Sunday 26 October 2014

Cian Finn Interview

Ahead of his performance at RubADublin with Radikal Guru. Cian Finn found a few minutes in his hectic tour schedule to talk to the Irish Moss Blog.

On a global scale your music has reached listeners far & wide, an artist synonymous with Reggae/Dub coming out of Ireland. Where & how did your musical journey begin?

In Galway when I was 12 years old I found an Island Records reggae compilation CD that a friend of my folks left in our house after a party. I was hooked. 


Following your many summer festival appearances you have just returned from shows in Kenya & Japan. How was your experience?

Japan was beautiful and the people there were really good to me. Its somewhere I've always wanted to visit. The promoters were amazing and brought me to the temples, mountains and cities. The main show was on Mount Fuji at a festival. Kyoto and Osaka were epic. Bumped into James Blake backstage and had an interesting conversation about his first album. 2nd festival was cancelled due to Typhoon so the show was moved to a reggae club with Mungo's Hifi and Part2Style from Tokyo. Class trip. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KcJmeOtx24


Billed to join Radikal Guru at RubADublin you have collaborated & performed together before, what might the RubADublin-ites expect from your collective live PA?

Yes, we've worked together for the last 3 years, released 5 singles together and played all over the shop ... Russia, Romania, Finland, Croatia, Poland, Germany, France, South Africa … The show is uptempo sub bass sound system culture inspired dub with conscious lyrics… 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbKuMWMs8I

How do you find the reggae/dub scene in Ireland right now, and how important from an artists perspective are events like RubADublin and areas like Trenchtown within major festivals such as Electric Picnic?

I've been playing reggae and dub in Ireland for the last 10 years and right now I think is a really interesting time. I've always been inspired by the Irish sound system culture. Rootical Sound System, Revelation Sound System, Firehouse Skank to name a few. Right now its great to see the Revelation Sound running their own area at Trenchtown in the Electric Picnic. They were amazing this year and the area was rammed. Explosion Sound System in Belfast now run a reggae area at Wickerman Fest in Scotland every year. There's a lot going on but there has always been an issue finding the right venue to host big bass events to showcase the authentic sound system vibe properly.  There's a lot of different sides this music and genres that have evolved from it like jungle and dubstep so I think its important for sound system events encompassed the different angles of the scene like RubADublin event is doing. I'd love to see more daytime outdoor events that roll into late night sessions.

Your performances encompass acoustic, dub & spoken word. What can we expect from your forthcoming release and when can we get our hands on it?

My next release will be an 11 track album produced by Prince Fatty. It's being sent for mastering next week so its coming soon. Its has the 1970s Jamaican sound. All live musicians with a dub version of the album to follow down the line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T91Wcew8Ic

For all tour dates and further info visit
Cian Finn 
Website | Facebook  | Twitter

 

Full Line up: 


CIAN FINN & RADIKAL GURU | REVELATION SOUND SYSTEM | DIRTY DUBSTERS ft. POA | RÍ 



RA | TOM BEARY | LEX WOO | SIM SIMMA DJs | DJ RAM & GUESTS 


Advance Tickets available from



Sunday October 26th

Twisted Pepper

Middle Abbey St

Dublin 1

4pm – til late


FREE Admission for the first 100 through the doors B4 6pm!

€12/€10 thereafter.

Visit Facebook & Twitter for further info.

Thursday 23 October 2014

Chatting With Benji Revelation Ahead of Rub-a-Dublin Session



We caught up with the one and only Rebel County Sound Man, Benji Revelation, to ask him a few questions leading up to this Sunday's Rub-a-Dublin session. Here's what he had to say!
 
IMR: Greetings Benji. For the uninitiated, Revelation Sound System are a collective and sound system from Cork. Can you give a quick intro as to exactly who and what is involved in a full show?
 
RSS: Yes I Mialodica and Benji Revelation are the owners and operators of Revelation Sound System, bringing roots and dub reggae to the people in a traditional style. At a "Revelation" dance one will find our custom built sound system delivering a selection of uplifting dubs and dubplate exclusives. Vocals and melodica with low whistles and effects spice up the runnings. A lively dance with the aim to unite people is the flavour. Bringing in our own sound with heavy power bass is essential for full vibes.



IMR: Revelation Sound System are fast approaching 20 years of sound system culture in Ireland. Can you tell us a little about how you started  on this path and what the landscape was like back then?

