Levity Breaks create a sound that blends a driving melody with sweeping dynamics creating an alternative rock sound that has already garnered them attention as one of the hottest new acts on the Northern Ireland music scene.
The band is fronted by Marty McLoughlin, alongside Jonny McGuinness on keyboards, Richie Lappin on guitar and Eamon Lenehan on drums, who together form an energetic and commanding stage presence.
The band formed in late 2010 after a chance meeting and released their debut single in September 2011 with support from Derry’s Wonder Villains and have an EP launch planned for mid 2012. They have performed headline shows at Radar with BBC Introducing and Pure Savage Promotions, featured on BBC Ulster’s ATL show and BBC Introducing show and also featured as cover stars on the Queen’s University QU magazine distributed UK wide with a print of over 30,000.
Between the band, as individuals, they have previously toured with artists such as Snow Patrol, Buzzcocks, British Sea Power, Iain Archer, The La’s, Bell X1, The Frames, Nine Black Alps, The Ordinary Boys and have featured at prestigious festivals such as Oxegen, T-Vital and The Electric Picnic. Members of the band have also recorded sessions for Universal Publishing under producer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols.
Radar Presents
In Case of Fire
Before Machines & Like Statues
Speakeasy Bar
Thursday 1st March 2011
Doors 9pm/Admission Free
The return of Portadown’s In Case Of Fire to Radar is surely not one to be missed. The band spent the end of 2011 touring with Switchfoot with an exciting new-line-up and are currently recording an E.P that is due in the coming months.
After their debut album “Align The Planets” received numerous critical plaudits across the board (Q 4/5, Uncut 4/5, Kerrang 4/5, Big Cheese 5/5) in 2009 alongside three Radio 1 playlisted singles and two Maida Vale sessions, ICOF toured relentlessly throughout the UK showcasing their much lauded live set supporting acts such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Biffy Clyro and 30 Seconds To Mars.
The band yielded spectacular results in the form of consistently jaw-dropping performances at Glastonbury (Other Stage), T in The Park (Radio 1/NME stage), Reading/Leeds (Radio 1/NME stage), Download (Second Stage) and Summersonic in Japan. The trio capped off a remarkable year by winning ’Best Newcomers’ at the 2009 Kerrang Awards. Having parted amicably with their management at the end of 2010, ICOF decided to take a break from touring and have spent 2011 crafting their much awaited sophomore record.
Support from:
Before Machines
Having launched their last single ‘Stalagmites’ in the Union’s Bunatee towards the end of 2011, fans of Before Machines are eagerly awaiting hearing the bands forthcoming album. With guitar work that is dually heavy and intricate their sound recalls acts such as Jetplane Landing and At The Drive In.
&
Like Statues
Hailing from Lisburn, the progressive four-piece began turning heads last year with the release of their Numeric By Design EP. With a sound that is sure to appeal to fans of bands such as Biffy Clyro, Incubus and Reuben, the band return to Radar having headlined their own show here last year.
I went to watch this and didn’t really think it’d be too funny, but i was wrong. Lots of chuckles!
This is fabulous! I know someone exactly like this!
Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized
Sometimes we forget how beautiful things can be. Here’s a refresher.
THis guy is too funny! Pushing awkward to a new level!
LIGHTS: +
NIGHTBOX
Sunday 12 February 2012: BELFAST/Speakeasy
Tickets: £10 + booking fee
+14’s Show
Available from December 15th at 9am from Ticketmaster.ie and Queens Student Union.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lights
Official Video for Second GO : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPLRkyGU3cM
Biography
When electro-rock sensation Lights first hit the music scene in 2008, she was just a songwriter with a synth and a dream. Her name may have been pluralized but Lights Poxleitner was a one-woman show who played and programmed her own instruments and sang her own lyrics.
This admirable self-reliance is rare in pop—in fact, Lights, signed a publishing deal at 16 and began writing songs for other artists—but after her 2008 self-titled debut EP (precocious enough to earn her a best new artist Juno) and gold-selling full-length follow-up The Listening, Lights was ready to open herself up to collaborations on her unexpectedly experimental album Siberia. And by choosing such leftfield collaborators as live electronic outfit Holy Fuck and rising rapper Shad, she also opened up her sound.
“It’s a huge step,” she readily admits. “For a year after my first record, I was confused and searching. I was writing all over the place and not finding anything that was essentially different. But after tour last year I was turned onto dubstep.”
