Having recently released the final instalment of his Le Carousel project, Belfast born and raised DJ / producer Phil Kieran appears to be seriously reinvigorated / rejuvenated. While Le Carousel took over a decade to finally reach fruition, Kieran currently has 2, brand new releases lined-up. The “Kosmische Advice” EP – a collaboration with Roman Flugel – is still, for now, sonically, under wraps, but the single “Leave It All Behind” comes in a couple of different, dance floor flavours. One, muscular post-punk funk – recalling Kieran’s cool rework of Bush Tetras’ “Snakes Crawl”. Tough, taut, with copious cowbell, stuttered guitar riffing, and little Middle Eastern mystery to its melody. The other a more serene shot of disco-motorik, serenaded by soft, psyche organ drones. Both featuring haunting vocal harmonies that pay homage to the girl groups of the 1960s, similar to some of the work of Kieran’s spar, David Holmes.

Also, while Kieran’s Leatherette club nights continue to go from strength to strength, he’s now on the bill for a very special event taking place in his hometown. Awesome Soundwave, a label co-founded by Carl Cox and Christopher Coe, and totally focused on / committed to live techno, are hosting and promoting the party, which takes place at Belfast’s Ulster Sports Club on August 29th.* Coe, based in Australia, was raised in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland, while the party’s other headliner, Sturge, while now resident in The Balearics, is another Belfast boy. 

In part a reaction to generic sets consisting of sync button mixing and Ai generated sounds, all 3 musicians will be making music on the fly, using TR-808s, 909s and modular systems. Kieran has been convinced to recreate / reimagine a collection of his big hits. It will be a rare occasion when you’ll find him looking back and not firmly focused on moving forward. 

*A second, I think more intimate date, has just been added for August 28th at Dublin’s Pawn Shop.

You can find more details here, and purchase tickets here.