Nialler9

A podcast live recording from The Big Romance about the Chemical Brothers second album, - a 1997 dance record classic with guest Mango. When I think of The Chemical Brothers, I think of Irish summer festivals and big nights out. The pure, kinetic energy of thousands of people losing their minds in a field or a packed arena. Released in April 1997, Dig Your Own Hole was the album that cemented Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons as electronic music’s first true rock stars. Coming up to its 30th anniversary, it remains a landmark achievement: a psychedelic, acid-drenched dance record built out of hip-hop breaks, sirens, samplers, and raw punk attitude. With crossover chart hits like ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’, ‘Electrobank’, ‘Setting Sun’ and the euphoric closer ‘Private Psychedelic Reel' the album balances dancefloor power with adventurous studio experimentation. Listen on Apple | Android | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed | Podlink | Substack * Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get event discounts, playlists, ad-free episodes and access our Discord community. My Gateway into Dance Music For me, this album was the gateway. I bought it on CD while on holiday with my parents in Boston in 1999. Before that, my exposure to electronic music was strictly Scooter, along with hearing 'Life Is Sweet' on those iconic Best Album in the World... Ever! compilation CDs. In his seminal book Energy Flash, critic Simon Reynolds described the Chemical Brothers' signature sound as "Britpop-with-breakbeats." They brought a punk-like assault to techno by emphasizing the same blaring mid-frequencies supplied by distorted rock guitars While the American press tried to brand it as the "electronica" revolution, calling Tom and Ed the "Beavis and Butt-head of techno", the duo pushed back, citing US hip-hop and Chicago house pioneers like Frankie Knuckles, Juan Atkins, and The Bomb Squad as their true north stars. 5 Things You Might Not Know About Dig Your Own Hole 1. Built for the Sunday Social Before they were headlining arenas, Tom and Ed were "The Three Blind Mice" at Manchester University—studying medieval history by day and hitting the Haçienda four nights a week. Their legendary 13-week residency at Heavenly’s Sunday Social in London transformed UK club culture, with regulars like Oasis, Blur, Primal Scream, and the Manics coming to watch them blend hip-hop, acid house, and psych-rock. 2. "Setting Sun" Broke BBC Radio 1 Noel Gallagher wrote and recorded his vocal in 20 minutes after hearing the duo spin The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows' in a sweaty basement set. When the single dropped, BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show famously pulled it off air halfway through because it was too intense for morning radio—which only helped propel it to UK #1. 3. Recorded in a 10x10 Room at Orinoco Studios Recorded in Elephant & Castle (the same studio complex where Enya's "Orinoco Flow" got its name and Gaye Bykers on Acid recorded Drill Your Own Hole), the album was field-tested in clubs using white-label promos (Electronic Battle Weapons 1 & 2) before the final tracking. 4. A Pencil and Sellotape Created the Phase Effect on "The Private Psychedelic Reel" To get the sweeping phase effect on the 9-minute closer, Tom and Ed sellotaped a pencil across a bank of mixing desk faders to move them simultaneously by hand into a Mu-Tron Bi-Phase processor. 5. Mercury Rev’s Unexpected Cameo Jonathan Donahue played clarinet on 'The Private Psychedelic Reel.' He later credited the Chemical Brothers' invitation as the lifeline that kept him making music right before Mercury Rev wrote their breakthrough album, Deserter's Songs.

A live recording and chat with Aoife Barry from our recent Listening Party for Jeff Buckley's Grace (1994) at the Big Romance in Dublin. One of the '90s most revered albums, Grace is an astonishing debut LP from the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. Sadly, it was to be his only album as he tragically died three years later but the album is considered a classic for its wide-ranging, reaching vocals (Buckley's voice spanned four octaves), its resonant melding of rock, folk, soul and jazz and songs of intensity, beauty and grandeur including of course, the definitive cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', along with songs like 'Lover, You Should’ve Come Over', 'Mojo Pin', and 'Grace'. Baroque, sweeping, poetic, soul–baring, biblical, elemental and melodramatic Grace is considered one of the best debut albums of all time, and generally just one of the best records of all time. The high drama of his life imbues Buckley’s songs with a level of intensity and singular weight It’s no wonder that it’s an album that teenagers are still discovering today. We discuss the record in front of a live Listen Closely audience. Listen on Apple | Android | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed | Pod.Link