The Point of Everything

Cormac Begley is a renowned concertina player from west Kerry. He played It Takes a Village festival in Trabolgan earlier this year - this interview was recorded by the beach the following afternoon from his raucous/informative set. We chat about touring in his van Beauty, trad music in general, the magic of the session, the effort of playing concertinas, and lots more. Happy new year! Intro music...

It's the TPOE best of 2021 podcast! Featuring lots of music, we run through our favourite tracks and albums of a strange year. The podcast features a whole cast of people who sent in audio recordings: Shane Dunne, Yenkee, CMAT, Le Boom, Emma Langford, Kestine, Jackie Beverly, John Barker, Niall 'Swimmers' Jackson and Fears

Galway singer-songwriter Eoin Dolan released his fourth original album, Mirror Liver, recently. It's a concept album, which is something he's done previously. Of second track 'Amulet of Love', he says it "tells the story of a community of early farmers who lived off the land approximately 3,000 years ago. It is a message celebrating our timeless and important relationship with the natural world."...

Steve Ryan, singer and guitarist with Windings, joins to discuss their fifth album, Focus on the Past 5, released via Out on a Limb records on Friday, November 12. We talk about songwriting, his plans for a PhD, and how Windings developed over the past 18 or so years, having started as a solo venture before taking a Giveamanakick-shaped detour and swelling to a five-piece, completed by Liam Marley...

Edel Doherty is one half of Art for Blind, a record label that's been running since 2004 and has released some great music over the years, including Altered Hours' debut album In Heat Not Sorry. Art for Blind are the organisers of Spilt Milk festival which takes place in Sligo on November 19-21. We talk about Sligo being a possible new hub for artists, what to expect from the festival, the stress...

Cork singer-songwriter Jack O'Rourke returns to the TPOE podcast ahead of the release of his second album, Wild Place, on November 5. It's a more stripped back affair than his 2016 debut Dreamcatcher and 2019 EP Ivory Towers, O'Rourke's songwriting standing front and centre, with a little orchestration behind. It was all done at the old piano at Cork's Triskel Christchurch over the past year and a...

Mayo singer-songwriter Maria Kelly released her brilliant debut album The Sum of the In-Between last Friday on Veta Records. With voicenotes from and with friends spread throughout, the record is a personal reveal and revelation from Maria, who's been releasing music for about five years. We talk about voicenotes and the ideal length, how the album developed and how she evolved as a writer, musici...

West Cork artist Rushes released his debut album, Glowchild, in September. A lush, skittery project, its hooks are irresistible as Sean Walsh leaves it all on display, On the podcast, he talks about growing up in Skibbereen, rowing, injuries, finding music, Kanye West, and "fierce ambition". Rushes play The Soundhouse in Dublin on November 20. Outro music: Rushes - 'Lost in Therapy'

HousePlants aka Daithi and Paul Noonan released their debut album Dry Goods in September. Made in lockdown, it offered respite, hope, and fun to the pair, as they created a record that works on a Saturday night or during your midweek downtime. This interview was recorded at It Takes a Village festival in Trabolgan, where HousePlants were playing their third ever gig together. They killed it, obvio...

Limerick act Hey Rusty released their debut album Anorak on September 3. Reminiscent of Elliot Smith and influenced by the early efforts of Camera Obscura and Richard Hawley, it's a lush solo effort by Sean Ahern that's aided by a whole host of friends - it was produced by Bleeding Heart Pigeons’ Mícheál Keating and features contributions from Brendan McInerney (Bleeding Heart Pigeons), Dan Walsh...

Dublin-based trio Havvk are Julie Hough (vocal, bass), Matt Harris (guitar) and Sam Campbell (drums) and they've just released their second record Levelling, which they say is an album about growing up and how our perceptions change over time, Levelling follows a chronology of life moments, whether that’s forming friendships, navigating societal expectations, managing your mental health, realising...

Following their collaboration on the single 'Baby Talk' in 2020, Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill return with a full album together, In The Game. They talk about how it came to be, working remotely in lockdown together, touring the US, inspirations, and lots more Outro Music: Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill - 'Are We Free?'

Dublin singer-songwriter and producer Orla Gartland released her long-awaited debut album Woman on the Internet in mid-August. She says it was a long time coming: "Announcing my debut album feels like a moment I've been waiting for for years. Something clicked into place last year - I grew into my role as a producer and lyrically I knew what I wanted to say. Although this album was made in 2020 it...