The genre’s grimy beats and sonic minimalism influenced the creation of Siberia, if not necessarily shaping the music itself (though she does pay homage with a dubstep drop on “Fourth Dimension.”)
Rather, dubstep led Lights away from the “perfection” of her past work. “Everything was tuned and timed just right. The new stuff is raw and gritty but still pop with a focus on the melodies. It’s the marriage of those two that make it really different and unlike anything I’ve ever done before.”
This dirtier direction came from collaborating with Holy Fuck, a fellow Juno-winning, electronic-influenced Canadian act who she met when both played the dance stage at last year’s Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK. Impressed by their “grime and grit,” she decided to see what might happen when she infused her pop sensibilities with their experimental tendencies.
“I went over to Brian [Borcherdt’s] house with Graham [Walsh] and we just started jamming until something started to form, as opposed to the last record which was more structured and less live feeling. We wired old synths and toy synths through all these pedals and machines from their junk table,” she laughs. “They’re straight-up mad scientists.”
Her other main collaborator was Shad, who she knew through a mutual friend. “He’s so humble and so intelligent,” she says, “and I knew he’d kill it.” Indeed, Shad drops his typically articulate knowledge on the crunchy, soiled “Everybody Breaks a Glass” and “Flux and Flow,” which Lights describes as “the perfect marriage of this sweet melody and the hardest beat ever. It’s about how that applies to life because you have to be soft and you have to be strong.”
Lyrically, the album is light years from her last, which was written when the singer, who spent much of her childhood travelling to places like the Philippines and Jamaica with her missionary parents, had left the nest and landed in Toronto. “A lot of those songs came from a sad but hopeful place. I was alone and pondering a lot. I’m a lot more aware of the person I am now and each of these songs is about an experience I’ve gone through,” she says. “This record came from a very happy place.”
Then why is it called Siberia? “It’s based on something that was said to me, that we could be happy even in a place like Siberia. It was such an inspiring thing to say, because Siberia is cold and a little daunting and represents unfamiliar territory.” That last bit is particularly sticky for Lights, who left her safe pop haven for these unexplored sonics, though the metaphor carries even further because despite being an infamous land of ice and exile, Siberia is epically beautiful and so is Siberia.
The dividend from her early award-winning success—not to mention her sprawling online footprint which includes over a half-million Facebook fans and over a quarter-million Twitter followers, not to mention a cult fanbase amongst the Comic-Con set—is her current artistic freedom.
Joining the Work It Media print roster for 2012,âDaysâ is the third single to be taken from The Drumsâ second album âPortamentoâ. Standing out for its sparse thorny guitar, foreboding harmonies and crest-fallen sentiment, the track perfectly showcases The Drumsâ knack for making the melancholy feel so alluring and cathartic.
The Drumsâ frontman Jonny Pierce explains, âWhen I wrote and recorded it I thought it might be just another heartbreak song, but when I listened back to it I saw it was more than that. It was a reaction to years of trying to make things work one way and then having a breakthrough and realizing sometimes you have to start over completely from scratch to be at peace with yourself. â
The singleâs release date of February 27th 2012 also sees The Drums headline an NME Awards Show at Londonâs Roundhouse as part of a short UK tour. Support will come from Spector.
Prior to these dates, the band will be heading to Australia and Singapore for the Laneway Festival and two shows in Melbourne and Sydney with Cults.
Full 2012 UK tour dates:
- February 26: Liverpool, Academy 2
- February 27: London, Roundhouse (NME Awards Show)
- February 28: Oxford, Academy 2
See The Drums perform an acoustic version of Days, as well as a few other tracks, at a secret last minute set in East London just before Christmas.
This is CRAZY! It took me a minute to figure out how to say my own name backwards and i still got it wrong. Pretty impressive stuff!
Rihanna embarks on first television
project with Sky Living
⢠Rihanna Brings New Fashion Series to Sky Living HD
⢠Nicola Roberts to co-host the search for Britainâs most exciting new fashion talent
⢠10 x 60â fashion series exclusive to Sky Living HD
International superstar Rihanna is producing and appearing in an original and hugely ambitious new fashion project for Sky Living HD.
Sky Living HD has commissioned Twenty Twenty (a Shed Media Group company) to produce the show which features Rihanna in her debut role as a TV executive.
Synonymous with cutting-edge style, the âWe Found Loveâ singer is searching Britain for the next generation of raw, undiscovered designer talent and has hand-picked Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts to head up the challenge for her.
