This October, Dublin Digital Radio (ddr.) celebrates its fifth-year broadcasting. In that time, it has come to occupy a unique position in Ireland’s music hinterland. As a radio platform that thrives on giving space to experimenters, artists, and producers, the station has become a home to some of the most compelling work being made both in Ireland and by its emigre axis.
‘Alternating Current’ is Dublin’s new city festival, curated by Dublin Digital Radio, to show Ireland’s other music traditions. Weird, eerie, noisy, loud, lamenting…
This inaugural festival is a celebration of the networks that converge on ddr., an ode to the airwaves as a space of commune and solidarity during crisis, while also being a response by the station to a wide range of artists that are each exhaustive experimenters in their own right.
For Alternating Current, Dublin Digital Radio commissioned sixteen of these artists to make new work and have them perform it over the duration of the festival. Beginning October 27th on listen.dublindigitalradio.com, the Alternating Current programme features specially commissioned radio works and audiovisuals from Jennifer Walshe & Wobbly, Rachel Ni Chuin, Renee Helena Browne, The Digital Druids and Last Eden.
Events will then move to The Complex’s Gallery Space over the Hallowe’en weekend (October 30th and 31st) where a series of 3-hour, in-person concerts will take place, followed by some late-night dancing at a venue close to the city centre.
Saturday October 30th
RESTART – Aonghus McEvoy :: Sharon Phelan :: Jane Deasy
Ctrl Alt Delete – Dreamcycles :: Natalia Beylis :: Bootang :: Celaviedemai
Night Time (Secret Location)
Belacqua + More tbc
Sunday October 31st
UNDERTOW – Jenn Kirby :: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh :: Fixity
SAMHAIN – Fulacht Fia :: Lighght :: Dreamgirls
Tickets will be sold individually per concert and will be on sale first to Dublin Digital Radio Patrons. You can sign up to Dublin Digital Radio’s Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/dublindigitalradio
Tickets are extremely limited and are limited to 2 per person.
Tickets for concerts are priced at €12 for Patrons, €15 for non-Patrons. As capacity for concerts are limited, people are encouraged to book only one gig so others can experience the shows.
Tickets for the nighttime event are €8 for Patrons, €12 for non-Patrons.
All events are to be livestreamed on listen.dublindigitalradio.com.
This is the alternating current, the one that seeks to give voice to the other island, the sounds less heard, the other traditions. The sounds of the hinterlands and its fringes coalescing.
Organiser Quotes:
“Alternating Current is a celebration of all the weird and wonderful music we encounter daily on Dublin Digital Radio. We’re delighted to showcase some new music made by artists we love in a new hybrid festival for Dublin, presenting novel audiovisual work on Dublin Digital Radio and new live music from 14 artists in the beautiful surroundings of our new home at The Complex, as well as some late-night shenanigans in a yet to be revealed location.” – Seán Finnan
“Alternating Current highlights the focus of Dublin Digital Radio; to amplify the wide many music scenes in Ireland. We are in the privileged position of being an intersecting point of so many different musical styles, forms of experimentation, creation and exploration, and with Alternating Current we get to celebrate that, bring together artists from many different stylistic backgrounds and see our underground culture thrive before our eyes through new radio pieces, live performance, and a much-anticipated return to a space we can all dance in.” – Declan Synnott
“I just can’t wait to hear all the new works that the artists have been making and are so eager to share again with an audience. We are working with Guerilla to make it an immersive and staged experience, no matter where you watch from. And then of course we have commissioned 4 new radio compositions, which I think really solidifies the festival for all of the artists, audience and curators involved. There are so many musicians on the line up I haven’t seen perform live – I’ve heard their work online or have their records and tapes, but I have been dreaming for a long time about hearing them perform live – artists like Bootang, Sharon Phelan, Jenn Kirby, Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh, Last Eden. It’s great to have them all on the one bill. Our approach in putting this together, was for us to respond to the artists around us, rather than asking artists to respond to a theme or concept presented by us, or something. Seems we’ll be able to have good bop too, if that’s what you’re into!” – Jane Deasy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dublindigiradio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dublindigitalradio
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https://listen.dublindigitalradio.com/
Alternating Current is made possible thanks to the kind support of The Arts Council of Ireland
