Dublin Noises

When you live in a city long enough, it becomes like a person to you, develops a character, consisting of all those experiences and impressions that you live and absorb in it. The way it looks, the way it feels, the way it smells. And the way it sounds. A city is a noisy monster (here’s an interesting nymag.com article about the subjectivity in how we perceive (urban) noise).

So, after having shown some visual impressions of my personal Dublin, I asked  myself: what are those sounds that make Dublin? Hearing the city through the ears of a newcomer may make this task a little easier, as we get used to sounds over time, as to anything else that surrounds us.

So here’s my personal auditory Dublin portrait, consisting of little bits of noise that I recorded over the past weeks – some are ordinary and may be perceived in other cities (construction sites are everywhere but Jaysus! in Dublin they literally are everywhere), and some are quite unique, like St. Patrick’s Day on Temple Bar or that weird noise that the pedestrian crossings make here.

This is my last post, so thanks everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed it a little (I did!). Over 600 views from 18 different countries all over the world- didn’t expect that!

Why you should vote NO…. and what we can learn from Flipper

Everyday on my way to college I sit -half asleep- in the bus and stare blankly out of the window. Since a couple of weeks I am forced to read the posters that urge the Irish population to perform their duty as democrats and vote YES or NO – in favour of or against same sex marriage. The YES posters are all more or less the same and centred on EQUALITY – boring.

The NO posters however are diverse and great craic! How can such a negative campaign be fun? There we have our first common misconception: the campaign is not negative!

Because if you look closely, there is has a heart in the O… N<3. The NO campaign is actually all about love. Let’s look at some of the other posters:

“God says NO!” Plus there is a reference! No wait! Two references! Jaysus (his dad actually). Scientific argument. Both from the same book. Have you read it? It’s fantastic (literally)!

“Nature says NO!” How does nature say no? Ah I get it: same sex couples cannot procreate. That is Nature’s way of saying no to same sex sexual intercourse. Because humans only have sex to procreate. I guess we can learn a lot from Flipper.

Dolphins and humans are the …Dolphins are the only mammals that have sex for pleasure. And love Comic Sans.

Then there are lot of NO posters that have a child in them and they claim that every child deserves a mother and a father. Wait, so the Referendum is actually about adoption! That is surprising because sole applicants have been in a position to apply to assess for adoption since 1991 and that makes same sex marriage irrelevant, doesn’t it? I’m starting to be confused 😦

“We already have civil partnership. Don’t redefine marriage!” What? we don’t need to redefine marriage because we already have civil partnership? So, they’re the same? There is civil marriage, religious marriage and civil partnership. What is the vote about? Religious marriage (those posters suggest it is something sacred that we humans may not touch)? No we won’t redefine the “sacred bond between yada yada yada” as – despite its centuries-old democratic tradition, the Church won’t let us vote anything (that would actually be absurd if you think about it). So civil marriage and civil partnership are the same? No, there are legal differences, for example civil partnership does not recognise rights to some social supports. What? Now it’s too much – I am totally confused – so actually civil partnership doesn’t replace marriage?

This grew taller than me 😦 Isn’t there a simple way of understanding all this? Human Rights is a simple thing – and a good thing, right? Long list though. OK, let’s see… first article: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.THE END. Smiley face!

BD Festival 2015 Aftermovie

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a few words and pictures about BD Festival. Of course, we went there solely for professional reasons: to create a little aftermovie as another project for this much loved degree that I’m trying to survive. And naturally, I won’t withhold from you the sweet fruit of our hard work.

What should an aftermovie do? I guess it should represent and recreate the original experience. To do so, we obviously had to immerse ourselves into the festival… unfortunately! I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as we did creating it!

Thanks to Conor, Adam and Piero for making it possible!

SHOCKING! I was about to write a Blog Post and you’ll NEVER believe what happened next…

You clicked on the headline. That’s what happened next. Admit it, you have done it before! Because you thought you were about to read something that would “warm your heart”, “shock you” or (my favourite) “restore your faith in humanity”.

