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Welcoming Indie Switch

Ken McGuire — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:07:28 +0000

It’s a long time since October 2009, the last time a Playlist Mix podcast went to the web, and longer still going back to the 25th of March 2007 when the first podcast hit the web.

Over the two years, the podcast started, stopped, started, won awards, stopped, started and went silent. On March 25th gone, four years after the first podcast, I’m officially laying the Playlist Mix to rest and have begun the process of removing feeds, podcasts and winding the site down. Even after almost 18 months away from the podcast, the daily downloads are well in the double figures across the 59 episodes that were served up between 2007 and 2009 but it’s time to close up shop.

But, while the Playlist Mix goes to bed for an eternal snooze, the music must go on and so I introduce to you Indie Switch, the first podcast of which went live this weekend past.

There’s a few ways to pick up on the new podcast

For the moment, the podcast borrows the format of old – six acts, six tracks over the course of a half hour or so. The day is different, the approach to bands is different and give it a week or two and the whole thing will be different.

The first podcast features tunes from Gold Panda, Metropolis America, The Evidence, The Attic Ends, The Counselors and The On Fires and is available to download via IndieSwitch.com

We’ll give it a few more weeks and then PlaylistMix.com will shut up shop altogether so get thee to IndieSwitch.com for the tunes instead!

To all those who listened to the Playlist Mix over the course of its run and all the acts who’ve plugged, blogged and submitted tracks to the podcast, thanks so much. Hopefully you’ll come along for the new ride.

Irish Web Awards Live

Ken McGuire — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:11:15 +0000

Sitting here at the 2009 Irish Web Awards and The Persuaders have won this year’s Best Podcaster award, the category PLM was in the running for.

Personally, my money was on Nialler9 and Aoife for the Nialler9 podcast, another great blend of music, but The Persuaders topped the voting for 2009.

Bonus for Nialler9 who just walked off with Best Music Site ahead of last year’s winners, State Magazine.

Awards still ongoing here, you can follow the action by keeping an eye on the #iwa09 hashtag on Twitter.

Catch all y’all after the holidays…

Shortlisted For 2009 Irish Web Awards

Ken McGuire — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:19:27 +0000

The shortlists for the 2009 Realex Payments Irish Web Awards came out before the weekend and the Playlist Mix has found its way onto the shortlist, with judging currently underway of all entries. I’m delighted to see the podcast there again this year as we get back in the swing of things following the summer break (as every other year).

This year has been a year of change for the podcast, certainly bringing in a lot more Irish music, launching a new version of the site, delivering the podcasts via Blubrry, working around a legal hurdle or two, exploring options on syndication and a lot more besides.

Moving into the end of 2009 there’s a few more changes and developments to come the way of the Playlist Mix so if you’re not already subscribed to the podcast, now is the perfect opportunity to do so! PLM took home the award for Best Podcast last year so to be included in the running again is a great boost. The category itself is sponsored by 3 Ireland and joining the Playlist Mix on the shortlist are RTE Podcasts, Nialler9, The Persuaders, Michael Hanley, The Comic Cast, Hostelworld Podcasts, Chopshop FM, Devious Theatre, Mixtape.ie, Panic Dots and View From The Quad.

We’re On Monday’s Now, Did You Notice?

Ken McGuire — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:54:31 +0000

Have you noticed, we’re on Mondays? At least for this month anyway. The past two weeks shows have slipped online on Mondays and today shouldn’t really be any different as we move through September. You can thank the NFL for that as well. For the month of September we’re covering all of the NFL action (American Football that is) on Sundays from early in the morning through to last thing at night so we’ll be bringing you the Playlist Mix on Mondays for a few weeks.

Tonight’s playlist has been picked, yet again helped by the Soundcloud additions – if you’ve got a track you want to submit to the podcast, don’t hesitate to use the drop box to leave us an MP3.

New Single, Tour for Julie Feeney

Ken McGuire — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:04:28 +0000

I got to listening to Julie Feeney ahead of her appearance at the Kilkenny Arts Festival this past August. I was well aware of 13 songs and her Choice Music Prize award but the years inbeetween his first and current album, pages, seemed to pass me by.

On October 2nd (12th in the UK), the Galwegian releases Impossibly Beautiful, from pages, on single, accompanied by a brand new video as well shot by director Vittoria Colonna.

She’s also announced a few dates for late September / October in support of the release of the single.

Thursday 24 September, Town Hall Theatre, Galway
Thursday 15 October, The Sugar Club, Dublin
Friday 16 October, The Dock, Carrick on Shannon
Saturday 17 October, Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Sunday 18 October, Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast
Thursday 22 October, Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co. Louth
Saturday 24 October, Glor, Ennis Co. Clare
Friday 30 October, The Pavilion, Cork

Saving J Launch New Album Next Weekend

Ken McGuire — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:19:53 +0000

Saving J, featured on the latest Playlist Mix with current single ABC are set to launch their debut album offering This City Street in Whelan’s in Dublin on Saturday September 12th, the CD itself available from the Friday. Support on the night will come from Rekoj and doors open at 8pm with tickets €10 available from the venue.