The show is at the heart of Sky Livingâs 2012 programming schedule which will feature a raft of fantastic new British commissions.
In this brand new TV format Rihanna takes on her first role as Executive Producer working predominantly behind the scenes, although she will also appear in front of the camera.
The show will celebrate the extraordinary talent and creativity in the British fashion scene. With Rihanna, a fashion icon herself, and Nicola, who created her own Dainty Doll make-up range, at the helm, the show will recognise the increasing influence popstars have on mainstream trends.
Rihanna will work closely with Twenty Twentyâs senior editorial team including CEO Tim Carter and executive producers Ana De Moraes and Daniel Marlowe.
With her world-class reputation and passion for style, Rihanna is perfectly placed to find an aspiring designer worthy of the chance to break into the hugely competitive world of fashion. Tasking Nicola with fronting the search, Rihanna will be heavily responsible for casting, and will be involved in editing post production.
Rihanna â who has sold 20 million albums - will also be hands on as the programme showcases Britainâs most promising fashion designers. Over ten weeks the unknown designers will be challenged by Rihanna and Nicola to create outfits for a string of musicians and celebrities.
The final challenge and ultimate task for the winner will be to design a unique stage outfit for Rihannaâs Wireless performance in Hyde Park in July 2012. The chance to dress one of the worldâs most famous women for an event that will attract worldwide coverage is the perfect springboard for the aspiring designerâs future fashion career.
The series is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50 percent over the next three years. The show is integral to Director of Sky Living Jane Johnsonâs strategy to attract the biggest talent to the channel. The series will premiere in summer 2012.
Executive Producer, Rihanna said: âI’ve always had a great love of fashion. It’s a constant source of
inspiration in my life, and is a big reason why I’ve grown into the person and artist I am today. I have been very fortunate to work with some truly amazing designers and stylists throughout my career, and they have been instrumental in making sure my creative vision reaches the stage. I am excited to follow the journey of our aspiring contestants and see how their individuality influences their efforts during the course of the show.”
Nicola Roberts said: âI am so excited to be working with Rihanna on finding a new British up and coming designer. I was so flattered when she asked me to work with her on this show. I’m so excited for us to get started on finding a new up and coming British designer who just needs a chance, a little bit of help in getting their skills noticed.
Â
There are talented people, undiscovered because they don’t have the means or their circumstances are too far away from the fashion world. This show is here to discover those people and give them a shot. I’m looking for someone who can think outside the box while using their imagination, someone who isn’t going to give up at the first hurdle and ultimately someone who can’t be undiscovered anymore.
Â
I love both Rihanna’s music and her style. I love that she isn’t afraid to try new things. Her style is personal and that’s something I’m a fan of. You can see a genuine love for fashion in her. She is definitely one of my style icons.Â
Jane Johnson, Director of Sky Living, commented: “I am thrilled that Sky Living is working with Rihanna on her first ever TV project. She is a great talent with a huge international following and a brilliant and individual fashion sense. The Sky Living audience love her, she is full of ideas and enthusiasm for the show and is committed to giving a fresh and undiscovered talent a huge opportunity. Â Weâre looking forward to her bringing something new and very special to the channel.”
Tim Carter, CEO,Twenty Twenty also commented: “This is a genuine, and therefore hugely exciting, creative partnership. Rihanna brings ideas, passion and vision to this project. We can’t wait to collaborate with her”.
Alongside Rihanna, the series will be Executive Produced by Sadia Butt from Sky and Ana De Moraes from Twenty Twenty.
The series was commissioned by Sadia Butt, Commissioning Editor, Sky Entertainment. The series will TX on Sky Living HD in summer 2012.
Oh gosh, look what came in at number 1! Maybe we are caught in the hype, but we seriously loved it!
Top Ten Spy Films
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY released today on DVD and Blu Ray Steelbook
To celebrate the release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on DVD and Steelbook Blu Ray today, we count down the top 10 spy films over the years.
10. Mr and Mrs SmithÂ
The film stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as a bored married couple who learn that they are both master assassins when they are sent on the same job. After the double booking they begin to suspect each other and so the cat and mouse game of catch the spy starts. Â The film develops as this great action/comedy for the first half and the second goes balls-to-the-wall action. Â This is definitely one of those films people need to be more honest with themselves and just admit that itâs plain awesome.