Because you’re smart, you probably had some doubts about the article when clicking on it. But nevertheless you did click on it. And there’s loads of people who aren’t as smart as you and they most definitely clicked.

Making readers curious about and consequently read an article has always been the primary goal of a headline. The most sensational newspapers have the highest number of copies. Nothing new to that.

But since about a year (I guess), a plague has infected online journalism and blogging: “click-baiting”, i.e. luring readers into clicking on sensational captions that reveal nothing (or at least not much) about the article they’re entitling and that is most probably surrounded by evil ads.

But fear not, internet police is protecting you. Mr. Zuckerberg and his acolytes have started last year to ban the disappointing captures from Facebook’s news feed. How does Facebook’s algorithm (the thing that keeps shrinking organic reach in order to persuade publishers to remunerate Facebook for its noble services) recognize them? Basically, bounce rates and engagement rates: when users massively click on a link but instantly return and/or don’t like and comment on the post afterwards, Facebook’s algorithm guesses the headline is click-bait.

They haven’t disappeared though, have they? Well, people still like and share those posts. Because they’re stupid? Or because they enjoyed the little game they just played: placing a bet on what the article will reveal – and being proven wrong. They don’t want to withhold all the fun from their friends.

So what do we do? Make fun of it! like The Onion did, by creating a website (ClickHole) that only promotes click-bait articles:

“ClickHole prefers to think of you and every other person on earth as nothing more than an empty vessel existing purely to share content with other empty vessels. If every vessel does its part, we can make sure our children inherit a world free from non-viral content.”

Now share this!

 

BD Festival 2015

Last weekend I had the chance to go to BD festival (formerly known as Barn Dance Festival) which got voted Ireland’s Best One Day Festival. And I could see why!

To begin with, for my dear non-Irish readers: every year on Good Friday, in Ireland, they have this custom (and law!) that every Irish person seems to hate: Prohibition. You cannot buy any alcoholic beverage. At all. Yes, in Ireland! So BD Festival cleverly is a BYOB festival, which means that visitors are allowed to bring what they’re not allowed to buy elsewhere in the country. In the run-up to the festival, the hosts, concerned about their guests’ physical well-being, repeatedly reminded the latter to not forget about that particular policy. How kind!

However, drinking was not the main reason why (most of) the visitors attended the yearly gathering’s 8th edition that took place in Glendalough. The estate of the same name provided a beautiful scenery for the festival’s lineup, featuring both important figures of the international electronic music scene (such as Leftfield, Ben Sims (no, Irish Times, they’re not the same) or Benoit & Sergio), as well as local and Irish Bands (e.g.The Eskies who lit the Whelans Main Stage on fire), DJs and newcomer artists.

And that is still not all that the visitors got to experience! For their hearing sense was not the only to be spoiled: several art installations, performances (e.g. a fire show), attractions (bumper cars!) and culinary delights (the Bernard Shaw’s famous Big Blue Bus provided Pizza and Reggae tunes) completed the event.

But in the end it is the atmosphere really that makes a festival. It surely depends on the program and the visitors it attracts. But more than anything, it is the effort and passion that organizers  and visitors (!) put into a festival that makes it special. A lot of festivals are just (or have become) commercial mass events, plastered with advertisements, selling merchandise and overpriced drinks. That is not what a great festival is about. Festivals should be about collectively creating a memorable moment for all to enjoy.

BD Festival 2015 has made it and I hope it will continue to, even when further growing. See you next year!

Visual Impressions of Dublin

I’ve been living in Dublin for 6 months now and I have come to appreciate its particular personality (we’re having a love-hate relationship… “it’s complicated”). And to be honest, the Irish capital may not be of a beauty that instantly jumps at you and overwhelms you from the first moment. But what I personally and particularly like about Dublin is its rough and urban charm and that, on its small surface, it is composed of a wide variety of aesthetically differently appealing and opposite parts.

Over the months I have taken a couple of photos (using my modest phone, do not expect high definition here!) of buildings, streets and objects that I found interesting. I compiled some of them here and made a little slideshow for you (that I will update from time to time). Enjoy!