The album has been a long time in the making with the band already having released five singles – Bus Stop, Valentine, Kick Off, Indication Street and ABC – in advance of the album, with all singles included. Their next single, Everybody, is set for release shortly with artwork previews available on the band’s MySpace page.

I’ve had a copy of the album here for a few weeks and it’s nice to see how the band’s sound has shaped and evolved over the past two years. For an independent band, they’re certainly not afraid to get out, do the work, clock up the mileage in the tour van and make an investment in their musical careers. Hopefully the album, when it drops, will bring them some more deserved attention.

Submit Your Tracks Using SoundCloud

Ken McGuire — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:56:38 +0000

You can now submit your tracks to the Playlist Mix using SoundCloud.com and their dropbox feature. To upload a track, simply click on the dropbox button on the right of page, or use this link here.

Tip: When uploading an MP3, please name the track in the format of ARTIST NAME – TRACK NAME.mp3 e.g. Coldplay – Clocks.mp3.

Submissions for tracks are stacked up of May / June / July thanks to the break for touring and theatre and while you can still submit tracks via email we thought it nice to offer you the possibility of uploading tracks through the site. Plus we get to hold them all in the one spot online.

While SoundCloud.com will support a number of formats (AIFF / WAVE / FLAC / AAC / OGG / MP3), it’s only MP3 we’re looking for with a minimum quality of 128kpbs stereo. Uploading the track doesn’t guarantee that it will get played on the podcast but we can say that if and when the track does get an airing, you’ll be the first to know.

Have you been keeping up to date?

Ken McGuire — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:37:35 +0000

Have you been keeping up to date? If you’ve been following the Twitter stream you’ll have picked up (recently) that we’re in the throws of returning with the podcast following a prolonged summer break. Four months is a long time.

Taking time to arrange some licensing and syndication matters (as well as build up a wealth of new music), the PLM is set to return, next week, for the run to the end of the year.

I’ve been looking forward to this for too long…

Where Are We Now?

Ken McGuire — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:08:58 +0000

Fear no, oh Playlist Mix listener, we’ve not gone away, merely having an extended afternoon nap. Truth is, we’ve been up the walls here since last night with a new project – My Music – that’s slowly but surely taking off. We’ve just finished working one tour, have two more lined up for the summer for artists that you would have heard on previous podcasts (like Jeff Lang, Clive Barnes, South, The Lions Mane, Empire Social etc.).

Normal programming will resume in June when the wheels on the bus slow down enough for us to catch up.

In the mean time, don’t forget you can still access any and all previous shows from this year right here on PlaylistMix.com and via iTunes.

Monday Release For PLM55

Ken McGuire — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:54:00 +0000

It’s a Monday release for PLM55. After a weekend away in Belfast, there’s a lot to do yet in the studio so it’ll be tomorrow before you get to sample PLM55.

If you’ve never been to Belfast before, give it a shot. Had a great weekend up there and would most definitely go back again.

Featured Artists For April

Ken McGuire — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:28:40 +0000

Last month saw the featured artists in the form of The Very Most, Heritage Centre, The Funeral Suits and Serial Twin bag some extra plays on the podcast.

This month it’s the turn of ODi, Star Crossed Enemies, Valentine Black and Chucky’s River, four UK/Irish acts who will get a few additional plays on the podcast over the course of April and plugs throughout the web.

The latest podcast, Playlist Mix 52 also goes out this week. I would love to say it was found under a pile of Wonderland and Wasteland episodes, much like the fabled lost pilot to Clerks, but I’d by lying. I would also like to say that it was supposed to air in Amsterdam last weekend (hence the gap), but it didn’t. It also didn’t make the web on Tuesday so it’s been held over until tonight.

It’s April, it’s the first podcast of the month and PLM 52 is up around 10pm GMT tonight.

Playlist Mix 50 On The Way This Morning

Ken McGuire — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:31:05 +0000

The 50th Playlist Mix podcast is on the way this morning and it’s a longer show than usual, packed with 15 tracks in the space of an hour, the extra tracks to mark the podcast reaching this milestone podcast, albeit about a year too late.

You’ve a host of new music to listen to along with a few tracks plucked from other podcasts gone by.

To those who listen, stream and download on a regular basis, my thanks for bringing the podcast to show number 50. To those who are just meeting the Playlist Mix for the first time, I hope you’ll enjoy the latest mix which brings tracks from Rilo Kiley, Super Extra Bonus Party, Flinders, Tenaka, God Blind Scientists and more.

