The Point of Everything

Zara Hedderman returns to the TPOE podcast to talk about some of our favourite albums from the past three months. We discuss Fiona Apple, Charli XCX, Phoebe Bridgers, Laura Marling, Perfume Genius, Bob Dylan, Blake Mills and more. Then we turn our focus to Ireland, from albums by Bleeding Heart Pigeons and Brigid Mae Power to singles from the likes of Ailbhe Reddy and CMAT, finishing up with a lit...

Limerick rapper Murli released a powerful new track recently off an EP off the same name, Till The Wheels Fall Off, that drops July 4. He talks about how the track was created, how it was born out of a racist incident at a football match and how now, with protests swelling around the world due to the murder of George Floyd in the US, was the right time to release it. We also talk about his journey...

Limerick trio Bleeding Heart Pigeons have released one of the best albums of the year so far with their second album Stir. Singer Mícheál Keating explains their journey to date, from major label to going independent, feeling part of the thriving Limerick scene and their sound. Outro music: Bleeding Heart Pigeons - 'All For The Best' Order Stir: https://bleedingheartpigeons.bandcamp.com/album/stir

Berlin-based act Evvol released their second album The Power earlier this month. Comprised of Dublin artist Julie Chance and Australian producer Jane Arnison, they say the album is a meditation on love, the intimate and personal offering is a product of turning their thoughts inward after time spent considering the state of the world and politics over the last year. Julie is the guest on the TPOE...

Fresh from releasing Murmuration, his debut album under the guise of Swimmers Jackson, Niall Jackson joins from his London home to discuss its creation, as well as Weezer's influence, how it differs from his other bands Bouts and Sweat Threats, how it helped "catalogue my 30s", getting through lockdown with help from Tim Burgess' Twitter listening parties, Irish music, and Normal People. Buy the a...

Brian McNamara and Viva Dean aka Brave Young Soldier released their debut EP I Live Here on May 1. Brian talks about how the project started in New York while they were living there together and how the sound developed. Then he explains how he helped co-found Dublin Digital Radio (DDR) a few years ago while driving back from Open Ear Festival, how the station has grown in the interim and how the l...

Dublin-based artist Naoise Roo has just released the Sick Girlfriend EP, her first new collection of music since debut album Lility in 2015. We talk about her taking a break from music, the mental health impact of being an artist nowadays, Fiona Apple, working with Rian Trench and Daniel Fox on the new EP and, of course, the Covid-19 lockdown. Outro music: Naoise Roo - Black Hole Buy the Sick Girl...

Belfast four piece Junk Drawer release their debut album Ready for the House on Friday, April 24. Singer/guitarist Stevie Lennox joins to discuss how the band developed, the influence of Pavement, how epilepsy has affected him and how he's tackled it and channelled it in the lyrics, why record labels like Art for Blind are still important, and plenty more besides. You can buy the album at https://...

Dublin four piece The Scratch released their debut album Couldn't Give a Rats at the end of March, having moved it up by three months. It followed a YouTube livestream on St Patrick's Day which got over 10,000 views. Conor Dockery talks about how the band fomed out of metal group Red Enemy, how busking was key to their development, along with realising certain things about being in a band don't ma...

After the release of her brilliant new album Future Nostalgia, has that elevated Dua Lipa into the upper echelons of the pop world? Journalist and music critic Louise Bruton joins to run through the world of pop through not one but five lists - Eternal top pop female idols - Personal faves - Hottest acts in the world right now - Arthouse pop (entities unto themselves) - One and done - but more to...

The first quarter of 2020 is in the books - music critic Zara Hedderman returns to the TPOE podcast to talk coping in the time of coronavirus, livestreaming gigs, albums of the year (Destroyer, Stephen Malkmus, Dua Lipa, Waxahatchee, Childish Gambino, Mac Miller, Tame Impala and more) and the best of Irish music so far.

This week's guest on the TPOE podcast is the Dublin rapper Paul Alwright aka Lethal Dialect, who's recently released the final part of his LD50 trilogy, which began in 2011. He's got two other albums under his belt as well, including one under his own name, Hungry, which came out in 2018. Over Skype, Alwright discusses why he went back to the Lethal Dialect moniker, life under coronavirus, life in...

Cork artist Ruairi Lynch celebrated 10 years of making music as Bantum by dropping a new track 'Gully' .We talk about how he's developed over the decade, collaborating with the likes of God Knows and Denise Chaila, supporting Jon Hopkins and Janus Rasmussen(Kiasmos), the burgeoning Limerick scene, dealing with stress, as well as discussing the effect of the coronavirus. We were both at the Girl Ba...

