Parallel Universe

For such a small country, Ireland has fared pretty well in techno terms over the years. OK, it mightn’t have the same kind of legacy as Belgium or the Netherlands -  how can any place apart from Detroit, Chicago or Berlin compare to Rush Hour, Clone, Delsin, Bunker, Eevo Lute, I-F, Viewlexx, Creme, Rachmad, Robbers etc etc - but then again Ireland only has a population less than half the Netherlands' size. In the 90s we had David Holmes making tough club techno -  I recently checked 'The Evil Needle' again and it rocks -  as well as D1 Records. From Eamon Doyle's label came Rob Rowland, the criminally underrated David Donohoe and of course Donnacha Costello, who is now a deserved international name. In more recent years, Lerosa and Chymera have made the leap to the world stage with Sunil Sharpe and his excellent Mantrap label - home to Rory St John and Magnetize - as well as Tr-One and Corrugated Tunnel waiting in the wings. I'm going to add The Parallel to that list of Irish producers poised for greatness. I'm not sure where I came across Colin McKeown's music first, probably online, but his music immediately impressed me. It's that perfect blend of Detroit soul, acid-soaked Chicago groove and an extra, unquantifiable dash of weirdness that attracted me to what I heard. Unsurprisingly, he lists people like Brian Eno and Robert Fripp alongside techno staples Derrick May, Mad Mike and Jeff Mills on his MySpace. Colin has put out a few digital release so far, but he has a full vinyl release out this autumn with more to come soon. If you want to get a feeling for his music, come to Test in Dublin tomorrow night or have a listen to his MySpace tracks (whose low-res format don't really do them justice).....

Comments

[Kenny]

That's great news that The Parallel is finally getting some wax action going on. His productions are brilliant. I'm probably gonna miss Friday night, sadly.
Also have to agree with Dave Donohoe. I think he was very unlucky when Statuesque got lost in distribution wrangles. His live shows around then were off the chain. The First Course In Hygiene album is also excellent and esp his rmx of his "Care of The Teeth" is one of my favourite techno tracks of this decade, Irish or further afield.

[gmos]

Leonid's put out some nice stuff recently too