Nialler9

What we learned from the Britney book

On this week’s podcast, episode 233, we are talking about what we learned from fairly shocking Britney Spears’ new autobiography The Woman In Me.Nialler and Andrea Cleary are joined by pop culture writer and DJ Louise Bruton to discuss the chilling details that Britney Spears reveals about her career and private life.That includes her treatment by the media, fame-hungry exes Justin Timblerake and Kevin Federline, the conservatorship, and the ultra-overbearing toxic role that her parents held over her for 13 years where they controlled what she ate, where she was allowed to live, how she performed and all manner of abuse-like behaviour including putting her in a mental health institute for taking energy supplements or refusing to do a dance move.Britney was denied her own lawyer for 13 years but finally broke free of the conservatorship to regain control of her own life finally.It’s a miracle that Britney is even alive after the harrowing experiences of what she’s lived through, and what her family put her through.Louise and Pop Emergencies are presenting their annual Britmas at Wigwam in Dublin on Friday December 15th, in support of ActionAid's Gaza Crisis Appeal.Special thanks to Georgia Hallion for editing this episode.* Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get event discounts, playlists, ad-free episodes & join our Discord communityListen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify Playlist #FreeBritney: The Framing Britney Spears Documentary with Louise Bruton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrea & Niall’s favourite music of October

It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs they loved in the last four weeks.Episode 232 has an exoskeleton theme of accidental spooky picks as we feature new albums from Kojaque, OXN, CMAT, Sufjan, Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist and new songs from The Last Dinner Party, I Dreamed I Dream, John Francis Flynn, Rachael Lavelle and Tandem Felix.And a couple of oldie picks to round things out from William Onyeabor and Echo & The Bunnymen, along with the What's Consuming You corner with TV, books and films we are vibing with.* Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get event discounts, playlists, ad-free episodes and join our Discord communityListen to the episode below or subscribe in your favourite podcast app: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The bother of the Bandcamp sale

This week's episode is a chat around the sale of Bandcamp from Epic Games to Songtradr. With streaming paying pennies or less than for many artists, the independently-driven music platform Bandcamp is the last bastion of online revenue making for many bands - allowing musicians to sell their music digitally, and on vinyl or CD direct to their fans.Artists on Bandcamp collectively earned $193 million in the last year alone, and Bandcamp has paid out $1.19 billion since its founding in 2007.But recent business deals have meant Bandcamp was acquired by Songtradr, after a short 18 months owned by Epic Games. With the acquisition came news today that approximately half (60) of the Bandcamp staff of 118 employees, including the Bandcamp Daily team, had been laid off, with the entire negotiating team at the workers' union - Bandcamp United, let go.We discuss what it means for independent musicians, what the alternatives are and also the other dodgy news this week, that NTS radio have been partially bought by Universal and Spotify is planning on reducing its royalty payouts to a minimum threshold so that many artists literally won't get a penny for their song streams.All that, plus Niall shares his months-long local detective story, and Andrea talks about presenting PHD at a dance music conference in Huddersfield last week.* Support Nialler9 on PatreonShow notesThinking of ditching Spotify? Musician Joel Harkin explores alternative music platforms so you don’t have toBandcamp alternatives: Faircamp / Nina / Tone Audio / MirloInterdependence PodcastFirst Floor SubstackDancecult conferenceSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify Playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fandom and community of Swiftogedden

