It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs they loved in the last four weeks. Episode 232 has an exoskeleton theme of accidental spooky picks as we feature new albums from Kojaque, OXN, CMAT, Sufjan, Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist and new songs from The Last Dinner Party, I Dreamed I Dream, John Francis Flynn, Rachael Lavelle and Tandem Felix. And a couple of oldie picks to round things out from William Onyeabor and Echo & The Bunn...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Season 3Ep. 232
This week's episode is a chat around the sale of Bandcamp from Epic Games to Songtradr. With streaming paying pennies or less than for many artists, the independently-driven music platform Bandcamp is the last bastion of online revenue making for many bands - allowing musicians to sell their music digitally, and on vinyl or CD direct to their fans. Artists on Bandcamp collectively earned $193 million in the last year alone, and Bandcamp has paid out $1.19 billion since its founding in 2007. But ...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 231
The Fandom of Taylor Swift is something that I find so fascinating, particularly the massive surge in popularity in the last 3 or 4 years. Where Taylor couldn’t sell out Croke Park in 2018 on her Reputations tour, her current Eras tour as we’ve discussed before on the podcast , crashed Ticketmaster and has seen such a huge unprecedented demand that that’s worth exploring why? With the three Dublin gigs at the Aviva next summer and the Taylor Swift Eras Tour film doing big numbers at the box offi...
Oct 18, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 230
English electronic musician Kieran Hebden has been a constant artist in my life’s history of listening to music. Recently, the artist has exploded in popularity in his DJ partnership with Skrillex and Fred Again.., but as we’ll discuss, headlining Coachella this year, was just a natural culmination of two decades plus of music making and collaborations. On this week’s episode it is all about the music of Four Tet. We discuss his origins in the Elliott School with fellow now-famous musicians Buri...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 229
It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs we loved in the last four weeks. On Episode 228 we are album focused with new LP chat about records from Mitski, Cleo Sol, The Alchemist, MIKE and Wiki; Olivia Rodrigo, Soda Blonde, Natalia Beylis and an EP from Soccer Mommy. There are songs from Annika Kilkenny , Holly Humberstone and two Golden oldies from Anne Clark and Fountains Of Wayne. Plus what's consuming you - Fringe Festival shows, Peter...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 228
On Episode 227, we are joined by the acclaimed music writer Bob Stanley, the man behind one of Niall's favourite books Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop and a member of indie-pop group St. Etienne. To celebrate 10 years of Faber Books are reissuing Yeah Yeah Yeah (with a new chapter taking it up to present day) , along with its prequel Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop (the definitive story of the birth of Pop, from 1900 to the mid-fifties), both on paperback. Along with the books, Bob Stanley...
Sep 20, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 227
The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords, The KLF. Episode 226 is a look at the UK band that simultaneously topped the pop charts while being divisive art provocateurs. Two British men, the Scotsman Bill Drummond and Englishman Jimmy Cauty created a notorious music project that engulfed the charts, aggravated the art world, upset the capitalists, annoyed the record industry and almost everyone else. Other musicians have been known as provocateurs before but The KLF were on an who...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Season 3Ep. 226
It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs they loved in the last four weeks. On Episode 225 we have album recommendations from The Hives, Citrus Fresh and Noname along with song inclusions from Sufjan, Diners, BadBadNotGood, Cartin, Barry Can't Swim and Olivia Rodrigo. Plus what's consuming you, chat about live gigs from The Walkmen, Boygenius, Another Love Story Festival, and the Roisín Murphy thing. * Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get ad-...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 225
Episode 224 is a deep dive into the discography of electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin. t's Richard D James, "the godfather of IDM", "the Mozart of Ambient,", the mischievous enigmatic man who I shook hands with once, the artist born in Limerick who has been making weird electronic music since he was the age of 14 for over 35 years now. As Richard D James turns 52 this Friday, we take a chronological look through his back catalogue touching on the three main strands of his sound - ambient, exper...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 224
Episode 223 of the Nialler9 Podcast is a return to the festival field with Nialler9 and Andrea Cleary. We review last weekend's All Together Now Festival in Waterford. Niall shares his experiences of the festival's fourth year, a weekend in which ran the weather gamut from rainy to windy, muddy to sunny. We talk highlights and lowlights, the mud, the rain, the wind, festival organisational logistics, stage sound, and tents nearly blowing away on Saturday morning. In between the muck, there was g...
