https://yeomagazine.cargo.site YEO Magazine Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:51:44 +0000 https://yeomagazine.cargo.site en https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Fleadh-in-Belfast-A-City-Will-Travel Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:51:44 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Fleadh-in-Belfast-A-City-Will-Travel Fleadh in Belfast: A City Will Travel by Lochlann de Brún <img width="2160" height="1080" width_o="2160" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/50db92ca48d393d39072a77b182fceae779b7f7d3005e7403162228ad4b82ecd/fleadhhs.png" data-mid="251343061" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/50db92ca48d393d39072a77b182fceae779b7f7d3005e7403162228ad4b82ecd/fleadhhs.png" />Two months ago I stood in a cafe in a tiny fishing village in Albania in total disbelief. I was travelling in the North of the country at the time and we had decided to cycle to a tiny fishing village called Zogaj, near the border with Montenegro. We stopped in for a coffee in a small cafe. I noticed that the eyeline of each member of staff was firmly fixed on the TV mounted on the rafters beneath the low ceiling. When I looked up at the TV I saw the unmistakable PSNI Land Rovers followed by footage of masked thugs torching cars and houses. The disgusting race riots had people stopping in their tracks in places you would’ve never imagined. I’d always been very proud to say that I am from Belfast, but at that moment I felt a kind of deep shame that I can’t put into words. <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a481ea377b4b3882b484123b11e987b053c7eabe59908e69856a2c41c6582f72/image.jpeg" data-mid="251342402" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a481ea377b4b3882b484123b11e987b053c7eabe59908e69856a2c41c6582f72/image.jpeg" /> Two months after that, the same city hosted the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time in the event's 75 year history. It turned out to be the largest Fleadh ever. 1.6 Million visits into the city-centre, which brought with it an atmosphere I’d never felt in the city before. One of the best things it did was create a massive amount of discourse about the future; licensing laws, pedestrianisation, more cultural events. These are things campaigners and regular punters have been crying out for, and now they are finally being taken seriously. For a place that is often too marred by its past to look forward to a future, the hope for a better city has become an infectious feeling that is as new to me as it is to many others. I joked to my family that the Fleadh was probably the best thing that happened to Belfast since the Good Friday Agreement. Instead of the laughs and head shakes that I expected, there was a delay followed by a: ‘aye, maybe it is’. The success of the event can’t be measured by the extraordinary amount of attendees it pulled in (double what was expected), or the tens of millions of pounds it generated; it was the ineffable feeling of joy it brought to the huge crowds bustling and singing through the city that ultimately made it such an important event. An event that brought people together in a city where 20 foot walls of brick and corrugated iron still scar its topography and keep communities separated. As the reels trickled through the air and the thuds of bodhráns instilled a beating rhythm to the streets around Maddens, the Sunflower and even Royal Avenue, you got the sense that the people of Belfast were acutely aware of how important it was whilst it was happening around them. Unsurprisingly this was felt by the generations that came before my own most of all. My generation, born during or after the ceasefire, knows very well the endless horror stories of the past, how you couldn’t do this, that, or the other, walking down here or there. When I was a teenager it would almost make me groan hearing about how lucky I was and how bad things were in the past. Of course, the older I got the more I understood that I was indeed lucky beyond my imagination, and that there is an enormous value in remembering the past to appreciate the present. The reactions of my family, of those generations who remember the past the most, were what impacted me more than anything throughout the whole week. Seeing how much it meant to them to see their city transformed, their memories given new meaning. When I went with my family to the large marquee that Irish language broadcaster TG4 had set up on Castle Street, my mother reminded me that that very zone was where her and any other Westie that ventured into the centre of their city was rigorously searched at a military checkpoint that stood for twenty years. Passing through the ‘Ring of Steel’ became an almost daily ritual for her as she tried (and succeeded) in becoming the first of her family to get a university degree, meaning that she had to travel from Ballymurphy to town to get to Queens. This would become even trickier when British soldiers became suspicious of her fiddle case. Here was that same zone, full of Irish speakers chatting away and enjoying an outpour of talent from some of the best traditional musicians in the country. Where once there were turnstiles and steel barriers to restrict the movement of people through their own city, was a free flow of language and culture without a trace of inhibition, moving from every generation and from every corner of Ireland. Without my mother’s memories, I would have enjoyed this for what it was; great music and laughter. With it, I could also understand just how much it took for this space to become one of joy. On the first day that the Fleadh ever took place in Belfast, I was walking through the Cathedral Quarter with my family, amazed at the buzz all over the city. We were with my Granny, who has a deep love for trad. As we passed through the cobbled streets of the Half Bap, she called me over to one of its many red brick door archways. She pointed at something scrawled into one of the bricks and told me to read it. It read: ‘JOHN HARTIGAN WILL TRAVEL, MAR 69’. She explained to me that my granda John had written it at that date and it has been there ever since. He was sixteen at the time, full of wanderlust. Of course, the year that he inscribed his wish into that wall was the same year that the conflict erupted across the six counties, which would then go on for nearly three decades. Some time after he wrote it, he was arrested and interned without trial under the Special Powers Act, like almost two thousand other young men. Simply because they were born in the wrong part of their country at the wrong time. In a strange coincidence, the day my Granny showed me my Granda’s graffiti - the first day of the Fleadh - was also his birthday. Among my many fond memories of my granda, who passed away eight years ago, were his constant singing and humming. Music seemed to run through his