Album opener I Hate Myself, I Want To Party sets the tone for 23-year-old King Princess’ new album which follows her 2019 debut Cheap Queen. With descriptive and meaningful lyrics sung with a dulcet yet powerful voice, she allows us to follow her message,
In association
BEYONCE’S energetic, hedonistic new album does what it says on the tin.
Renaissance means rebirth in French, and the pop superstar achieves exactly that by using dance floorfocused genres such as disco, Afrobeats and house, while adding personal flair.
The
16-track offering is her seventh studio album, and her first in six years, following the critically acclaimed Lemonade in 2016.
It features samples from artists including Robin S, Donna Summers and Giorgio Moroder, and production and writing credits
KING PRINCESS – HOLD ON BABY with from her rapper husband Jay-Z.
The result is an eclectic but extremely pleasing aural experience, which will have fans old and new grooving wherever they are to bops including Cuff
It, Summer Renaissance and previously released single Break My Soul.
Tracks such as Plastic Off The Sofa show off the singer’s world-famous vocal chops, but laid over more funky bass beats.
It gets a steamy in places too, with Church featuring risque lyrics, earning its Parental Advisory sticker. 8/10
BY ALL accounts, this year’s All Together Now festival was a triumphant celebration of music, the arts and culture in the way that its originator ‒ the late, great John Reynolds ‒ had intended.
The three-day Co Waterford weekender also gave birth to one of the most innovative Irish DJ shows to grace an Irish stage.
Al Gibbs Holotronic kicked off on the Road To Nowhere stage at 2am and as these pictures attest, it was a DJ show like no other before.
The previously empty tent was full to capacity within 10 minutes with thousands of revellers losing their mind to the thunderous combination of high-octane dancefloor bangers and next level visuals.
A beaming Gibbs recalled: “All Together now was just amazing. Thousands of people showed up to see the show. We went from zero capacity to full in 10 minutes.”
It’s a complicated performance to set up and execute and the FM104 dance guru said that he and his crew were up all night on Thursday to make sure it happened.
“Pulling off holograms is no easy feat, and it is even harder in a tent with so many factors not your control,” he added. “But the crew worked their asses off to make it happen.”
Mesmerising visuals alone will not keep an audience engrossed for a couple of hours, so Gibbs has devised a spectacular soundtrack to drive the Holotronic experience as it’s a show that needs to work in every setting: club, arena and festival.
Gibbs explained the thought and effort behind the carefully crafted sonic celebration of Irish dance music history.
“The music for Holotronic is a mix of old and new,” he said. “But every track is a one of my remakes or re-edits — or a remaster that’s just been beefed up for today’s sound systems.
Synonymous
“I tried to pick tracks that I had first plays on, exclusive tracks we had helped launch in Ireland on the radio show on FM104 over the years. Tracks that are synonymous with Freaks on Friday.”
Holotronic was, incidentally, inspired by a visit to the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. A floating 3D head of a witch intrigued him and kicked off his fascination with 3D technology.
Some years later he noticed a similar piece at a theatre where Butterflies were floating above the stage. He Googled the illusion and was hooked.
“Holograms have been used to wow audiences for over 100 years,” Gibbs enthused. “Pepper’s Ghost is the age-old smoke and mirrors illusion of projecting an image from under a stage to a mirror on a stage.”
Al Gibbs Holotronic at ATN was the first DJ show in Ireland to incorporate such holographic 3D and 2D technology and take DJ performances to the next level.
The ensuing euphoria in the small hours at ATN is a testament to its success.
A suitably thrilled Gibbs added: “It’s fair to say it rocked. I’m so happy people have seen the show and loved the show. Relieved, happy, de-stressed and ready for the next one.
Watch this space.”