Aug 09, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 223
It's the most popular monthly episode where Niall and Andrea share what's moved them musically from the month of July. On Episode 222 we have selections from Big Thief, Sarah Crean, Andrea's pick of the Barbie soundtrack, another of Niall's song of the summer contenders, Fizz, Aluna, Mitski, The Hives, girlfriend, albums from Blur and Joanna Sternberg and some a tune tribute to Sinéad O'Connor. * Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get ad-free episodes and join our Discord community Listen on Apple | A...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 3Ep. 222
30 years ago this week, Singer Sinead O’Connor sparked outrage when she tore up a picture of the Pope during her musical performance on Saturday Night Live. The fallout of that action is at the centre of Kathryn Ferguson's new documentary about Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares - which is in cinemas this Friday. Following the release of last year's Rememberings, O'Connor's biography, the film tells the story of Sinead's upbringing, subsequent success focusing on the early period of her career a...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 188
This is a rewind of an episode from 2021. Today's episode is all about my favourite subgenre of disco and dance music - Italo. What it is, where it came from and why it's so enduring. Italo disco is a European form of electronic disco that proliferated throughout Europe in the early '80s. It’s a catch all term for 80s electronic pop of mostly Italian origin. Italo is what happens when disco starts getting made with drum machines and synthesizers - a loveable curio of romantic pop, a tasteless ye...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 17 min
For a subgenre deep dive, Niall takes a dip into the idea of Balearic music, and finds out that it's not as easy to explain as he first thought. Balearic is often thought of as a signifier of music that is evocative, sun-kissed and downtempo, but as our deep dive discovers Balearic is a feeling, an approach, that encompasses those things but also can be cheesy, soft, rocking, easy listening, dancey, slowed-down, dreamy, psychedelic and as dance music writer Frank Tope put it “it’s pop music that...
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 221
Note, this is a rewind of an episode from 2021 to mark our second Indie Sleaze night on September 29th in Workman's Cellar. You may have heard of the term Indie Sleaze lately. A term newly coined to describe a nostalgic trend of post-Y2K era of culture and aesthetics of indie music and parties that crossed cities and continents. Niall and Andrea are talking indie-rock, blog house, nu-rave, electro-clash and the alternative scene of the years of 2004 to 2012 that gave us the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crys...
Jul 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Episode 220 is a chat with the journalist, pop culture writer, and author Michael Cragg . Michael's new book Reach for the Stars is a rip-roaring oral history of UK pop music between 1996 and 2006, told through the interviews with the popstars, the songwriters, producers, label executives, pop fans, svengalis and culture writers of the day. It's an unputdownable behind-the-scenes history of British pop music that tells the story of the Spice Girls, 5ive, Steps, S Club 7, Atomic Kitten, Girls Alo...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 220
It's the ever popular monthly episode where Niall and Andrea share what's moving them musically from the month of June - new music and older stuff too. On Episode 219 we have selections from King Krule, The Hives, Bright Eyes, Peter Gabriel, Maija Sofia, Glasser, Slaughter Beach, Dog, Niall's song of the summer contender and some oldie shouts from Surfers, Freestylers, Joy Anonymous and Bikini Kill. * Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get ad-free episodes and join our Discord community Listen to the ...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 219
We are keeping our summer school vibe going for a bit for the season by keeping episodes relaxed and casual for a bit while the weather is a bit nicer. Episode 218 of the Nialler9 Podcast then, sees Niall take the reins of the going out buzz after last week's Andrea Goes To Slane episode. It was a busy festival weekend with Beyond The Pale, Body & Soul and Seas Sessions all taking place in Ireland this past weekend. Niall went to the first two for Body & Soul Festival on Friday and Satur...
Jun 21, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 218
Episode 217 of the Nialler9 Podcast is all about that great Irish music institution - Slane Castle. 22 years (!) after Nialler was last at the big annual concert in Meath, Andrea makes her first trip to Slane for the Harry Styles concert and our roving vibe reporter is here to share her experiences from the gig day out, the food on offer, and the car park saga after. Plus, there's a look at the recent Why Not Her? radio report, a new official Beatles song via AI, some fascinating facts culled fr...