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If you like the pictures, follow Oohdublin on Instagram! Give this blog a follow, or express your ecstasy, apathy or scorn in a comment! Cheers!

Top 10 Deep & Tech House Tracks 2014

Best ofs are pointless, don’t you think? Who am I (or is anybody else) to tell you what the best is, right?

And still, best ofs are regularly the most-read articles of all kinds of magazines every year (typically in December… so, yeah I know I’m late but hey!). It’s their absolutist claims that provoke you: There ist just one possible top 10 and here it is. Of course, that’s not true.

Music (art in general) creates a subjective experience in the listener (or beholder). Each piece is perceived individually and the experience, i.e. the actual piece is created in the listener only (ask that dude). A best of therefore always is and can only be a personal best of. Not more and not less. A list of pieces that have impressed and moved someone (both figuratively and literally in this case). Sharing this with others might -after all- not be that pointless…

So here it is, my personal, pointless not so pointless selection of 2014’s best of deep & tech house (or what ever label you want to put on it). Enjoy!

Anja Schneider – Dubmission [Mobilee]

Producer, DJ, host of her own radio show and founder of the brilliant Mobilee label: Anja Schneider has been one of the most influential figures in the worldwide techno scene for years and she’s not getting tired: a real perpetuum mobile(e)!

Lana del Rey – West Coast (Solomun Remix) [2DIY4]

What is there still to say about Solomun’s Remixes? Not much! The Diynamic label boss’ reinterpretations (like those of Noir & Haze or Foals) speak for themselves anyway. This sexy and groovy monster, released on Diynamic’s little sister 2DIY4, adds into his oeuvre just perfectly:

&ME – After Dark [keinemusik]

&ME’s dark and minimalistic track with its hypnotizing vocals and that lashing snare has been played in a lot of sets all over the world last year – and rightly so!

Adriatique – Space Knights [Cityfox]

Hamburg-based producer duo Adriatique released their ‘Space Knights’ on Cityfox last summer – psychedelic, pounding, perfect.

David August – Epikur [Innervisions]

German Wunderkind David August just keeps on getting bigger and his 2014 bears several highlights: Besides his Revisions for Kollektiv Turmstrasse (listen to his great Boiler Room set) and Stimming for Diynamic, he released ‘Epikur’ on the exquisit Innervisions label:

GusGus – Crossfade (Maceo Plex Mix) [Kompakt]

Maestro Maceo’s mix of Icelandic electronic music collective GusGus’ ‘Crossfade’.

Sailor & I – Turn Around (Âme Remix) [Life and Death]

Ame’s remixes always figure among the most anticipated releases every year. Here’s why:

David Hasert & Matteo Luis feat. Shia – The Takeoff (Rampue Remix) [LIKE]

Rampue has definitely found his own style over the last years. Both his own productions and remixes share a melancholic tone, great build-ups of tension and incredible drops that drive every audience into ecstasy. ‘The Takeoff’ is a perfect example of his recent work.

Moderat – Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix) [Pampa Records]

When a genius like Koze takes on a gem like Moderat’s ‘Bad Kingdom’…

Ten Walls – Walking with Elephants [Boso, Atlantic Records]

Mario Bosanov aka Ten Walls’ pachyderm has trampled on and destroyed probably every decent dancefloor on this earth last year… Dat bassoon!

So, I hope you enjoyed my selection and maybe even discovered something new! You think I’m all wrong? Propose your amendments then! Always happy and thankful to discover new stuff!

Dublin for Starters

Dublin is an incredibly international village. Especially young expats from all over the world come to Ireland’s capital for all kinds of reasons: jobs in one of the multinational companies, studies in one of the universities or just to learn English while jobbing for a couple of months. And even though the Irish are very warm and welcoming in general, the beginnings can be as harsh as the Irish weather.

Don’t know how to find a flat? Need help with your job search? Want to improve your language skills? Don’t know where to go out? Don’t worry! To facilitate your arrival, I compiled a couple of useful links that should make your first days easier! Thank me later, here we go!

