Villagers began life as a nameless collection of musical poems, all under the pen of one Conor J. O'Brien, formerly of Dublin group The Immediate, which disbanded in May 07.

...And so we come to 'Hollow Kind', a four-track EP written and performed solely by Conor, recorded by guitarist Tommy McLaughlin, and released by drummer James Byrne on his 'Any Other City' label. It acts as a perfect introduction to the sound of Villagers, revealing folk-centred soul songs surrounded by epic pop arrangements.

www.myspace.com/wearevillagers

Julie Feeney will be chatting to Dan on the show tonight. The winner of the first Choice Music Prize is about to release the follow-up to her celebrated album '13 Songs'.

'Pages' is due out this Friday (June 5th), and will be supported by live dates all over Ireland.

www.juliefeeney.com

A live set from France Inter's legendary music show, LIVE AU 104, complete with Manu Chao making a guest appearance. Amadou and Mariam, "the blind couple from Mali", have been playing their warm African rhythms and infectiously catchy melodies for almost thirty years now.

After establishing a reputation in Africa, the duo finally broke onto the international music scene in two stages, first with the hit single 'Mon amour, ma chérie' in 1998. They confirmed their new star status in 2004 with the album "Dimanche à Bamako", produced by Manu Chao.
 Amadou & Mariam made an acclaimed comeback on the recording front in November 2008 with the release of a new album entitled 'Welcome to Mali'. The album was produced by Marc-Antoine Moreau and Laurent Jaïs (both of whom had previously worked alongside Manu Chao on the duo's previous album 'Dimanche à Bamako'.)
'Sabali', the first single release from the album, was produced by Damon Albarn and featured a vibrant multicultural/pop mix. "Welcome to Mali" included guest appearances by the Ivorian reggae pioneer Tiken Jah Fakoly and the Somali rapper K'Naan as well as Keziah Jones, Juan Rozoff and French pop star Matthieu Chedid.
www.amadou-mariam.com
Recoded at LIVE AU 104, by France Inter for the Eurosonic Partnership of the EBU.

Kill Krinkle Club are Justin & Elina, a Dublin based Irish/ Swedish married couple who attempt to make music that they describe as a little bit strange, a little bit fairytale, a little bit magical and a whole lot beautiful.

In the past year Kill Krinkle Club have played The Halifax Pop Explosion in Canada, HWCH & Fringe Festivals, been interviewed by Swedish national radio & were band of the month for Chicago's Venuszine Mag. At the moment they are recording their debut album and preparing to play NXNE, Canada's biggest new music festival, in June.

www.myspace.com/killkrinkleclub

She's just released one of 2009's finest albums - 'Slow Dynamo'. Valerie was in last week recording a Session for the show, and she had a chat with Dan.
www.myspace.com/valeriefrancis

The Tindersticks sound is characterised by a synthesis of orchestral backing, lounge jazz, and soul; the lush orchestrations of multi-instrumentalist Dickon Hinchliffe (who left the band in 2006) and the smoky baritone of lead vocalist Stuart A. Staples are the band's hallmarks.

Tindersticks have employed electric guitars, as most rock bands have done, but augment their instrumentation with a wide array of instruments: Rhodes piano, glockenspiel, vibraphone, violin, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, bassoon, Hammond organ, and many more are prominently utilised in the music of Tindersticks. As well as their seven studio albums, the band has produced the soundtracks for two films by the French director Claire Denis, Nenette et Boni and Trouble Every Day.

www.tindersticks.co.uk
 
Recorded by 2fm extralive on the Crawdaddy Stage, Electric Picnic, on Saturday September 2, 2008.

Formed in 2001, 8 Ball are an experimental Dublin six-piece who have been likened to, amongst others, Spiritualized, The Beta Band, Broken Social Scene & Animal Collective.

Festival appearances, Choice Music Awards nominations and a Meteor Award later, 2009 sees the release of 'With All Your Friends'.
www.myspace.com/8balltheband/

Since the release of their debut album 'Here, Not There' in May 08, Dublin twin sisters 'Heathers' have toured the US, Ireland, been invited to support Kimya Dawson (Juno, Moldy Peaches) in London, played CMJ festival in New York, and Canadian Music Week in Toronto with their unique harmonies and rhythmic guitar.
www.myspace.com/heatherswhatsyourdamage

The Ulster Hall was reopened on March 9th with an incredible line-up of Northern talent. Fighting with Wire and Jetplane Landing were two such artists to perform at the 'Do You Remember the first time?' extravanganza.

Fighting With Wire emerged from the ever creative Northern Ireland music scene in 2003, the brainchild of guitarist Cahir O'Doherty (Jetplane Landing / Clearshot) and drummer Craig McKean (Clearshot). The last three years has seen them play shows with the likes of Reuben, Biffy Clyro, Million Dead, Seafood, YCNI:M and Future Of The Left, racking up hundreds of miles and honing their live show into a ferocious explosion in the process.

