The Thin Air Podcast

In this episode, the final in the series, we meet Laurie Shaw. Laurie's been producing albums at a prolific rate for many years and in this interview we talked about the 2022 release Sceptre, focusing on the album's lead single Captain's Log. A loose, swashbuckling song, Captain's Log gave us an opportunity to chat about Laurie's approach to DIY recording, how he visualizes his albums, and when all's said and done trying not to be worry about it too much. You can support Laurie's music here: https://laurieshawofficial.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. Captain's Log 2. S Club Party (by S Club 7) 3. Johnny B. Goode (by Chuck Berry) 4. Clint Eastwood (by Gorillaz) 5. 1994 6. O Green Blood 7. Lucy 8. Arthur Pendragon 9. Camogie Girl 10. Rollover 11. Captain's Log Episode Credits Presented & Produced by Danny Carroll Graphic Design by Loreana Rushe Cover Photo by Danny

In this episode we talk to Philip Christie of The Bonk about their song Future 87. First released in May 2022 and featured on their excellent 2023 LP 'Greater Than Or Equal To The Bonk', we'll hear about how the song evolved from a jam committed to a 4-Track Tape in 2017, as well as looking at the limitations and creative decisions that shaped the recording. You can support The Bonk's music here: https://thebonk.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. Future 87 2. Think (by James Brown) 3. Crazy He Calls Me (by Billie Holiday) 4. Thick Lines On Thin Film 5. I Am The Resurrection (by The Stone Roses) 6. Akula Owu Onyeara (The Funkees) 7. Telstar (by The Tornados) 8. Runaway (by Del Shannon) 9. Don Quixote (by O Emperor) 10. Sedalia (by O Emperor feat. RTE Concert Orchestra) 11. Future 87 in full Episode Credits: Presented and Produced by Danny Carroll Graphic Design by Loreana Rushe Cover Photo by Danny

Today we’re meeting Natalia Beylis. Natalia was kind enough to welcome us into her home and music room in County Leitrim to talk about her album Mermaids. Released on Touch Sensitive Records in September 2023, Mermaids is an immersive collection of six ambient recordings. True to its title, the album often evokes a body of water - the calm that comes from being held on the surface of something so vast, deep and ever-evolving. Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the sound of Mermaids, the artwork, field recording and much more besides. Support Natalia's music here: https://nataliabeylis.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. Mermaids 2. Spring Thaw (by Woven Skull) 3. The Garden Of Paradise (by Agathe Max and Natalia Beylis) 4. A Visit To Yasmin 5. The Lighthouse Trembles 6. Black Sea, 1967 Episode Credits: Presented & Produced by Danny Carroll Graphic Design by Loreana Rushe Cover Photo by Danny    

Today we’re meeting the jangling man, Martin Newell, a songwriter, poet and author - sometimes referred to as "the godfather of lo-fi music". In the early 1980s, Martin began recording under the name The Cleaners From Venus. Releasing albums on tape cassette and spreading through fanzine culture, his early work was later reissued in the 2010s by US label Captured Tracks. Quintessentially English in subject matter and undeniably melodic in production, for many Martin Newell is a missing link in popular music - a vital outlier and a testament to doing it yourself. You can support Martin's music here: https://thecleanersfromvenus.bandcamp.com/ You purchase his book 'The Home Recording Handbook' here: https://thecleanersfromvenus.bandcamp.com/merch/the-home-recording-handbook Featured songs: 1. Corridor Of Dreams 2. Neo City (by Plod) 3. Hole In My Shoe (by Traffic) 4. Rockaliser Baby (by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) 5. Wivenhoe Bells ii 6. Skateboard Stars 7. Drowning Butterflies 8. Only A Shadow 9. Alone Again, Naturally (by Gilbert O'Sullivan) 10. Incident In A Greatcoat Episode Credits: Presented & Produced by Danny Carroll Graphic Design by Loreana Rushe