RSS: Yes. We started running selections of conscious reggae on pirate stations and parties to begin with. After a few long residencies in Cork venues we felt the best way forward was to build up our own sound that could really deliver this bass driven music in full. Knowledge of deep dubs was limited to a small number to begin with ... Firehouse Skank, ROOTICAL, and ourselves combined plenty dances in the early days with guests from the U.K to cultivate the vibes, and the road kept opening up. Now a great amount of people here are well wrapped up in dub music. After 17 years we're glad to now see some of our own tunes getting released. 2015 going to see more releases and plenty of festivals and dances from Revelation.
 




IMR: How do you find the reggae/bass music scene and culture in Ireland right now? 
 
RSS: Right now Irieland bubbling hot! Nuff new crews and plenty original sounds now pushing the dub&bass culture ... a total delight for us here. Now you find more attendance and awareness at the dances ... great to see how far we've come with Irish artists now on the International reggae circuit.


IMR:Your recent involvement with the Trenchtown Crew at Electric Picnic became a big hit with everyone that passed by the woods any day during the weekend. Can you tell us a little bit about the past two years at Electric Picnic and how you guys have found the process?


RSS: Trenchtown had us play a few times in the past on their stage and a move was made to bring us in with the sound system in 2013, to set a Dubstation going. Smooth runnings and great reactions led us to get a next invite for 2014 with a bigger stage and more exposure. We had three stacks of speakers(16 18" bass speaker) set for all revelers till the wee hours. A huge success with a full program showcasing Irieland's finest selectors, producers and live dub crews over three days and nights has us smiling inside, still. To see large crowds being exposed to dub on a proper level has been a huge blessing for us. Being part of the Trenchtown arena has brought this rasta sound to people at the Picnic that may not have known Irieland's rich culture in dub. To see selectors and crews delivering their music in full brings a great vibe for all involved.


IMR: The other big project you guys are involved with is the WBC (World Bass Culture) gigs in Cork. Can you fill us in on those sessions?
 
RSS: World Bass Revelation nights are a unity collective of Revelation and the World Bass Culture coming together in dub&bass ... blistering dub steppas onto total exploration in bass music and our own productions are the flavours. These nights are being received very well. Radikal Guru an original WBC member is on the way for the next dance: Ras Tinny and Cian Finn in action with Revelation & WBC massive - this will be a family occasion inna Cork for sure. Visuals to inspire all dancers is a big part of these productions. VJ Present is our visual weaver.

World Bass Revelation is on the way to Dublin on November 21st at The Pint - hold tight y'all, Revelation on the way! Looking forward to Rumble boom bam bim on the liffey with all at Rub-a-Dublin ... Loveness & Niceness. Irieland we dehya!

IMR: We're looking forward to having you guys up to the capitol and hearing the bins rumble at the Rub-a-Dublin session this Sunday. BIG UP!

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Origin One Interview


The latest release on Irish Moss comes to us from our mates in Nottingham, Origin One (featuring the legendary Cheshire Cat of course.) We caught up with Origin One for a quick chat about the group, linking up with Cheshire Cat and the general music scene in Nottingham. 

 
IMR: There are several members in Origin One. Can we get a quick
breakdown of who's involved, and what everyone's respective role is?

Origin One: Yeah we’ve had a few people make up Origin One. It consists of myself (Kev) making and DJing the beats, Parisa and Ben on the vocals. We’ve had Bru-c joining as a host and MC over the past 6 months or so. Previously we’ve also had Percydread (The Naturalites) & K.O.G  (The Zongo Brigade) join us for shows too, alongside a few extra guests here and there. Me and Parisa deal with a lot of the day to day, Press, PR and digi-media. 


IMR: How did you guys get linked up with Cheshire Cat for this release?

Origin One: I met Cheshire Cat last year when we recorded a dubplate for our friends from
Roots/20 HZ/Rubberdub Sound System, and we stayed in touch from there essentially. I’d had a lot of love for Luv Injection and the olschool Brum sound system crew so it was an honour to have him on board.

IMR: Are the jungle/bass/reggae scenes pretty prevalent in Nottingham?

Origin One:Yeah there’s becoming a really strong scene for bass music in Nottingham and it has a strong community feeling. All my friends at Rubberdub have been pushing strong steppas, dancehall, jungle, garage and grime vibes for years. There’s also our friends at Tumble smashing the UK funky and grime scene. Even for techno you have the Wigflex guys. There’s also the guys at Takeover bringing a strong Nottingham reggae scene, so everyone’s on point at the moment. 