It’s on the way, later this morning.

18: Inner Surge – Halliburton Piggies

Ken McGuire — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:43:35 +0000

Playlist Mix 18 might have been the first time Inner Surge were featured on the Playlist Mix back in January 2008 but it wasn’t the last. It’s also not the last of frontman Steve Moore whose latest project, The Unravelling, found their way onto Playlist Mix 44 with Unscripted Disclosure.

Back in January 2008, I also gave away a few copies of An Offering, the album release from Inner Surge at the time, a powerhouse of progressive metal out of Canada. From the album comes this track, Halliburton Piggies.

Inner Surge – Halliburton Piggies
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

17: Broken Social Scene – Backed Out On The…

Ken McGuire — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:56:51 +0000

The 17th Playlist Mix podcast saw the introduction of Broken Social Scene to the proceedings. One thing I love about the Canadian music scene is their ability to churn out quality bands and quality musicians and the collective that make up Broken Social Scene are no different.

Today’s free track for your lent listening is ‘Backed Out On The…’. Grab the MP3 below (right click, save target as etc.)

Broken Social Scene – Backed Out On The…
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

16: British Sea Power – No Lucifer

Ken McGuire — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:13:56 +0000

British Sea Power, easily compared to Arcade Fire, released ‘No Lucifer’ as a single back in March 2008. Two months earlier it surfaced on Playlist Mix 16 in January 2008. Enjoy the video above and get your hands on the MP3 below, taken from the album ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’

British Sea Power – No Lucifer
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

15: Empire Social – We Know The Truth

Ken McGuire — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:43:29 +0000

Are you allow to pimp your own music in this series? I’ve recently started producing music under the name of ‘Empire Social‘. It’s a long process and it’s leading to some interesting offline collaborations. There’s a few new tracks due in the coming weeks (one due this weekend) and a podsafe album release due later in the year.

If you can turn up the bass, turn up the bass, you might need it for this one. You can also download the track here via EmpireSocial.com and follow Empire Social on Twitter.

Empire Social – We Know The Truth
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

14: The Outside – Rites of Spring

Ken McGuire — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:14:34 +0000

This one, from The Outside, appeared on Playlist Mix 14 back in December 2007. As they say themselves – “Embodying elements of the Deftones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Pumpkins, the New York group brands stages with an unmistakably claimed sound that, in the end, leaves raised fists and silver dollar eyed audiences everywhere “.

They bit the dust in 2008 after seven years but they left some free music over at MySpace for you. This is a good one, put a little rock in your Tuesday listening.

The Outside – Rites of Spring
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

13: General Fuzz – Liquid Jazz

Ken McGuire — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:26:28 +0000

Still in a downtempo buzz, here’s General Fuzz with ‘Liquid Jazz’ as lent-fest continues with free podsafe music downloads. This track first appeared on Playlist Mix 13 but it’s also a track I keep on CD in the van as part of a podsafe compilation, some great free flowing jazz movement with some funky beats thrown in for good measure.

Inspired by Orbital, the Orb, Chicane, Phish, the Crystal Method and a whole host more, General Fuzz writes music to “protest to boring electronic music that is flooding the world. Every song is a distinct composition, with melody, counter point, and ample psychedelic vibes.”

Check it out for yourselves below.

General Fuzz – Liquid Jazz
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

11,12: Codaphonic & Senses Fail

Ken McGuire — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:38:11 +0000

I wound up away for the day yesterday and didn’t get around to posting yesterday’s song in time so for your Sunday you get a double-helping of downloads with a track from Codaphonic that featured on Playlist Mix 11 and another from Senses Fail that opened up Playlist Mix 12.

Codaphonic released a great album in the shape of ‘The Ballad of Codaphonic’ over a year ago now with this track, Ritalin, lifted from it.

Senses Fail released their current album offering of ‘Life Is Not A Waiting Room’ in October last year and are currently touring (between February and April) as part of the Saints and Sinners Tour before starting a UK and European tour from mid April.

Enjoy today’s tunes and don’t forget to check back for the 49th Playlist Mix Podcast later on.

Codaphonic – Ritalin

Senses Fail – Buried A Lie
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series

10: Lovespirals – Walk Away (Dminor Remix)

Ken McGuire — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:04:16 +0000

Continuing the 46 tracks for lent series, here’s number 10 for you, a few hours late but something to get into the chilled out mood for the start of the weekend. Lovespirals create some seriously good podsafe music and some seriously good downtempo tunes, this one was used on the tenth Playlist Mix podcast way back in November 2007. Seems like a lifetime ago now in terms of the life of the podcast.

Chill out, stick on some Lovespirals and relax into your Friday night.

Lovespirals – Walk Away (Dminor remix)
Part of the 46 Tracks series on PlaylistMix.com. View all in series