After putting out a number of limited edition DIY singles, they took a breather at the end of 2006 and finally started work on their long-awaited debut album. Recorded in Northern Ireland and finally completed in mid-2007, 'Man Vs Monster' is a dynamic beast of a record. 2008 was a huge year as we saw the band release their first two singles from the Man Vs Monster album; 'Everyone Needs A Nemesis', which reached number 1 on the MTV Myspace chart, and 'All For Nothing'.

www.myspace.com/fightingwithwire

Jetplane Landing, borne of Derry and London out of the ashes of Cuckoo (what a great band they were). They formed in 1999 to record an album and see what happened. Well, lots happened. Their third album 'Backlash Cop' was released last year.

The band has toured relentlessly over the years, and has built up a strong and loyal following around Europe. Always a strong live act, Jetplane Landing didn't disappoint on this very special night.

www.jetplanelanding.com

Recorded at reopening of the Ulster Hall on March 9th 2009 by Across the Line, BBC Northern Ireland, as part of the co-production of live music on the Island by RTE and BBC.

Heritage Centre's sound has been compared to the likes of Weezer, The Shins and Blur. Their debut EP 'The City, The Tree and The Fox' was released in February. Having been already tipped as ones to watch in 2009, they've just completed a nationwide tour supported by in-stores, radio appearances, shaking hands and kissing babies!

May sees the release of their recently recorded new single 'I Will Protect You'. This too will be supported by their second jaunt around the country, festivals, sleep and the production of their second EP due for release in October 2009.

www.heritagecentremusic.com

From March 1991, just three months before their first release, the lads came up from Cork to do the first of their four sessions for Dave. When you hear this, you'll realise just why they were one of the most important bands to come out of Ireland in the 90's. Among the songs are classics like 'Never Ending Staircase' and 'Michael'.

http://www.thefrankandwalters.ie/

Brooklyn Funk Essentials were born out of New York's buzzing hip-hop-jazz and slam poetry scenes of the early nineties. Originally conceived by Arthur Baker and Lati Kronlund as a series of studio jam sessions, the group soon turned into a 12-piece live outfit consisting of some of the finest young musicians, singers, rappers, dub poets and djs the Big Apple had to offer.

Apart from being regulars at New York's buzzing club scene, BFE began touring the world marking highlights in the company of acts like Parliament Funkadelic, The Roots, James Brown, Jamiroquai, Spearhead and Ben Harper. One of these tours found the group headlining the Fuji World Music Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. The reception was so great that BFE recorded their second album there with 11 Turko-Romanian folk musicians - Laço Tayfa. The result was 1998s In The BuzzBag, which became a milestone in collaborative projects and earned BFE a Grammy nomination.

It also escalated the group to a stadium capacity act in Turkey.In 2000, BFE released their third album Make Them Like It, which concluded where the first album left off: A happy mélange of funk, latin, reggae, jazz, house, dub, electro and hip hop which featured the fan favorites I Got Cash, Mambo Con Dance Hall and Woman Thing.

After the 2001 world tour the band members took a hiatus and pursued a number of noted solo interests.Offers of recording and touring where plentiful, and BFE songs kept being featured on compilation albums around the world, and in the summer of 2006, a core of BFE members got back together again to do a tour of three world continents as BFE Sound System (mixing classic BFE with electro and dub).

By the end of 2006, the sound system model had been abandoned for a return to the group's original all live funk line up consisting of Hanifah Walidah, Papa Dee and Everton Sylvester (vocals), Lati Kronlund (bass), Yancy Drew (drums & vocals), Desmond Foster (vocals & guitar), Iwan van Hetten (trumpet, keys & vocals) and Philippe Monrose (percussion).

www.myspace.com/brooklynfunkessentialsmusic

Recorded by VRT Studio Brussel  at the Cactus Festival in for the Eurosonic Partnership of the EBU
Eurosonic.net

Just a short note to let you know that you can hear The Von Bondies in Session and interview on the show tonight.

The band dropped in to record earlier today, and sounded excellent. They're on Irish tour at the moment in support of their album 'Love Hate And Then There's You'.

By the way, the show is back in its midnight to 2am home again tonight.

Ulrich Schnauss has emerged as one of the most exciting electronic artists and producers on the world stage. His third album 'Goodbye', was released in Europe by Independiente Records in June 2007. Later that year, the 'On My Own' track from the 'A Strangely Isolated Place' LP was used by Pontiac in its "Cars" TV commercial.

GMC's Super Bowl commercial in 2008 ("Mountain Top") featured Schnauss's track 'Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn' from his Far Away Trains Passing By album. In the spring of 2008, Ulrich remixed two tracks by the Manchester based shoegaze band Daniel Land and The Modern Painters.

On October 27, 2008, the two tracks, 'Within The Boundaries' and 'Benjamin's Room', were released as a double A-side 7" Single by the independent record label Sonic Cathedral; the labels 11th release. In the fall of 2008, Ulrich collaborated on three new tracks with A Shoreline Dream titled 'hypermode', 'departure' and a secondary version of 'neverChanger' which all appear on the A Shoreline Dream LP 'Recollections of Memory' - officially released on February 10, 2009

www.ulrich-schnauss.com

The Funeral Suits are three young men from Dublin and Limerick. The three came together in 2008 to write a soundtrack for the apocalypse but when that didn't happen they formed Funeral Suits.

They released a four-track EP called 'Oh Dear' in the summer of 2008, and are just finished recording there second EP 'Peer Pressure Apocalypse' to be released shortly.

www.myspace.com/thefuneralsuits