After a brief, half-decade hiatus, The Thin Air podcast has returned for Season 3, focused on the creative practice of self-recording artists. In this episode, we meet Elaine Howley, a singer and producer from Tipperary, based in Co. Cork. Danny went to see Elaine at her home in Dripsey, on a particularly sunny afternoon in the month of May, where they sat in the front garden discussing her debut solo album ‘The Distance Between Heart and Mouth’, as well as the new music she’s been working on. We also touch upon Elaine's other projects, The Altered Hours with Cathal MacGabhann and Howlbux with Irene Buckley, looking at the people and places that have inspired her music, as well as the joy of pairing modern and vintage equipment to arrive at new conclusions. You can support Elaine's music on her Bandcamp page: https://elainehowley.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. To The Test 2. Buried Way Out 3. Song For Mary Black 4. CD's 5. Person Count 6. Silent Talk 7. Live As I Saw It 8. I Imagine You'd Say That 9. Thistle (by The Altered Hours) 10. Nightfall Over (by Howlbux) 11. Hold Me In A New Way Episode Credits: Presented & Produced by Danny Carroll Additional Audio Mix by Stevie Lennox Mastered by Jamie Hyland Graphic Design by Loreana Rushe Cover Photo by Danny Carroll  

In our final episode of season 2, Danny Carroll meets Bridie Monds-Watson (SOAK), to talk about her song Everybody Loves You.  The first single to be released from her second album Grim Town (Rough Trade 2019), Everybody Loves You sees Bridie's songwriting and recording process significantly shifting gears.  Here, she breaks down the elements that went into the dream-pop ballad - be it a warm string section or "soggy cardboard" guitars.

This week's installment of the Thin Air podcast features Dundalk band Just Mustard and their track Pigs.  A hypnotic highlight from their debut album 'Wednesday', guitarist/producer David Noonan, singer KT Ball and drummer Shane Maguire talk about the song's writing and recording process with Danny Carroll.  Serving as a blueprint for the band, we found out how 'Pigs' informed the band's development and gave them a new way of approaching their songwriting.

This week on the Thin Air podcast, Danny Carroll meets one of Ireland's most beloved group's Gilla Band, to talk about their recent single Shoulderblades.  The first song the band released in four years, Shoulderblades served as an intense, exhilarating teaser for second album 'The Talkies'. Gilla Band's singer/lyricist Dara Kiely and bassist/producer Daniel Fox speak about how the song developed and reflect on it's varied influences - be they 19th century freaks, low-cost imported lager, or Leonard Cohen's howling anguish.   Tracklisting: 1. Gilla Band - Shoulderblades 2. Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal (Happa Remix) 3. The Beatles - Baby You're A Rich Man 4. Leonard Cohen - Memories 5. Leonard Cohen - Don't Go Home With Your Hard On

This week we speak to Belfast band Careerist about the track Negative One.  A highlight of their excellent debut album Weird Hill (released on Pizza Pizza Records in November), singer/guitarist Carl Eccles and bassist Nathan Rodgers talk to Danny Carroll about the influences that inspired the song, and the recording process.  We also get insights from producer Chris Ryan (Robocobra Quartet) about how the song developed in the studio.

In episode two, we're delighted to feature the Dundalk rap duo "making unemployment sexy again" - TPM. Since 2015, brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy been making funny, insightful, very Irish hip hop together, influenced by anxiety, depression and life on the dole. Last year they released the explicitly excellent single FUCK RTE and Danny Carroll visited the brothers in their Louth abode to learn more about the song. The episode also features some insights from their producer David Noonan (Just Mustard/Larry) credited here as DJ Chronic Lower Back Pain, with Charles and Andrew talking about how the song evolved, what it means to them and why, above all else, they hate Joe Duffy. Songs featured: 1. Fuck RTÉ 2. Strictly For My Jeeps (Instrumental) - Action Bronson 3. Cash In The Claw 4. All The Boys On The Dole 5. Eat That Curry 6. Nuthin' But A G Thang - Dr. Dre