Singer, guitarist, and flautist John Francis Flynn has just released his debut solo album, I Would Not Live Always, on River Lea Recordings. He talks about it was created with a whole host of great collaborators, the art of the session - and not burning yourself out on them - his musical journey, Lankum, and lots more. Outro music: John Francis Flynn - 'My Son Tim'

Cosha has just released her debut album Mt Pleasant. She talks about leaving Dublin for London to make it in the music industry when she was 17, touring with Mura Masa, moving from Bonzai (RIP) to Cosha, the relationship required with producers in the studio, and lots more. Outro music: Cosha - 'Do You Wanna Dance'

Gemma and Morgan aka Saint Sister return to the TPOE podcast to talk about their superb second album Where I Should End. They discuss the impact of lockdown on the record, what's different to their debut Shape of Silence, why they've chosen to put themselves all over the album, the recording process, songwriting and lots more. Outro music: Saint Sister - 'Any Dreams?'

Ahead of the release of his fifth album Grapefruit Season in September, James Vincent McMorrow joins the show to talk about a new project he's been working on called Co-Living Culture with David Anthony Curley (Otherkin - RIP) and Cody Lee. Recorded at David's studio The Clinic, their first song 'Renegador' is an ode to the venues in Dublin, many of which are now gone, where you might hear a recor...

Denise Chaila had a wild 2020, from playing the National Gallery as part of the Other Voices Courage series to releasing 'Chaila' and then the mixtape GO Bravely, which subsequently won the Choice Prize. In her first interview since the Choice win, she talks about new single '061', reflects on the past 12 months and looks forward to what's next. Outro music: Denise Chaila - '061'

Royal Yellow is Dublin electronic producer Mark O'Brien, formerly of the much louder band Enemies. He's crafted and honed a chilled, jazz-flecked sound since starting the project a few years ago and has recently released his debut EP, Still: Until, which you can order at royalyellow.bandcamp.com. We talk about the label he's co-founded, collaboration, the state of Dublin venues and clubbing, the w...

Following the release of 'No Forever' with MayKay earlier in 2021, Elaine Mai returns with another taste of her forthcoming, long-awaited debut album. 'Still Feel' features Ailbhe Reddy and sounds ready-made for longer summer days. Elaine Mai talks about how it was created over lockdown, why she wanted to work with Ailbhe and what we can expect from her album.

Two guests on this week's episode of the TPOE podcast, both of whom are releasing solo work after playing roles in acclaimed bands. First up is Neil Dexter, whose band Spies played their final show in Whelan's in February 2020. He's just put out debut single 'Loving You'. He talks about the end of Spies, how they knew it was coming to a close but just didn't know when, when he started thinking abo...

Cork-born fiddler, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Clare Sands has recently released the second of her four-part series Tírdreacha agus Fuaimdreacha (Landscapes and Soundscapes). The song itself is called ‘Abair Liom do Rúin (Tell Me Your Secrets)’ and features Steve Cooney and Tommy Sands. The first part was 'Carry My Song', featuring Susan O'Neill. Clare talks about the origins of the p...

RnB artist Erica Cody is part of Extraterrestial: A Black Irish Celebration of Identity. It is a free livestream event curated by the National Concert Hall and District taking place this Thursday, May 20 at 8pm, and you can watch on the NCH YouTube/Facebook pages. Other performers include FeliSpeaks, Alicia Raye, Celaviedmai, JyellowL, Reggie and Tebi Rex. On this chat with Erica Cody, we talk abo...

Constance Keane aka Fears released her debut album Oiche last Friday, May 7. It's the first full-length release on her own TULLE label, a women-led independent record label focused on working with and for underrepresented voices in music. We talk about starting a label in a pandemic, the five-year-plus journey of creating Oiche, its 'concept' through growing from challenges, instability, and relat...

It's been 10 years since Plugd Records and Gulpd cafe opened their doors at Cork's Triskel Arts Centre - Record Store Day 2011, April 16, to be precise. It was a special time for Cork, and those venues meant a lot to people. To celebrate a glorious six years, a special episode of the TPOE podcast featuring 13 contributors recalling some of their favourite memories at the venue: people who worked t...