlid Choir – Cosmogony (One Little Independent) Keeley Forsyth – Large oak (The Leaf Label) Nadia Reid – Get the devil out of me (Spacebomb) Bert Jansch – Crimson moon (Earth, reissue) Tame Impala – Is it true (Caroline) Rats on Rafts – Tokyo Music Experience (Fire) Mikael Tariverdiev – Prelude from My younger brother (Earth) (from the soundtrack of the film My younger ...

autumn give a little bit it'll do you good x Playlist The Notwist feat. Saya – Ship (Morr Music/Alien Transistor) Normil Hawaiians – In the stone (Upset The Rhythm) Sam Prekop – Comma (Thrill Jockey) Bert Jansch – Crimson moon (Earth, reissue) Tame Impala – Tomorrow’s dust (Caroline) Lizette & Quevin – Talk to me (Big Crown Records) B-Fax – Therefore (Disco-Ordination) El Michels Affair feat. Piya Malik – Dhuaan (Big Crown Records) El Michels Affair feat.Shannon Wise – Sha na na (Big Crown Records) Gabriel Olafs – Bára (Hugar Rework) (One Little Independent) Global Charming – Charming (Subroutine Records) Half Japanese – Wondrous wonder (Fire) Holy Sons – Lady of the hour (Thrill Jockey) Jens Kuross – Golden Septembers Josephine Foster – The wheel of fortune (Fire) Lee Fields & The Expressions – Two timer (Big Crown Records) M Ward – For heavens sake (Anti) Naked Roommate – Mad love (Upset The Rhythm) Mera Bhai – Manana groove (Moshi Mosh...

New releases from this latest period in time. Spirals and drones. A capella and instrumentals. Walls of sound and cries for help. A piece of aural history. Enjoy the magic. Playlist Hiss Golden Messenger – I need a teacher (Merge Records) Moonchy & Tobias – Atmosfere (Hidden Shoal/Tiny Room) Murray Lightburn – To the top (Dangerbird) ALA.NI – Sha la la (ALA.NI) Alasdair Roberts – Common clay (Drag City) Boa Morte – Ships passing (Gare du Nord) Brainstory – Mnemophobia (Big Crown records) Clairo – Impossible (Caroline) Comet Gain – The institute debased (Tapete) Dana Gavanski – Catch (Full Time Hobby) Fenella – Bright curse (Fire Records) Hater – It’s a mess (Fire Records) Hochzeitskapelle – Anohito (Gutfeeling Records/Broken Silence) Joanne & Sonny – Journey (Tompkins Square) Kiwi Jr – Salary man (Mint Records) Mermaidens – Millenia (Flying Nun) Spindle Ensemble - Okemah Sundown Rachael Dadd – Cut my roots (Memphis Industries) Sean O’Hagan fea...

******************************************************************************************************** Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker – Spider Beetlebee (Drag City) Beautiful album of bright and bracing guitar instrumentals from this Chicago duo collaboration. The range of styles spanned over the course of just half an hour is a clue to the open mindedness and sense of adventure of both musicians. There’s a real sense of the shared joy in playing about the whole piece. A gorgeous miniature body of work and in many ways perfect music for this time of year. SpiderBeetleBee by Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker Laura Cannell – Lines of copper gold (Brawl Records) Bracing is also a word to describe this blast of overbowed fiddle from Laura Cannell of East Anglia recorded in a semi ruined church from her current album Hunter Huntress Hawker . Call it early music. Improvised. Experimental. It is primal and it is stirring. It feels essential. HUNTER HUN...

Part 2 of this Mid Year Review. From the more folk side of the argument. Again all regulars on the show this year. Part 1 is last week in case you missed it. That's Camille in the picture. The show is back on the air in September after the station's summer break. Enjoy. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 457 - Best of 2017 Mid Year Review Part 2 Tues July 25 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/CtDTzT Playlist Yorkston Thorne Khan – Chori chori ( playing Coughlan’s, Cork, July 27 ) James Elkington – Wading the vapours Entrance – Always the right time Rich Osborn – Streets of Laredo, A Pastorale Camille – Fontaine de lait ( playing Barbican, London, Oct 30 ) Bedouine – Bac...

Brigid Mae Power is on tour this week, see her at Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh at the weekend, hear her here winding a magical extended drone. A new album by The Moles , wonderful news and wonderful tunes. Angel Olsen sounding firmly in control of her own destiny and yet somehow endearingly vulnerable. August Wells , album out now in FIFA, great songs, great arrangements, say no more. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 414 Tues Sept 13 2016 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/dKigj3 Playlist Brigid Mae Power – It’s clearing now ( playing Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Sept 17 ) Joe Sampson – My love August Wells – She was a question Itasca – Daylight under my wing The Moles – B...

A thoroughly spellbinding piece of somnolent meandering folk music from the Galway singer recorded with Peter Broderick in Oregon. A simple guitar strum at walking pace, a chord and a half, a soaring reedy voice pure and bracing as a north wind (if the wind was a reedy thing). Later bending violins making eyes at Bollywood (well if it was contemplative rather than frisky). Rushes of swirling backing vocals. It’s a thousand yard drone that you realise was a waltz in another life before being replayed in slow motion with an ancient stoic voiceover. The voice up close – insistent, deep, nonchalant somehow. Touched by something. Gripping drama and texture. A wonderful creation.

Originally published on WeAreNoise - http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/hiss-golden-messenger/ Some new music came our way today and we thought we’d do a little sharing. Because it’s particularly beautiful, but also because the band in question plays in Cork on May 3rd (Triskel Christchurch, also Whelan’s in Dublin on Apr 30th) (Note: The Cork gig was subsequently, and unfortuately, cancelled.). The music in question is by Hiss Golden Messenger , lead by Mike Taylor , the album Poor moon . Here’s the biog, courtesy of the record label, Tompkins Square . Hiss Golden Messenger is Durham, North Carolina-based songwriter M.C. Taylor, in partnership with multi-instrumentalist and recordist Scott Hirsch, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. The pair have been playing music together for nearly two decades. Poor Moon is the fourth proper Hiss Golden Messenger release, and serves as the best summation thus far of Taylor’s lone journeys through the dark night of the soul. “God is goo...