Stephen Graham discusses the phenomenon of internet releases, and listens to three recent internet singles.

From his memoir Adventures of a Waterboy, published recently by Lilliput Press, Mike Scott here describes his early encounters with Irish traditional music, and how the fateful move to Spiddal and 'the Celtic dreamtime' came about

Stephen Graham listens to a range of new pop singles from artists such as Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen, and considers whether it makes sense to think of there being a traditional form of pop music.

New music industry figures show that sales of pop music in Ireland now exceed those of rock and other genres.

One moment — BBC presenter Zane Lowe's on-air dismissal of Beyoncé's Glastonbury performance — has haunted Stephen Graham for months. To him it shows up layers of predjudices about music still rife in our society.

What have music impresarios Sergey Diaghilev, Malcolm McLaren and Simon Cowell got in common? – and what sets them apart? asks Peter Rosser.

The direct impact the new digital culture is having on music, in terms of access, dissemination and copyright, is well documented, but the indirect impact less so.

Breandán ó hEaghra decodes the LP

"The story of how Cowell came to love ‘Jedward’ is the story of how capital, given enough time, consumes even that which appears to be inconsumable." Despite its cheapness, music is the winner in The X Factor, argues Stephen Graha

Yolanda Quartey from Bristol started singing at the age of five. After singing in jazz bands as a teenager, she became involved with the break-beats scene, working with Bugz in the Attic and Jazzanova.

Alice Echols tells the forgotten story of the daring, cross-racial experimentation that happened across rock, funk and disco during the 1970s.

The Jerome Hynes Commission Opportunity for Young Composers, IrelandDeadline: 31 December 2009Open to composers under the age of 30, who are resident or domiciled in Ireland.

People plus music: it’s a simple formula for compelling television programmes, but why does screening creativity in music defeat even the most imaginative producers and directors, asks Christopher Fox.

Classical/Early   CD Review Andrew McGregor Sat, 9:00am www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cdreview/Classical Collection Sarah Walker Mon–Fri, 10:00am www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classicalcollection Composer of the Week Donal...

Castle Palooza Festival, Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, 1–2 August 2009

Classical/Early   CD Review Andrew McGregor Sat, 9:00am www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cdreview/Classical Collection Sarah Walker Mon–Fri, 10:00am www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classicalcollection Composer of the Week Donal...

Various, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (SFW40197)

The Jonah, Camera Obscura (CAM084CD)

Brian Wilson’s haunted psychedelia and the sublime in popular music

Mike Hanrahan, Cork, writes:While I welcome Bill Whelan’s commentary on the digital rights debacle (Aug-Sept), and indeed his call to arms to all concerned authors and composers, a part of me cannot but feel it’s all a little too late.

This is really out there

This is really happening

Stravinsky, emigré A Windfall of Musicians: Hitler’s Émigrés and Exiles in Southern California (Yale University Press) by Dorothy Lamb Crawford examines the gathering of sixteen performers, fourteen composers (including Stravinsky...

What is rock, really?

Slow DynamoVF Records (VF1)With Slow Dynamo, Valerie Francis is introducing herself to the pantheon of Irish female singer-songwriters with a firm handshake and steady eye, armed with a brand of alt-folk which seems as informed as much by t

Monoliths and DimensionsSouthern Lord RecordsThe beautiful ambient/minimalist electronica of Australian anti-guitarist Oren Ambarchi has been one of the discoveries of the last five years for me.

Valerie Francis is a singer and songwriter from Dublin. She has recently released her first album, Slow Dynamo, described as ‘warming, intimate and just a little alien’ (see page 58).

Berliner Ensemble, Berlin12 April 2009Pairing the director Robert Wilson and the musician Rufus Wainwright in a theatrical production to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s sonnets was a courageous commission

Why Japanese pop artists are ditching romance, language and identity

Composer and performer Julie Feeney, who received widespread recognition for 13 Songs, her debut album of 2005, releases her second self-produced album in May.

John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin22 January 2009In the Country is a piano trio with strong pop leanings and Nordic sensibilities.

From Björk and Sigur Rós to Cortes and Emilíana Torrini, the success of Icelandic artists over the past two decades have earned a global reputation for the Icelandic music scene.