The Fandom of Taylor Swift is something that I find so fascinating, particularly the massive surge in popularity in the last 3 or 4 years.Where Taylor couldn’t sell out Croke Park in 2018 on her Reputations tour, her current Eras tour as we’ve discussed before on the podcast, crashed Ticketmaster and has seen such a huge unprecedented demand that that’s worth exploring why? With the three Dublin gigs at the Aviva next summer and the Taylor Swift Eras Tour film doing big numbers at the box office, it felt like the right time to dip in.With Andrea’s absence this week, I thought I’d delve into the lore and fandom of the Swifties through the lens of a community which gather around Taylor once a month.Swiftogedden is a club night that plays only Taylor songs all night, and was started by Dave Fawbert, a DJ and former journalist who put on his first Swiftogedden in London in 2019, and since then it has grown to a national UK and in the last two years an nationwide Irish event too. Anna Jacob is a resident DJ at the Irish Swiftogedden club nights, and a pal of mine, and I’ve been fascinated with the success of the single artist only night – as Swifties gather en masse to sold out venues in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Galway and Limerick along with a rake of UK cities to sing their hearts out to Swift classics, new songs, new versions and deep cuts.Our chat covers fandom becoming a religious like community of like-minded people, why Taylor Swift is the new Mozart, a celebration of the “eras” of girlhood and womanhood, what happens at Swiftogedden nights and why does it work so well and we also read out some passages from this wonderful Taffy Brodesser-Akner New York Times piece on Swiftiedom.* Support Nialler9 on Patreon, where we share Anna’s Swiftie Skeptics playlist.Show notesTaffy Brodesser-Akner piece on Swiftiedom [New York Times]Inside Dublin’s Swiftogeddon club night [Irish Times]Songs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify PlaylistAll 237 of Taylor Swift’s Songs, Ranked [Rolling Stone] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four Tet - the story of a master electronic musician

English electronic musician Kieran Hebden has been a constant artist in my life’s history of listening to music.Recently, the artist has exploded in popularity in his DJ partnership with Skrillex and Fred Again.., but as we’ll discuss, headlining Coachella this year, was just a natural culmination of two decades plus of music making and collaborations.On this week’s episode it is all about the music of Four Tet.We discuss his origins in the Elliott School with fellow now-famous musicians Burial and Hot Chip, the formation of his first band Fridge, who signed their first record deal when Hebden was just 15.We take you through an output that moves from jazz, folk, electronica stylings of his early work, the seminal album Rounds from 2003, his subsequent collaborations with Burial, Steve Reid, remixes work for the likes of Madvillain and Caribou, and how his live show worked. // On Wednesday November 8th, we are putting on a Listening Party at the Big Romance playing Four Tet's Rounds (2003) in full, as part of the Listen Closely monthly series.And onto his independent releases throughout the last 15 years as his music moves from the ambient instrumental electronic music to the more club-focused 4/4 tracks that came about as he began to DJ at Plastic People and DJ at festivals around the world.We discuss his court case with Domino, and how his flirtations with remixing pop artists telegraph his bromance with Fred Again.. and Skrillex. Plus, we spotlight some of our favourite Four Tet / KH / Kieran Hebden Percussions tracks.The Accompanying Four Tet playlist for the episode* Support Nialler9 on PatreonListen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify Playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrea and Niall’s favourite music of the month - September

It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs we loved in the last four weeks.On Episode 228 we are album focused with new LP chat about records from Mitski, Cleo Sol, The Alchemist, MIKE and Wiki; Olivia Rodrigo, Soda Blonde, Natalia Beylis and an EP from Soccer Mommy.There are songs from Annika Kilkenny, Holly Humberstone and two Golden oldies from Anne Clark and Fountains Of Wayne.Plus what's consuming you - Fringe Festival shows, Peter McGann, TV, books and films we are vibing with.* Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get event discounts, playlists, ad-free episodes and join our Discord communityListen to the episode below or subscribe in your favourite podcast app:Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify PlaylistFollow Nialler9 on Insta | Twitter | Youtube | Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latin Freestyle 80s Electro with Bob Stanley