9. MunichÂ
The film, based on a true story, shows how a squad of assassins, led by former Mossad agent Avner (Eric Bana), track down and kill a list of Black September members thought to be responsible for the eleven Israeli athletes’ murders. This is a powerhouse of a film, thatâs beautifully acted and scripted.
8. Mission ImpossibleÂ
Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his quest to uncover a mole within the Impossible Mission Force who has framed him for killing his team. That dangling scene and an absolutely cracking theme tune make this a memorable movie adaptation.
7. SyrianaÂ
A politically-charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it. Starring and executively produced by George Clooney, Syriana is not for the faint of heart. With complex storylines and a torture scene that is sure to stay with you for some time, this is a film that will leave you equally exhausted and exhilarated.
6. The Tailor of Panama
John le Carré’s books are resurgent thanks to the new film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor. This 2001 John Boorman movie sees Geoffrey Rush’s tailor reluctantly finding himself acting as a spy, with disastrous consequences. Also starring Pierce Brosnan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson, and Daniel Radcliffe (in his film debut) this is sure to keep you engaged.
5. TakenÂ
Should you kidnap a hot American girl to sell on the black market, be sure her father isnât a former spy that can come, find you, and kill you. Â Liam Neeson reminds us that he can still be a grade-A action star. Â The film takes us through the streets of France in an action packed Spy film with a ticking clock as a man tries to find his daughter.
4. Spies Like UsÂ
Chevy Chase and Dan Akroyd are two bad spies. Â However, they are sent on a decoy mission to keep the bad guys focus on them as opposed to the real spies whoâre trying to save the day. Â But somehow they end up saving the day anyways. Directed by John Landis, a classic that is sure to keep you laughing on the edge of your seat.
3. The Bourne TrilogyÂ
Matt Damon plays former CIA assassin and psychogenic amnesiac Jason Bourne, the twenty-first century spy embroiled in international intrigue so confusing and unpredictable that his mission transforms from revealing others’ identities to discovering his own. The fourth movie, The Bourne Legacy, is scheduled for release in August 2012.
2. Dr. NoÂ
The first James Bond movie, with Sean Connery snugly fitting into the role he would define for the next decade, is also the closest the series has to offer in the way of a no-frills spy thriller. It adhered to the classic spy paradigm perfected by Hitchcock but also started a trend of modern, paranoid Cold War espionage movies that would pave the way for darker entries like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s light on the gadgets that would eventually make Bond a lark, and instead bets on the tough and gritty — yet still adventurous and sexy — work of a real spy.
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyÂ
Set in the 1970s, George Smiley, a recently retired MI6 agent is doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects â all experienced, urbane, successful agents â but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
âA spy masterpieceâ¦timelessâ¦brilliant.â
*****Â
THE TIMES
âA rich and rewarding tale of honour and betrayalâ¦Gary Oldman is sheer perfectionâ
*****
SUNDAY MIRROR
  *****    *****   ****
DAILY EXPRESS Â TELEGRAPH Â THE GUARDIAN
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy
Benedict Cumberbatch and John Hurt
Out To Own On DVD, Double-Play (including Steelbook edition) & EST January 30, 2012
Also available in limited deluxe double play edition with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy novel, original soundtrack, bespoke notepad, playing cards, onset photographs and exclusive film cell
STUDIOCANAL are pleased to announce the Home Entertainment release of number one UK box office success TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, a tense, cerebral and captivating adaptation of John le Carrés genre-defining bestseller. Set at the height of The Cold War, with international relations poisoned with paranoia and deception, Britainâs Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), codenamed âThe Circusâ, is striving to keep pace with other countries attempts at counter-espionage, and keep the UK secure. The Chief of the Circus, âControlâ (John Hurt, The Elephant Man, Brighton Rock) personally sends dedicated agent Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong, Kick Ass, The Guard) into Hungary, but the mission goes bloodily awry, forcing Control out of his position, and the circus, along with trusted lieutenant George Smiley (Gary Oldman, The Dark Knight, The Fifth Element), a career spy with razor-sharp senses. However when disgraced agent Rikki Tarr (Tom Hardy, Inception, Warriors) reappears with devastating information that The Circus has long been compromised by a mole working for the soviets, Smiley is secretly conscripted back into service and the murky world of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects - all experienced, urbane, successful agents - but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment. Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate, as the hunt leaves a trail or murder, doubt and double crosses in itâs wake. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY has been made for the screen by Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) with the screenplay adapted by the writing team of Bridget OâConnor and Peter Straughan.
