6. Omar Souleyman
The Syrian electronic music maverick is a unique proposition because the music of the east is dominant among the truly global dance music he makes. He’s not strictly new as he has tonnes of albums but he’s only just started releasing music with an international distribution. At Electric Picnic maybe four years ago, I stayed around well into Monday morning in the bucketing rain to catch his set at Body & Soul. It was well worth the soak.
7. John Wizards
Saturday
The sound of Africa’s traditional past fusing into its present to make a beguiling and glorious dub-infused, Auto-Tuned, tropical, funky, R&B electro music. The brainchild of Cape Town’s John Withers with help from Rwandan singer Emmanuel Nzaramba.
8. UNKNWN
Saturday, 11.45pm @ Body & Soul upstage.
Belfast Chris Hanna and Dubliner Gemma Dunleavy’s music takes in strains of garage, dubstep, ambient, house and electronics. They play the Champion Sound Recordings showcase on Saturday at the Body & Soul upstage.
9. Kate Boy
Sunday Body & Soul main stage, 00:30am
Swedish electronic four-piece who take inspiration from their country peers The Knife but have more of a pop swerve to them. Some great singles so far.
10. Clu
Friday @ RBMA Stage, 11.35pm – 12.35am
Last week I wrote a piece about Clu becoming an ambitious A/V duo with the release of their new Gems EP and their new video which “transcends a typical visual tacked on to music setup. The video directed by Freeney serves as a chassis for a potent mix of music (an amalgamation of bass / garage / post-dubstep) , visual (cinematic sumptuous imagery), interpretive dancing and colour that makes for an impressive display of art in total.”
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
+1 Jungle