On Episode 227, we are joined by the acclaimed music writer Bob Stanley, the man behind one of Niall's favourite books Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop and a member of indie-pop group St. Etienne.To celebrate 10 years of Faber Books are reissuing Yeah Yeah Yeah (with a new chapter taking it up to present day) , along with its prequel Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop (the definitive story of the birth of Pop, from 1900 to the mid-fifties), both on paperback.Along with the books, Bob Stanley also put together a compilation for Ace Records called Latin Freestyle - New York/Miami 1983 - 1992, in his words a crashing electro-funk sub genre of dance music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house.Latin Freestyle grew out of electro, and was a more female-fronted classic pop version with frequently Latina vocals, bleepy synth riffs, proto-house piano lines, drum machine hits and lyrics that harked back to '60s girl groups teenage concerns of heartbreak, boys and dancing. We talk to Bob about the books and this subgenre of electro music that developed in New York and Miami in the early 80s and included Madonna, Debbie Deb, Shannon, Alisha, Company B, Lisa Lisa, Exposé, Taylor Dane and went on to influence music from the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb, Pet Shop Boys, Freeez and more.A playlist of Latin Freestyle accompanies this episode on Patron. Sign up from €5 a month.Patreon members get access to the the Discord community, special playlists, ad-free episodes, event discounts & more.Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify PlaylistLatin Freestyle - New York/Miami 1983 - 1992 compilation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The KLF - the music, money & mayhem of pop’s rebel millionaires

The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords, The KLF. Episode 226 is a look at the UK band that simultaneously topped the pop charts while being divisive art provocateurs.Two British men, the Scotsman Bill Drummond and Englishman Jimmy Cauty created a notorious music project that engulfed the charts, aggravated the art world, upset the capitalists, annoyed the record industry and almost everyone else.Other musicians have been known as provocateurs before but The KLF were on an whole other level, because they became a massive chart success, while posing questions about the validity of art, original ideas, creativity, commerce and capitalism.This is the story of a band who did things like no one else, who had number 1 hits, who created art installations, defaced billboards, made cryptic advertisements, gave manic performances on Top of the Pops, fired machine gun blanks into the audience, became known as pranksters, and blew all the money in one huge notorious stunt.We discuss their flagrant sampling of Abba and pop hits, their stadium house/rave chart-topping music, how to have a number one hit according to The Manual, a cult weekend on a Scottish Island, involving journalists, Wicker Man and Martin Sheen, The KLF's Brit Awards shenanigans, The K Foundation art stunts, and the literal burning of a million quid.The KLF is a story like no other.Patreon members get access to the the Discord community of like-minded music fans, special playlists, ad-free episodes, event discounts and more.Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify Playlist KLF on the Late Late Show in 1995 The Manual: How to Have a Number One the Easy Way, 1988References: KLF.De / Who Killed The KLF documentary (2021) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our favourite music of August

It's the Nialler9 Podcast's monthly episode where Niall and Andrea talk about the albums and songs they loved in the last four weeks.On Episode 225 we have album recommendations from The Hives, Citrus Fresh and Noname along with song inclusions from Sufjan, Diners, BadBadNotGood, Cartin, Barry Can't Swim and Olivia Rodrigo.Plus what's consuming you, chat about live gigs from The Walkmen, Boygenius, Another Love Story Festival, and the Roisín Murphy thing.* Support Nialler9 on Patreon, get ad-free episodes and join our Discord communityListen to the episode below or subscribe in your favourite podcast app:Listen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify Playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The music of Aphex Twin

Episode 224 is a deep dive into the discography of electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin.t's Richard D James, "the godfather of IDM", "the Mozart of Ambient,", the mischievous enigmatic man who I shook hands with once, the artist born in Limerick who has been making weird electronic music since he was the age of 14 for over 35 years now.As Richard D James turns 52 this Friday, we take a chronological look through his back catalogue touching on the three main strands of his sound - ambient, experimental and dance. We discuss the myths around AFX, the famous 'Windowlicker' and 'Come To Daddy' videos in detail, the side-projects, the live show, the mischievous humour, the ubiquitous Richard D James face and much more.Using quotes from the man in his many interviews, we figure out why the music of Aphex Twin is so unique, how he developed his own scales, how he builds his own instruments and studios, and how he has always been a composer and sound designer first, but also an abrasive techno merchant, a purveyor of acid, drill and bass, electro and creator of beautiful classical melodies. Patreon members get access to the 3 Aphex Twin playlists mentioned - ambient, dance, experimental. * Support Nialler9 on Patreon and join our Discord communityListen on Apple | Android | ACAST | Patreon | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS FeedShow notesSongs played on the Nialler9 Podcast Spotify PlaylistFollow Nialler9 on Insta | Twitter | Youtube | Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.