France may not be a leading exporter of music, but the Paris scene is a great importer, able to spot talents, even with English lyrics, that seem to pass other countries by.

Dónal Sarsfield looks to Baudrillard for an insight into Joe Dolan’s ‘Reunion’ Shows

Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin13 September 2008There’s a 1982 interview between John Cage and the then young Belgian composer Wim Mertens on UbuWeb.

For over a decade, John Kelly has been broadcasting his own distinct mix of music on national radio, first with the BBC, then Eclectic Ballroom on Radio Ireland (now Today FM) and Mystery Train on RTÉ Radio 1, establishing a reputation as a

The corporate cruelty of the new talent shows

In Belfast, culture has been ditched for something much easier to handle: events. But the tenth Open House Festival was able to do both.

Classical/EarlyCD Review – Andrew McGregor, Sat, 9am, www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cdreview/Classical Collection – Sarah Walker, Mon–Fri, 10am, www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classicalcollectionComposer of the Week – Donal Macleod, Mon–Fri, 12pm,...

Barra Ó Séaghdha reviews Faking it, which explores the divide between artist and performance.

Spectre & CrownPilatus Records, PILCD-004The phrase ‘popular instrumental music’ is oxymoronic in the commercial world of chart success.

Breandán Ó hEaghra looks at comedian Des Bishop’s achievement with his rap in Irish, ‘Léimigí Thart’

In a new series of columns, Peter Rosser writes on changes in the music scene in Northern Irelad

National Concert Hall, Dublin26 May 2008When I was eight years old, the biggest thrill of the week was the ten o’clock children’s mass.

Benedict Schlepper-Connolly talks to Paul G. Smyth, improvising pianist and keyboard player with The Jimmy Cake.

Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin 211 March 2008The immediate impression as you entered Bewley’s Theatre for singer Seán Ó hÉanaigh’s performance was one of relaxed conviviality. People at different tables visited...

The Button Factory, Dublin29 March 2008Efterklang are a Danish post-rock band, formed in December 2000, properly millennial. This concert, in the renamed and refurbished Temple Bar Music Centre, was their second in Dublin in four months.

Of Pattern and PurposeTrust Me I’m a Thief Neil O’Connor has been very active in the Irish music scene over the last decade or so: he started in the 90s as a member of Loretta, then played with indie-popsters Palomine, but is probably best

Grand Canal Dock, Docklands, Dublin15 July 2007Glenn Branca’s heavyweight Symphony No. 13: Hallucination City rounded off the ambitious Analog Festival, a weekend of free music staged in the open at Dublin’s redeveloped Grand Canal Square.

Carlo Gébler reads Billy Bragg's new polemic.

Si Schroeder and BoxesCrawDaddy, Dublin11 May 2006It’s been something of a running joke in Dublin’s music underground that Simon Kenny, who’s been the one constant in the Schroeder family of bands (Schroeder’s Cat, Schroedersound and...

The Boom Boom Room, Dublin28 January 2006The Remote Viewing Workshops are a series of monthly nights organised by Wire Horizon, a Dublin-based collective of musicians and promoters (www.wirehorizon.com).

Various Locations, Dublin, 27 – 31 October 2005 The annual Dublin Electronic Arts Festival has tried in its four years of existence to appeal to both the punters who just want to go out and dance and those of a more sedentary disposition.

Sean Campbell, Cambridge, writes:In the last issue of JMI, John Waters recommended a recent book that I wrote with Gerry Smyth (Beautiful Day: Forty Years of Irish Rock) for ‘anyone with an interest in Irish pop music’.

Once the pulse of youth, pop has now become repetitive and self-referential – the tedious soundtrack to a society that does not want to grow old.

From 2nd May Raidió na Gaeltachta will be permitted to play songs with English lyrics between 9pm and 1am. What will this mean for the type of music being played?

Ireland’s singer-songwriter plague.

Dá n-úsáidfí amhráin nuachumtha chun sláinte teanga a thomhais, is fadó gur chóir an Ghaeilge a bheith clúdaithe ó chois go ceann i mbindealáin agus líonta go cluas le drugaí....

The Terms of Reference for the Music Board of Ireland, which was established to formulate a strategic plan for the development of the music industry