notion that producers should make music full time.
Although he releases deep, disco-tinged house on
Francois K’s Wave label as well as for Plak, Mule, Drum
Poet Community and Rekids, John says: “Unless you have
a massive hit or are scoring movies or TV, there is no
living to be made out of producing music. The only way to
make a living in this game is through DJing and remixing,
which isn’t that easy either. That’s why lots of people
move to Berlin. I’m a big believer in the day job, that way
I don’t have to rely on music to pay my bills. I can do
music on my own terms. For me, music is escapism, a
“Most aspects
release if you will. If your release becomes your job, what
do you do then?”
of good electronic
Lee Holman, who has released angular techno on Russ music seem to be
Gabriel’s seminal Ferox label and respected European
imprints like Mowar, and has an EP due on Orlando
well represented in
Voorn’s Nightvision this year, views Ireland’s
geographical isolation from Europe as an advantage.
Dublin.”
“Being from Wexford, a small town, has its advantages.
Sunil Sharpe
There is not much to do, so it gives you plenty of time to
produce music whereas someone in a big city has a lot
more distractions but also a lot more inspiration from
John Daly
gigs and events,” he says. “It’s a chance to be more
creative and make your own sound and because you’re
not directly influenced… you come up with your own
ideas and experiment. Of course life and your
surroundings will always have an impact on what you
make. If times are tough, more than likely you will be
making a nasty, raw, hard-edged track, a mellow
melancholic deep piece and vice versa,” he says.
D.I.Y
Mantrap Records and its roster is probably Irish
electronic music’s best advert for doing it your own way.
Run by respected DJ Sunil Sharpe, its vinyl-only releases
and uncompromising, extreme explorations of techno
and electro makes nods to the grimy repetition of Female
and Regis, Landstrumm’s wonkiness and broken beat
east European techno, but also to industrialist
subversion and is presented with a whiff of punk’s
fuck-you attitude. Sunil explains that he set up the label
in 2007 because he wanted to do “something that
represented different styles I am into on the same label”.
While releases by Fran Hartnett and Rory St John have
attracted support from adventurous big names like
Surgeon and Dave Clarke, Sharpe explains that Irish
labels often have to fend for themselves.
“We have had a lot of people we respect playing the
releases, which in these bleak times is nice to know, but
While Derek says that Irish people are “very insular… we we’re slightly out of the loop. We have no record label
look to Britain and the US for our entertainment and infrastructure to speak of, and overall we are lacking the
that has not always been a good thing — Garth Brooks history that makes countries like the UK or Germany
anyone?” he also feels the Irish scene has improved more relevant.
greatly over the past decade. “But to be fair, we are a very small country. One of
In many ways, The Parallel aka Colin McKeown and Lee Ireland’s biggest downfalls in the past was an inherent
Rory St John
Holman have brought Carr’s musicality to the dancefloor. inferiority complex, which has started to become a lot
The former released an acclaimed debut vinyl, ‘The less noticeable. We have a lot to be proud of, and the
Parallel’, on Komisch last year, yet only started producing economic boom years allowed a lot of people to live a bit other genres and get wrapped up in your own thing, but
in 2005, and was inspired by classic Chicago house and more and feel equal — it’s quite possible that this the fact is that most aspects of good electronic music
Detroit techno. McKeown believes the high cost of living new-found confidence passed onto music producers seem to be well represented in Dublin.”
in Ireland makes it difficult for artists to produce full too,” he posits. “I tend towards the melancholic,” adds Fran Hartnett,
time, but is upbeat that the situation will change. So has Mantrap pollinated a strain of techno that reflects “and the man who still makes some of the saddest
“It’s not that easy for upcoming producers. I don’t think elements of the Irish psyche? sounding electronic music today, Aphex Twin, was born
anyone is full time and getting paid full time to do it. That “There are some parallels between some stereotypical in Ireland. But then he was born in Limerick, so maybe
could change soon, though, as the talent here is really Dublin attitudes and the intensity of certain genres, you couldn’t blame him for getting upset! But yeah, sure,
strong,” he says. However, John Daly, one of Ireland’s although I don’t know how definitive it is,” says Rory St we’re always crying.”
most successful international acts, disagrees with the John. “It can be easy to neglect or even be unaware of Perhaps part of the reason why Ireland appears to excel
031
DJ482.irish_featurePROOFED, PLEASE MAKE MORE SPACE FOR FIRST PULL QUOTE.indd 31 15/1/10 10:17:22
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