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson aka CMAT and Rachael Lavelle were the guests on a live recording of the TPOE podcast at Plugd over the Quarter Block Party weekend earlier this year. Relatively new artists, they talk about the art of songwriting, retreats/workshops, stanning each other's music, support from the Irish music industry and what to expect from both of them over 2020 and beyond.

It's the annual TPOE-Totally Irish Choice Prize preview show! Eoghan and John Barker go through each of the 10 nominees for Irish album of the year before predicting who we think is going home with the award. The show takes place at Vicar Street on Thursday, March 5. The nominees Daithi - L.O.S.S.  Mick Flannery -  Mick Flannery  Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel  Girl Band - The Talkies  Jafaris – Stride J...

Dublin-based band Autre Monde release their debut album The Imaginary Museum on Strange Brew Records this Friday, February 28. After playing together and with each other in various bands under the Popical Island collective, the foursome - Paddy Hanna (vocals), Padraig Cooney (bass, synth, vocals), Mark Chester (guitar) and Eoghan O’Brien (drums, synth, backing vocals) - got together and had their...

Matt Corrigan aka Ghostking Is Dead is a young artist from Cork City who releases his third EP, Fever Dreaming, via the Hausu Collective on February 28. He talks about how an older track featuring on the Needle Drop drove him to work harder on his music to reach this current phase. We chat about the vibrant Cork scene, his playing with Alex Gough, writing lyrics, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood,...

Galway-born, Dublin-based artist Maija Sofia released her debut album Bath Time at the tail end of 2019 and began 2020 with a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish album of the year, to be decided on March 5. It's a brilliantly immersive listen, one that continues to reward return listens. On the podcast, Maija discusses writing, songwriting, how the album came together, genre and defining her s...

Journalist Mike McGrath-Bryan (Red on Red podcast, The Echo, Nialler9.com) joins to look back at the decade in Cork music, from venues that have come and gone and come again to bands who burned brightly and briefly and ones who continue to put out great music. From the rap scene to the experimental/improve scene, there's loads that we could have talked about - this is but a mere snapshot of how Co...

The rise of rap music in Ireland was one of the themes of the 2010s - journalist/critic Dean Van Nguyen joins the pod to run down some of the defining artists of the decade, from Lecs Luther/Rejjie Snow to Kojaque, Rusangano Family to Mango, and new acts such as Denise Chaila, Reggie and Boy W1DR. We also tackle Versatile, Kanye West's gospel album, and Ciara and crunk'n'B Buy Iron Age: The Art of...

Junior Brother released my favourite album of 2019 in Pull The Right Rope so I was delighted to chat with him for the TPOE podcast as part of the Quiet Lights festival in the Kino in late November - thanks to Jon Pearson and the whole team for having me. I talked to Junior about his stellar 2019, supporting the likes of Glen Hansard and the Proclaimers, the backing - at just the right time - from...

Caoilian Sherlock and Aisling O'Riordan join the podcast as we round off our lookback on 2019. They share their top albums of the year as we deviate into talking points about venues in Cork (they work at the reopened Kino), mental health, Girl Band, Irish music in general, Lizzo, Beyonce and Solange, festivals such as Glastonbury and Primavera, Caoilian's own burgeoning music career, and then we g...

Journalist and music critic Zara Hedderman returns to run through our international albums of the year in part two of our best of 2019 podcast roundup, following the Irish songs and albums of the year show last week. From Weyes Blood to Ariana Grande and Vampire Weekend, we discuss our favourites records from a brilliant 12 months of music. Any thoughts or comments on the show, email thepointofeve...

Journalist and music critic Zara Hedderman returns for our best of 2019 podcast running through the Irish singles and albums of the year (international run-through to come). There are some tracks featured throughout the episode but check out thepointofeverything.com to hear all the songs and search TPOE on Spotify. It's been a great year for Irish music and this is just a taster.

Ashley Keating talks us through 30 years of the Frank & Walters in a live interview done in the Kino as part of the inaugural Cork Podcast Festival. From the very first gig on October 14, 1989 in De Barras through to Top of the Pops, Trains, Boats and Planes and Grand Parade, Setanta Records and much more, he's an open book on the long exalting journey of the Cork band. Frank & Walters live dates:...