VINYL JOY AS RECORDS RETURN
IN THE heart of Dublin’s Glasnevin area, a new state-of-the-art record pressing plant is open for business. Set up and run by a group of musicians and DJs, the factory is servicing Ireland and the world with vinyl records and is already doing a roaring trade.
It’s no wonder, then, that Ireland’s latest festival is centred around the humble record.
Vinyl takes place over three days at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham from tomorrow and features specially programmed talks, panel discussions, curated collections, music performances, album playbacks, art exhibits, pop-up stores, signings and equipment showcases.
And the line-up has gathered some of the greatest stars from the international stage, music lovers, obsessive fans, punks, mods, rockers, ravers and even a Peaky Blinder thrown in for good measure. Snow Patrol are one of the draws for Saturday when they will present an exclusive playback of select tracks from their forthcoming album Wildness in the company of broadcaster and writer Edith Bowman.
Shane MacGowan will reveal his favourite records to Stiff Dave Robinson, the legendary Chrissie Hynde will chat with Pete Paphides about The Pretenders some 40 years on, while Bob Geldof will discuss the early days of the Boomtown Rats, punk/pop success, international fame, and why he will always be a musician. Cillian Murphy takes off his Peaky Blinders cap to converse with Geoff Barrow about the latter’s stellar music career while Sharon Horgan will be asking the questions of her pal and Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess. My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields will reveal all about the band’s forthcoming album to music journalist Eamon Sweeney, Sherlock star Martin Freeman will also be dropping by to discuss his new compilation album created for the Acid Jazz label with Eddie Piller. And they are just two of the famous faces who will be taking to the decks at Soul Fusion’s after party in Drop Dead Twice on Francis Street on Saturday and Sunday.
Everyone from Tracey Thorn to The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst are rumoured to be dropping a few of their tunes for a select number of adoring fans.
Saturday also sees performances from two behemoths, UNKLE legend James Lavelle and Andrew Weatherall with some secret special guests, while Freeman and Eddie Piller are on the cards for Sunday, alongside the Soul Fusion crew.
So far tickets for Saturday’s daytime event are sold out while some remain for Sunday and Monday via the Ticketmaster website. For tickets for the after show events, see Soul Fusion’s Facebook page.