The premiere episode of the Thin Air Podcast Season 2 features Kerry's finest singer-songwriter Junior Brother.  With his debut album Pull The Right Rope recently named the Thin Air 2019 album of the year, Ronan Kealy speaks to Danny Carroll about the song's origin and recording process.  We also hear from the song's producer Chris Barry (Ailfionn Studios), as well as cellist Claire Kinsella (Lemoncello). Music Featured: 1. The Back Of Her (2018) 2. Hungover At Mass (2017) 3. You Make A Fine Picture (2016) 4. The Back Of Her Demo (2016) 5. Parasite - Nick Drake (1972) 6. Solid Air (live) - John Martyn (1978) 7. Sprout And The Bean - Joanna Newsom (2004)   Presented & Produced by Danny Carroll

The Thin Air podcast returns with a distinguished elder statesman of indie rock - David Gedge of The Wedding Present. John Peel favourites and jangle-pop pioneers The Wedding Present emerged from Leeds in the late 1980s with their scrappy and lyrical debut album 'George Best'. A unique blend of bitter melodrama and everyday mundanity, it's an urgent record that revels in the melancholy of small town life. From their C86 roots the band went to be bona fide indie-popstars, charting no less than 12 singles in the UK top 40 in 1992, and becoming a regular anomaly in the shiny world of Top Of The Pops. To date Gedge has released nine albums under the Wedding Present name, with most recent LP 'Going, Going...' sounding as vital and clever as their earliest material. For the Thin Air podcast, David Gedge spoke to Danny Carroll in the midst of a 'George Best' 30th anniversary tour. Looking back on the debut album, he speaks about the personal nature of the songs, the development of the band's sound and the connection between his past and present.

This week Danny Carroll meets Antrim singer-songwriter Stevie Scullion (Malojian).  From his home studio, Stevie talks about the album's title track 'Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home'.  Clocking in at nearly six minutes, the song is a Grandaddy inspired epic, featuring bubbling keyboards, strings, brass, and layer upon layer of vocals.  For the Thin Air podcast, we hear about the song's evolution, featuring an early demo, and listening to elements of the finished song in isolation.

Danny Carroll meets Dublin folk miscreants Lankum to discuss their mournfully epic song 'Granite Gaze'. Along with producer Spud, the group talk through the lyrical origins of the song, listen back to an early demo, and highlight individual elements of the song's swelling arrangement.

Yoni Wolf, singer and songwriter with the Cincinnati group Why? speaks to Danny Carroll for the Thin Air Podcast. Ahead of returning to Ireland, to play the Button Factory (September 17th) and Roisin Dubh (September 19th), Wolf chats about his early attempts at rapping, articulating anxiety and his recent attempts to convey positivity in song. The interview was recorded at the Glasgow CCA - 8th June 2017. Songs featured: 1. Good Friday (Boards Of Canada Remix - 2008) 2. I Be Blowin' (De La Soul feat. Maceo Parker - Buhloone Mind State - 1993) 3. Bad Entropy (Oaklandazulasylum - 2003) 4. Eskimo Snow (Eskimo Snow - 2009) 5. Good Friday (Alopecia - 2008) 6. Consequence Of Nonaction (Moh Lean - 2017) 7. The Hollows (Alopecia - 2008) 8. Gemini [Birthday Song] (Elephant Eyelash - 2005) 9. Proactive Evolution (Moh Lean - 2017) 10. I Remember Me (Silver Jews - Bright Flight - 2001)

Singer-songwriter Paddy Hanna is joined by producer Daniel Fox in discussing his song 'Bad Boys' with Danny Carroll for the Thin Air Podcast.  The song features on Paddy's excellent second album 'Frankly, I Mutate'.   

Greta Kline speaks to Danny Carroll for the Thin Air Podcast. Song snippets featured: 1. Ur Up (Vessel - 2018) 2. Birthday Song (Zentropy - 2014) 3. Fool (Next Thing - 2016) 4. Too Dark (Affirms Glinting - 2014) 5. Too Dark (Next Thing - 2016) 6. Is It Possible/Sleep Song (Next Thing - 2016) 7. Jesse (Vessel - 2018) 8. Being Alive (Vessel - 2018) 9. Correctly demo (Affirms Glinting - 2014)