Jun 15, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 217
Niall and Andrea with episode 216 of the Nialler9 Podcast and our monthly new music recommender for the month of May 2023. On Episode 216, there are some "face eggs"-themed albums from Water From Your Eyes, Eyes Of Others and Caoilian Sherlock along with song choices from Gurriers, Blur, Kieran Hebden + William Tyler, Bricknasty, Buck Meek and two oldies from The Fall and Glasser. And for those of you who appreciate our usual Succession talk, this week, there is a 40 minute BONUS EPISODE availab...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 216
A reappraisal of the career of Cass Elliot, formerly known as Mama Cass, of The Mamas & Papas. For this week's episode (#215), Andrea Cleary, takes the lead for a deep dive into the life and times of Cass Elliot, the late-60s singer who recently went viral when a Tik-Tok user used her song 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music' on a meme with Nicolas Cage / Pedro Pascal from the film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The song's virality has lead to a reappraisal of the legacy of the singer, wh...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 215
Nealo is a Dublin rapper and artist who is a regular on this site since first appearing in 2018 . 2020's All The Leaves Are Falling was a Choice Music Prize-nominated debut album, an album exploring loss, friendship, family and the ties that keep us searching for home. Fresh from the release of new song 'Forest' with Morgana of Saint Sister on vocals, Nealo is teasing a new album at a later date, and along with last week's guest Celaviedmai , is playing at The Hennessy Hip-Hop House at Body &...
May 18, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Season 3Ep. 214
Galway rapper Celaviedmai is one of our favourite up and coming rappers and collaborators as she has shown adeptness at moving between rap, house, drill, Amapiano and Afrobeat in her music so far. Mai is an artist with ambition and exciting plans on the horizon including a set at The Hennessy Hip-Hop House at Body & Soul Festival this summer. It was great to have Mai in to pick 5 songs that have influenced her craft and one current banger she can't get enough of, and trail some future plans ...
May 11, 2023•52 min•Season 3Ep. 213
It’s the monthly episode with Niall and Andrea discussing songs and albums we loved from the last month, and some older. On Episode 212, there are albums recommended by Feist, Kara Jackson, Benefits and Tom Trago, along with choice songs from Anna St. Louis, Laurie Shaw, Beabadoobee + Clairo and two oldies. Plus a bit of listener feedback about last week's AI episode, some book, TV and film recommends and a bit about the Ed Sheeran / Marvin Gaye copyright case. Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST ...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 212
Episode 210 of the Nialler9 Podcast is a two-hander. We are talking about the last of the enigmatic crooners who played the same festival - Coachella - and got on very differently. Firstly, Andrea takes the lead on recounting and speculating on what exactly was / is going on with Frank Ocean's set at Coachella at weekend 1 this past Sunday. Ice rinks, ankle injuries, long silences, unfocused showmanship, and a man who really didn't seem to want to be there did he? His subsequent cancellation at ...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 210
Episode 209 is a chat with our pal, journalist, author, playwright, DJ and wheelchair user Louise Bruton. Louise has recently restarted her Legless In Dublin platform on a paid Substack (free to disabled people), where she is "covering areas of access and disability, reviews and personal essays that champion disabled people and educate non-disabled people". It came after Louise had grown exhausted by being a source of free advice for others working in the live music industry who would ask her fo...
Apr 13, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 209
Episode 208 is a dive into the world of boygenius and their debut album the record. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus came together as boygenius in 2018 with a debut EP on Matador. The EP combined their collective tones of tones of country, melodic folk, indie and singer-songwriter strands together, before they all went off to make another solo record - Phoebe Bridgers made Punisher (2020), Lucy Dacus made Home Video (2021) and Julien Baker put out Little Oblivions (2021). A week afte...
Apr 06, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 208
It's the monthly episode with Niall and Andrea discussing songs and albums we loved from the last month. March has given us a jam-packed month of albums to get our ears around, including: Lankum - False Lankum Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd Ailbhe Reddy - Endless Affair JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Scaring The Hoes Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume... Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V Plus songs from Krea, Kneecap, Sorcha Richardson c...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 207
A second episode this week as it's a timely chat with MayKay, the vocalist, singer-songwriter and Other Voices presenter who is returning to her original role as lead vocalist with the band Fight Like Apes. The band split up in 2016 after releasing three albums Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion (2008), The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner (2010) and Fight Like Apes (2015) along with a series of EPs. Flapes as they're affectionally known, were one of the first buzz...
Mar 22, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 206
On this episode of the Nialler9 Podcast, Niall is joined by No Encore's Dave Hanratty for a chat about Meet Me In The Bathroom, the recent documentary about the New York City music scene of the early 2000s. The film by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern is based on the oral history book of the same name by Lizzy Goodman and is concerned with the rise of New York rock and indie stalwarts like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture and Interpol. From The Moldy Pe...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 205