Accomodation

“Jaysus Christ”! Dublin’s housing market is tough. The rents are (too damn) high and competition is fierce, especially in September when most students arrive! So, if you are a student and you have the time, try and arrive in August.

Daft.ie is the most common way to look for a (shared) room or an appartment. It certainly is no inside tip, but it still works and you should definitely give it a try. Ads on daft.ie are generally by the landlords and not the tenants that share the flat so you have to visit the appartment to get an impression of the daily live and your flatmates in spe.

A more convivial way to find a shared flat is Facebook. There are several groups, like The Ideal Flatmate Dublin, Flatmate Dublin, Dublin apartments for rent or Places to rent in Dublin (just join the groups, they are closed because they have to cope with spam). They are largely populated by internationals, just as the shared flats themselves, as Irish students rather live in student residences on campus or with their parents (which is not surprising, considering the rents). Don’t feel offended if certain ads claim they want “no *insert language* speakers!” Most of people want to practice their English during their stay and therefore try to keep a balance of languages in the flat.

The search can be frustrating and may require some patience and some nights spent on a couch or in a hostel or two, but these places are also great to get to know people! Also, your chances of getting a room are way better if you stay positive!

Jobs

Whether you are looking for a full-time job to finance your stay or just a part-time occupation as a language teacher or waiter, jobs.ie and gumtree.ie should help you! On gumtree you will also find all kinds of stuff and services! You’re welcome. If you need help with your visa, you will find all the information you need over here.

Communities & Language Learning

Now that you found a roof and a job, let’s get you to the fun side of arriving in Dublin! Are you an Erasmus? There you go! Also, drink responsibly. Are you French? Voila mon pote! Yeah I know there should be an accent… but I can’t find any on my Irish laptop…can you?! Also, don’t try any of the croissants you find here… just don’t. Eres Español(a)? De nada. If you are Brazilian, it shouldn’t take you too long to find the Brazilian community in Dublin (and here’s why)! Anyhow, this Facebook page might be useful, this cultural blog is interesting and this is kind of a Brazilian gumtree where you can really get all kinds of stuff and services (worth a look if you are not Brazilian)! Pode crer.

I know, I know, some of us will try to avoid meeting people from our country of origin for their stay in Dublin, but those sites can still be very useful, e.g. when you’re looking for some foods from home to cure your saudade!

As Dublin is so international, you should take the opportunity and improve your language skills or even learn a new one! Here’s a group that regularly meets in different pubs. Great craic!

Going Out

Contrary to what my British friends told me, the Irish don’t just eat potatoes (some of them even aren’t gingers)! There are loads of great pubs, bars, cafes, fast foods and restaurants that offer awesome food from all over the world in Dublin! Discover the best on lovindublin.com, a great blog that features not only loads of restaurants and reviews but also events of all kinds!

Timeout.com has a broad guide to Dublin covering everything: Bars, Clubs, Cinemas, Theatres and Restaurants.

As for bars and pubs, of course you will (and should) make your experiences around touristy Temple Bar. A bit more unique are the Bernard Shaw that offers great pizza in a big blue bus (yep!) or the Back Page, where Ping Pong and consoles are awaiting you.

For concerts, check out the Button Factory. It’s a great live venue and also hosts very nice club nights. The Academy also has all kinds of live shows.

There are a lot of clubs in Dublin but prepare for parties ending at 3am. Get lost in the Opium Rooms with top bookings by the Hidden Agenda and Abstract. The Twisted Pepper hosts excessive parties (with a rather young audience) at night and is a barber shop and cafe during the day. District 8 is a recent pop up club with world class techno acts. There are way more venues to discover in Dublin and I am sure you will have a great time here!

Phew, now those are a lot of useful links! So here’s a useless one!

If you liked what you just read, guess what: like it! If you even found this useful, share it with your friends! Got more useful links? Please comment below! Don’t agree with some of the above? Comment why! The best you can do, however, is subscribe! Because more madness is still to come and you don’t want to miss that…