The Fermanagh producer, composer and musician RÓIS has been working hard since and around the release of Mo Léan EP , the Choice-nominated debut EP.
Along with this week’s collaboration at Musictown with Crash Ensemble and the weekend’s Beyond The Pale set which segued into a heathen electro-pop set, RÓIS has made an original soundtrack for Music for Domes, a new planetarium dome show experience launching this weekend at Armagh Planetarium.
Combining English and Irish languages, as well as Khmer and French, this original film shot in Ireland and Cambodia takes the viewer on a cosmic odyssey from the Moy to the Mekong via the Milky Way.
Screenings of it, starting this weekend on Saturday June 21st (4pm), Sunday June 22nd (4pm) and Friday June 27th (3pm) exploring Irish and Cambodian traditional music, folklore connections and how both cultures map stories onto the night sky, soundtracked by RÓIS and sonic artist Barry Cullen.
Music for Domes is a 360° journey from Navan Fort to Angkor Wat and a sensory odyssey of cosmic proportions filled with mythological tricksters, ancient history and echoes of painful memories of both the Troubles and the Khmer Rouge.
Music for Domes was shot on location in Cambodia and explores experimental Irish trad alongside Cambodian palace music, French-inspired yé-yé and Khmer pop.
“Playing music with people gives you a way to connect, even if you don’t speak the same language,” says RÓIS. “Even in totally different musical traditions it’s amazing how quickly you can find common ground.”
“The film shows how two distant cultures think about spirit worlds, survive trauma and build strength through art,” said director Dawn Richardson.
Created by the Belfast-based Hosta Projects, Music for Domes is the third and final installation in their All Flesh is Grass trilogy which set out to explore generational trauma and cultural recovery in Belfast, Beirut and Phnom Penh.
“All our films have followed a fascination with how stories relate to specific places,” says the film’s writer Paul Doran. “A planetarium dome is a perfect way to explore this by being able to show the viewer a location then overlay images and text that tease out the hidden stories.”
You can watch the Music for Domes trailer here.
Tickets are available now via Hosta Projects (£10) for screenings on Sat 21 June and Sat 22 June at 4pm and June 27th at 3pm. Run time approx. 45 mins. Ticket price includes general access to Planetarium.
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, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
Here’s a mini mix made for the launch party; Khmer-pop, Krautrock and space-age exotica. https://www.mixcloud.com/bew/music-for-domes-mix-1/