Since it first began broadcasting on Raidió na Gaeltachta in May 1999, An Taobh Tuathail has become essential listening for anyone who wants to keep abreast of underground and innovative trends in rock, dance, electronic, and world music.
Cian Ó Cíobháin is the presenter of An Taobh Tuathail which is broadcast Mondays to Fridays from 11pm to 1pm. This Friday the show will be broadcast live from the Róisín Dubh for the launch of the new compilation CD, An Taobh Tuathail Vol II, and on stage performances from Somadrone, Rarely Seen Above Ground, and Alphamono.
An Taobh Tuathail Vol II (Psychonavigation Records ) will feature music from French instrumentalist Colleen, Galway band Cane 141, Chequerboard, Mice Parade, Somadrone (Neil of the Redneck Manifesto ), and Songs Of Green Pheasant, to name but a few.
“It’s a compilation of music that has interested me over the past year,” Cian tells me. “When you go through the racks of compilations in the record stores you’ll see specific compilations of indie, dance, music for dads, and even for cooking. Most of the tracks are the same and you can hear them any time on the radio.
“This will be very different. This is music you’ll rarely hear on the radio. I’ve gone for an autumnal, soulful feel and it takes from all different genres, yet listening back to it, it has a unity of mood and hangs together like an album.”
The headline act for An Taobh Tuathail live from the Róisín will be Somadrone (Neil O’Connor ), who, through his albums Fuzzing Away To A Whisper and Of Pattern And Purpose, has established himself as Ireland’s leading young composer of imaginative and intriguing avant garde and ambient music.
A hallmark of Somadrone is that he incorporates acoustic instruments into his electronic music, giving it a warmth and personality that genre can often lack.
“That’s what I like about him, his music is very organic,” says Cian. “His track on the CD, ‘Our Ears Were Like Canyons’, there is a lot of folk and almost Arcade Fire type elements to it, which then explodes.”
Rarely Seen Above Ground and Alphamono are newer acts who will be releasing their debut albums later this year on Psychonavigation Records, run by Keith Downey.
“Rarely Seen Above Ground is a one man show from Kilkenny,” says Cian. “His music has been likened to Joy Division and Talking Heads but I hear LCD Soundsystem. He’s a drummer and there is a lot of throbbing bass. There is also a guy who joins him onstage to provide visuals.
“Keith Downey assures me Alphamono are a bit like Daft Punk and Air. I’ve not seen them live yet, but I like getting bands that have not yet made a name for themselves.”
An Taobh Tuathail is arguably the leading programme for underground, world, techno, and cutting edge new music. What was the original impulse of the show and how does Cian regard the development of its philosophy since?
“It’s definitely taken on its own personality,” he says. “When I started in 1999 I wasn’t thinking of what to play in the coming weeks, it was to fill out an hour and 40 minutes without using English as you couldn’t play English language songs on RnaG then.
“It was a challenge for me so I played a lot of instrumental funk and jazz and then I did a dance show but it was ‘classics’ based. The show started to build a name for itself and as I started to build relationships with record labels I started getting more and more new music and the show became about playing the latest music and releases.
“Today if I don’t play at 30 to 40 per cent new music in a show I feel it hasn’t been a success so I feel I have a duty to play good new bands. It’s about finding and listening.
Mondays to Wednesdays are devoted to electronica, dream-pop, alt-folk, post-rock, soundtracks, world music, and jazz. Thursdays and Fridays are given to house, electro, and techno - in short the kind of music that is normally not heard on national radio.
“I love Queen and Bruce Springsteen but eyebrows can be raised if I play that,” says Cian. “People say ‘We can hear that on any station, any time of the day. This is a programme that is a non-commercial zone for two hours.’ So the show has taken on its own personality and listeners are precious about it.”
An Taobh Tuathail is coming close to 10 years on the go, so when May 2009 rolls around, is Cian planning any celebrations?
“I’ve only started thinking about it in the last two weeks, he admits. “I think I’ll probably get people to email in their suggestions. Have a party? A festival might be good. We’d beat them all to it with it being in May! Or maybe we should have two hours of silence - people sitting at pianos and not playing - to reflect on the last 10 years!”
