The London Ear #388 DirtBirds + Sive

The London Ear Roundel on a background of grey sky and bright green trees

The London Ear #388

Back once again like the renegade master with another episode of The London Ear. Two, no, three great guests on the show today. In the first hour of the show, I chat to Dirtbirds about their upcoming show in London and find out about always having to be funny. In the second hour, singer-songwriter, Sive, popped in for a chat about her new album, ‘We Begin In Darkness’, which is just beautiful. The most gorgeous album of the year so far. Show #388 also has regular features of ‘From The Vault’ and ‘Sound of The Underground.’

From The Vault: Little Palace

This week’s Irish track From The Vault comes from Little Palace. They were absolutely cracking band from my hometown of Kells, in Co. Meath. They featured Michael Brunnock, Anne Louise Mulvany, Anthony Cregan, James Quinn, Martin Quinn and Ian Melady (later of Turn) on drums. They released the Beekeeper EP, a 4-track CD, which I had on constant rotation, about 1996. I chose to play ‘Secret’ from the EP.

Sound of The Underground: Wu-Lu

Sound of The Underground is the section of the programme where I introduce you to a London-based artist or band. This week’s artist is Wu-lu and their new track ‘Blame’. The single is taken from the forthcoming album ‘Loggerheads’ which will drop on July 8th on Warp Records.

Another South London boy on The London Ear, keep an eye out. Wulu seems like an interesting character. The album is described as ‘an urgent, post-genre masterpiece for modern times and Wu-Lu’s most fully-realised music yet. Born out of fearless self-examination and expression, LOGGERHEAD is music for the ignored, underrepresented, and those without a voice.  A soundtrack to these richly troubled times intended to inspire and encourage.’

Find out more on Facebook and Insta.

Interview with Dirtbirds

Dirtbirds in Gorey - Photo from Facebook
Dirtbirds – Photo from Facebook

*Cue dramatic superhero style voiceover* Sinead Culbert and Sue Collins are comedy writers and performers, each in their own right. But when they join forces, they are ‘Dirtbirds’. Dirtbirds have become a bit of a cultural phenomenon in Ireland, thanks to their irreverent real-life comedy, as seen by thousands on their videos.

The pair are coming to London for a show in the London Irish Centre on June 17th and it’s set to be a cracker.

To be honest, it’s a bit daunting, knowing you’re ‘Interviewing’ (I prefer chatting) a pair of comediennes. The pressure!! I did throw one in there though. Really enjoyed the chat with Sinead and Sue and I’m sure the show will be be a cracking night out.

Book your tickets for the show here

Interview with Sive

Sive and Nessy make silly faces on Zoom

I have to say that I was seriously impressed with Sive’s new album ‘We Begin In Darkness’. The musicality and production are just sublime. As I said during our chat, I’ve been listening to more electronic and rock music lately but this just blew me away. The layers and detail of the sounds on this record are just *chef’s kiss*. But that does not take away from the actual songwriting. As it should, it only enhances everything – beautifully.

It’s the first I had the opportunity to chat with Sive and I really enjoyed chatting about her music and chatting about Embrace Music which is a fantastic initiative run with Sharon Murphy. “For the last seven years they have worked both together and separately in County Kildare running community choirs and delivering music sessions to people living with dementia and other age-related illnesses. The overall aim of Embrace Music is to give people as many different opportunities to embrace music, movement and other art forms as possible in their own locality, or even in their own home.

Find out more on her website: sivemusic.com

The London Ear Playlist May 14 2022

Here’s what happened on this week’s episode of The London Ear.

Hour 1
Strabe: Magic
Roe: A Temporary Thing
Elkae: White Dress
Ger Eaton: Phoenix (Reborn)
Louis Brennan: Full House
Danger Mouse and Black Thought: No Gold Teeth
Interview with Dirt Birds
Pastiche: Written and Directed
Aoife Nessa Francis: Emptiness Follows
From The Vault: Little Palace: Secret
faith Oliveyolive(feat Daryl Bengo, Kevon Dupri & Ammani Bengo)
Axis Of: Blackcomber

Hour 2
Motel Club: La Plage
Brooke Scullion: That’s Rich
Sound of The Underground: Wu-Lu: Blame
Interview with Sive
Sive: Think Before I Speak
Interview with Sive Part 2
Sive: Dancing Alone
Interview with Sive Part 2
Sive: Annamackerrig
Eimhin: Lately
Keeley: 1990’s Brightest Star

Listen On-Demand to The London Ear

Thanks for listening, The London Ear is broadcast online and on your radio apps, in Ireland and around the world on RTÉ 2XM. You can always listen to the show on-demand after it has been broadcast on RTÉ 2XM on the RTÉ player including all previous episodes. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1200. PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME OF MIDDAY!

You can find all previous episodes on the pages of this site here.

Join me next week for chats with Vale and Xnthony.