Cadburyâs Joyville â Westfield, Shepherdâs Bush, London â 21st January
January is something a lot of us try to get out of the way as painless as possible, with its short dark days and unfriendly weather it always feels like a false start to the year. Or thatâs how I see it.
Cadburyâs had a different idea for how to begin 2012. On Saturday 21st January they brought their Magnificent Musical Fountain all the way from Joyville (where Cadburyâs Dairy Milk is made) to Westfield shopping centre in London.
Chocolate wouldnât be so good at cheering us up in the winter if it wasnât for all the joy inside it, and Cadburyâs Magnificent Musical Fountain let us all see exactly how the joy is put into chocolate.
Dressed in purple Cadburyâs cloaks we were given cups of melted chocolate and taken for a short tour around the fountain by a nutty (but genius) professor, who calculates exactly how to put the joy in the chocolate. His colleagues laughed and danced their way around the fountain carefree but surprisingly adept at keeping the melted river of chocolate running.
Like anything else aimed at children, the success of the event can be measured by how the children enjoyed it. The smiles on their faces plastered with chocolate told me that it was a great success. So much so that when I gave back my cloak at the kiosk I filled in a job application to work there. Answering questions like âFavourite hairstyle?â (I said âquiffâ) and âReply to the statement Budgerigarâ (I said âribbetâ [like a frog[) was pretty tricky, but I think I did okay. They said theyâd let me know if I got the job by 2020. Thereâs a long waiting list, but Iâm patient, and hopeful. It must be all the joy in the chocolate.
Joyvilleâs Magical Musical Fountain will be cropping up in other towns and cities throughout the UK throughout 2012 so watch out for it at: http://www.cadburydairymilk.co.uk/
Article by Gerard McKeown
Shine.net presents:
TRIBES
& GUESTS
The Stiff Kitten, Belfast
Saturday 5th May 2012
Early show, doors 7pm / Tickets £9 / Over 18’s only
Tickets available from Friday 3rd February from  www.shine.net, The Kitten Bar and Ticketmaster Outlets.
Camden-based Indie upstarts ‘TRIBES’ are set for a headline tour of the UK this spring to celebrate the release of their debut album ‘Baby’. This comes straight off the back of the NME Awards Tour where they will play across the UK with NME pinups Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy and Azealia Banks.
Â
They will play an early show The Stiff Kitten, Belfast on Saturday 5th May with tickets going on sale this Friday 3rd February at 9am!Â
Tribes debut album ‘Baby’ is available now.
NME â 9/10
The Guardian â 4/5
Artrocker 5/5
If the past couple of yearâs have been rockânârollâs radio iceage, right now our toes are teetering on the brink of a lush new dawn. The question is; beyond the shit-storm of supposed saviour bands whose name-drops christened the New Year, which of the lauded gangs of axe-wielders are the genuine sculptors of tomorrow? Well, of the few promised Next Big Things, none have actually earned their hype more than Camdenâs Tribes. âWhen youâre a kid you want to be cool, so you make experimental weird music. But for us, I think there just came a point where we couldnât be bothered messing around anymore,â prophesises singer Johnny Lloyd. âI realized that thereâs no point being in a band if youâre not gonna be one of those life-changing bands.
Not the oneâs you stroke your chin too, the oneâs you beat your heart plate to.â Itâs this unabashed manifesto of anthemia thatâve taken the rag-tag four-piece from prodigious debutant slots opening for idols The Pixies, to relentless grassroots grafting of the UKâs dives, to being christened âThe future of rockân’rollâ by fanboys The Mystery Jets, a sentiment chimed by everyone from NME to Radio 1â²s Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe, the latter of whom named their debut single Hottest Record In The World amidst an airwave airstrike that saw it tear through most of the BBC and XFM. Theyâre a shining testament to the blood, sweat and tears so many buzz bands seem to bypass these days, at their peril. Joining the dots between Nirvana and The Libertines, their debut album, including lead single âSaphoâ is a fittingly heart-racing call-to-arms for a generation left crying out for band name worthy of being Tip-Exâd onto a satchel.
A video of things exploding in microwaves. Ever wonder what would happen if you put a watermelon in the microwave? Or a lightbulb? Or a champagne bottle? We slowed it down for you so you wouldn’t miss a thing. Real explosions…just not in real time. And yep, it’s true. Microwaves ruin EVERYTHING.
