It’s been a while since your writer has caught up with the prodigious sonic output of Limerick poet, violinist and county hurling aficionado Post-Punk Podge and his many collaborators, central of whom are consistent live and studio partners The Technohippies.
February saw the release of Podge’s ‘Post-Millennium Tension’ EP, leading the crew into Irish and UK festival season, including blockbuster appearances at Glastonbury’s later-running stages, while March’s ‘Heavenly Tones’ single saw Podge expand on his gift for multi-instrumentalism, even taking a foray into the glockenspiel, for his sins. Away from the creative arena, Podge’s presence at Limerick’s Féile na Gréine extended not only to hurley-happy appearances in promotional videos, but to curating part of the line-up in a buskers’ showcase on the city’s Cruises Street.
It was about time that we heard from him again after a hectic summer season, then, and sure enough, a collaboration that’s come from leftfield made its release via social and video platforms last Friday; another collaborative affair, this time with one half of seldom-spotted atmospheric hip-hop outfit Bleak Stack (2017 explainer penned by your writer here), replete with video shot and edited by Technohippie DJ Jurassic Park 2, streaming below.
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Speaking on the song’s creation and expanding on the experiences that informed it, the eternally-enveloped iconoclast had this to say on social media: “I’m very proud of this one. It’s a very honest account of the effects of Xanax, mental illness and addiction… “you are not your illness, you are not your mind” is a key line in (the new song), which I use like a mantra in difficult times.”
It’s a welcome return for West-of-Irelanders Bleak Stack also, having last surfaced last year with a ‘zine, and a fitting welcome for the Pope on his visit to the country last year. An album, we’re told, is still in the pipeline.
Generation Xanax is available for purchase on Post-Punk Podge’s Bandcamp, and streaming now across all major digital services.