IMR: I think we can safely say the summer has come to a close. Did you guys have any standout festival sets?

Origin One: We did Soundwave in Croatia, that was nice - playing bass music next to a beach in the sun’s ideal. We also did a boat party alongside Gentleman's Dub Club too. I got a chance to play loads of old two-tone, ska and reggae, right up to loads of dancehall and bashment. That was a wicked vibe.

Also, this year Boomtown was wicked. We were lucky enough to play on the Tangled Roots stage, set up by Lionpulse and Unit 137. Those guys were really sound and that stage had a good vibe, I spent most the weekend there on a steppas vibe! The crowd reaction there was really positive.

IMR: What are you guys working on now? When will we see your next release?

Origin One: We have a few bits and pieces up our sleeve. Everyone has solo commitments, so we’ll spend up to Christmas sorting some bits and pieces and writing some new music. I have a few digi dancehall remixes to work, so just keeping moving forward is the priority at the moment.

While we wait for the next bits and pieces from Origin One, grab your copy of "Good Ganja" here. If Juno isn't your thing, this release will also be available on itunes. Good fi di body! 

Friday 17 October 2014

RUB-A-DUBLIN REGGAE FESTIVAL - ROUND 3

Irish Moss Records & Bodytonic announce

RUB-A-DUBLIN REGGAE FESTIVAL

Round 3

Music all day across 4 Rooms, 3 Floors, Cinema, Record Store, Caribbean BBQ & You!



12 Months after the inaugural Bank holiday Sunday Reggae Festival, RUB-A-DUBLIN is back with a boom in Round 3. 


Since hosting headline acts SIR DAVID RODIGAN, GENERAL LEVY, TROJAN SOUND SYSTEM and CAPITOL 1212 to name but a few of the heavyweight performers who brought the fyah to Dublin’s Twisted Pepper, the good word has spread among Rub-A-Dubliners.


Those present in Trenchtown, Electric Picnic this year will have experienced the wealth of national talent to be heard on Ireland’s ever growing reggae scene. With that in mind & in celebration of our home grown artists, we present an almost all Irish line up.

Ireland’s own Reggae Troubadour CIAN FINN will be joined by special guest, Poland’s prodigal son RADIKAL GURU. Having collaborated on various past projects they bring a unique dub set. Expect positive vibes and plenty of energy from the duo, billed to headline the Live Room.

Cork’s Rasta Rebels REVELATION SOUND SYSTEM will be powering the Live Room with their custom built and finely tuned speaker stack. Festival goers will have no doubt felt the bass this summer in Trenchtown’s Inna Da Woods Arena where the crew welcomed many guest performers and threw an unforgettable reggae party.


Irish hip-hop pioneer RÍ RA (Scary Eire) makes a welcome return to the capital following a hectic summer schedule tearing up festival stages across the country


DIRTY DUBSTERS take a break from producing their second album to rock a new live dub set with live percussion, and are set to perform some exclusive album tracks with Dublin based hip-hop duo PRISONERS OF AUDIO (Leiko Tola & Russell Flow).


Local Selecta's warming up the Stage room are Dublin stalwarts, LEX WOO & TOM BEARY. 

The ever buzzing Cafe area will again by hosted by Irish Legend DJ RAM bringing his pop-up version of Temple Bars InDub Records, providing Vinyl, CD's, Clothes, Merchandise and most importantly that vibe we know and love! 

That’s just one of three floors...

The Basement Room hosts the Jamaican Cinema screening of ''Bringing it back home'' in association with the Hemp Company, while SIM SIMMA DJ’s provide the ragga riddims on the rooftop garden alongside the Reggae Buffet serving up authentic Caribbean sounds & cuisine. JOHN LEMON will serving fresh Juices and a special RUB-A-DUBLIN cocktail to keep you refreshed all day long.


Music Line up:
CIAN FINN & RADIKAL GURU | REVELATION SOUND SYSTEM | DIRTY DUBSTERS ft. POA | RÍ RA | TOM BEARY | LEX WOO | SIM SIMMA DJ’s | DJ RAM & GUESTS  


Sunday 26th

Twisted Pepper

Middle Abbey St

Dublin 1

4pm – til late



FREE Admission for the first 100 through the doors B4 6pm!

€12/€10 thereafter.

Visit Facebook & Twitter for further info.