MabCast

Saul Duffin (Yeo Magazine) #Mabcast S2E6

This week, we welcomed Saul Duffin, founder of Belfast based music and culture magazine YEO to casa del mabfield.

Accents in Irish Hip-Hop & Reviewing Festival Line Ups #Mabcast S2E5

In this episode we discuss the debate over accents in Irish Hip-Hop, and give our thoughts on this summers festival line ups so far.

Negro Impacto on Trad, perspective shifts & sharing DNA with NxWorries #Mabcast S2E4

This week, we welcomed Negro Impacto to Casa del Mabfield for an extensive chat.

The duo from Dundalk chat about meeting at a skatepark, bonding over their love of The Internet and following the duo blueprint laid down by Nxworries.

Also wanna give a big shoutout to Chi Chi after her time in hospital and we wish her all the best in her recovery ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Rory Sweeney & Curtisy on folk horror, psychedelics and the influence of Wiki #Mabcast S2E3

Rising Dublin rapper Curtisy and producer, film maker and artist Rory Sweeney made their way to casa del mabfield this week for a long overdue conversation. We talked about taking inspiration from the growth of New York rapper WIKI, who they'd like to work with, their working relationship with the likes of Ahmed, With Love. and their forthcoming EP.

Ahmed, with Love & E the Artist #Mabcast S2E2

Rising rappers E The Artist and Ahmed, With Love. joined us to talk about who’d win in an Irish music scene royal rumble, how Ahmed moved back and forth from Sierra Leone to Ireland and the increasing camaraderie in the scene post-lockdown.

How EMBY is Bridging the gap between rap and rave in Belfast #Mabcast S2E1

Belfast rapper Emby has really come to the fore after lockdown with performances at AVA, Plain Sailing Belfast and Crilli DNB. He’s been steadily releasing music of his own, hopping between rap, jungle, dnb and just about anything else he fancies. It puts him in the unique position where he satisfies both the pickiest hip hop heads and dance music die hards. 

We talked about Ireland’s attitude towards art and creativity generally, working with Curtisy, Rory Sweeney and Ahmed, With Love. and the media’s propensity to box in black artists as “urban music”.

Biig Piig Mabfield FM #002

In episode 2 of Mabfield FM we're joined by London-based member of Nine8 collective Biig Piig! She's emerged as one of the most interesting artists in the lo-fi wave of the past few years with a blend of English and Spanish lyrics as well as her varied production choices. We chatted about how she's been coping with lockdown creatively, partying with Slowthai in Paris, performing on Jools Holland, the London underground scene and her sound going forwards.

Mabfield FM: Erica-Cody, Why-Axis & Gaptoof #001

Welcome to Mabfield FM ! Our brand new podcast series where we call up our favourite artists, creatives and friends of Mabfield to have a chit chat about how they are holding up in the most turbulent times of our life times.

Up first we have one of Ireland's finest RnB prospects in Erica-Cody. She's been busy leading Black Lives Matter marches in Dublin and we chatted about how the fight though emotionally draining is 100% necessary. She also talked about her dad's basketball career in Ireland and how lockdown has affected her productivity.

Why-Axis stopped by to talk about getting stuck in Amsterdam during the pandemic and a nationwide shortage meaning he has been going on treks to find the devil's lettuce. We talk what the future of gigs look like and how his video for 'BLOODSTAIN' has become a window into a period of time before lockdown when nights out were normal.

Soft Boy Records' Gaptoof chatted to us about working with Chlobocop, trying to get placements in the next year and what the next step is for him following the successful release of his 'Looks Like Rain' Project. 

Lock in!

Evans Junior: Being black and Irish and the lack of recognition for 'Urban' artists #Mabcast 035

TrustItEnt's Evans Junior is somewhat a musical chameleon. Feeling as comfortable rhyming over trap instrumentals as he does providing earworm hooks on afrobeat cuts, he's carving a reputation as one of Ireland's most versatile artists. This sonic diversity is reflected in the release of his debut album 'Organised Mess'. The meat of the project comprises of catchy hooks and a stream of consciousness that's left to marinate in a number of different genres, with the first half being made up of more abrasive tracks followed by a distinctly different section of pop-leaning efforts. He chopped it up with international artists like S1 and Naira Marley and demonstrated on record that he's on par with some of the heaviest hitters from across the globe.

It's been around eight months since he dropped 'Organised Mess', but things haven't slowed down since then and the Longford native stopped by Casa del Mabfield to talk about his work, the artists breaking through glass ceilings and the need for more support from the higher ups in the Irish music industry.

The phrase 'Urban artist', can be a problematic one as highlighted by Tyler, The Creator in his Grammy acceptance speech. However Evans used the term for the purpose of highlighting the lack of recognition for certain strands of music being made by black artists in Ireland. The end of the conversation gravitated towards examination of the lack of media coverage and festival representation for artists making 'Urban' music. Many of these artists use newer and less traditional methods of releasing and promoting music, such as Tik Tok, Triller and Youtube channels like Mixtape Madness. Despite the fact many have received hundreds of thousands of plays they are still being ignored by booking agents and traditional media outlets.

Hazey Haze & Citrus Fresh: Limerick’s "respectable scumbags" #Mabcast 034

PX Music's Hazey Haze and Citrus Fresh joined us for a chat whilst they were in Belfast for their nationwide tour.