mind at all times, trad and the folk songs of Ireland in particular. I knew that he would have been very proud to see the first ever Fleadh in his native Belfast on the day of his birthday. I felt proud in the knowledge that he was right when he etched his name into brick 57 years ago, and that he did indeed travel. <img width="2048" height="1460" width_o="2048" height_o="1460" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/08ff6f836e2cdda94b483a8fc1324d9abec24258c2e778f40ccd0fba300d84ee/image.jpeg" data-mid="251342396" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/08ff6f836e2cdda94b483a8fc1324d9abec24258c2e778f40ccd0fba300d84ee/image.jpeg" /> The Fleadh has created a vision for the future of Belfast, one of acceptance and diversity, that welcomes every community to enjoy a shared love of music and craic. It has created an optimism that was impossible to envision even two months ago, never mind forty years ago. The future and the present are only made possible within the context of what has already passed; it’s the knowledge of the suffering and discrimination gone past that will help us in working to keep it there - behind us. I will never know for certain, but when my granda wrote onto the walls of Belfast that he will travel, I like to imagine that he knew that his city would travel with him. That the different street corners and avenues would gain new experiences, see new things. The joy of the thousands of incredibly talented kids, singing, dancing, playing instruments like true virtuosos transformed those spaces that had seen so much pain. It was a powerful moment - but just as powerful, was the sight of the generations that lived through the oppression and conflict of the past. The proud hidden&nbsp; smiles as they watched a new generation express themselves freely, without fear. <img width="1600" height="1250" width_o="1600" height_o="1250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b064c884976ca62111d39c1b5fd6df07df99244cd0aa1c11ebcf3f4d37f92752/image.jpeg" data-mid="251342391" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b064c884976ca62111d39c1b5fd6df07df99244cd0aa1c11ebcf3f4d37f92752/image.jpeg" /> https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/From-Santiago-to-Gaza-the-unlikely-alliance-that-proves-football-can Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:32:06 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/From-Santiago-to-Gaza-the-unlikely-alliance-that-proves-football-can From Santiago to Gaza, the unlikely alliance that proves football can carry a people. by Lochlann de Brún “We don’t play just to win; we play to exist.” Those were the words spoken by Ihab Abu Jazar, head coach of the Palestinian national football team, in the lead-up to an exhibition match in Bilbao against the Basque Country at the end of last year. The Palestinian team did not win in the packed-out San Mamés stadium, but its players, the opposing team and the 50,000 whose voices rose in solidarity with Palestine did affirm Abu Jazar’s words. Collectively, they expressed the proud existence of the Palestinian people, whom the Israeli government is so desperate to erase. On the pitch that night, football gave expression to struggle, grief, recognition and solidarity where politics has failed to do so. While the powerful figures that govern the world’s most adored sport dish out ‘peace awards’ to the powerful figures that have facilitated the genocide in Gaza, many ordinary people have turned to football as a means of standing up against the ongoing slaughter. Throughout Israel’s genocide in Gaza, symbols of Palestinian solidarity, like the match in Bilbao, have become one of the most important ways for people to express dissent against their own governments. The world has had to watch on as the death toll on the Gaza Strip exceeds 70,000, all whilst their own elected officials have either failed to act or have even actively aided in the daily slaughter of civilians. These symbols have become a means of expression that has allowed people to keep the genocide at the forefront of public consciousness, and football - with its badges, scarves, flags and enormous global stage - presents the perfect arena for that expression. Throughout the genocide, one particular football shirt has stood out as one of the most recognisable symbols of Palestinian solidarity. It can be seen in footage of protests all over the world: climbing the Place de la République in Paris, crossing Westminster Bridge in London, or blockading Grand Central Terminal in New York. It can be seen worn casually in Ireland, on the streets of Belfast, Dublin and Cork. Sometimes (maybe more often in Ireland) the shirt appears as a curious amalgamation of Celtic FC and Palestine; the Glasgow club’s iconic green horizontal stripes are paired with the distinctive fishnet pattern of the keffiyeh, and it features the four-leafed clover crest that honours Celtic’s deep Irish roots. I had assumed that this was a football club based in Palestine, and maybe a Celtic fan with an eye for design had made a clever mashup available online. It was only several months later that I, by something of an accident, found myself at one of the club's matches. The stadium, however, was not in Bethlehem or in Ramallah, 8000 miles away from Palestine, in the Chilean capital of Santiago. <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b7cfd60d8248e8e447420a83891b8af01869f9daec60f505477d640a16a2a251/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.22.jpeg" data-mid="245069616" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b7cfd60d8248e8e447420a83891b8af01869f9daec60f505477d640a16a2a251/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.22.jpeg" /> After a quick online search for ‘Palestine Celtic shirt’ I discovered that the jersey I had been seeing everywhere - with its Palestinian colours and emblems and its map of historical Palestine - was in fact Chilean. The shirt belongs to the Santiago-based football club, Club Deportivo Palestino, and its nod to Celtic was its third kit from 2024. As it happened, I was about to leave Ireland on an extended trip across South America. I decided that if I were to find myself in the Chilean capital, I would make it my mission to go to a Palestino match and find out more about this unusual connection between the two countries, so far apart both culturally and geographically. I also had to find out what the story was with the Celtic shirt. Without much surprise, midway through my travels, I did find myself in Santiago. The South American metropolis lies in the centre of Neruda’s ‘thin country’, flanked by the towering Andes. A stroll down some of the central barrios reveals the distinctive, edgy and radical character of the city that can be seen in the rows of buildings adorned with tapestries of street art and political slogans. While some cities wear their heart on their sleeves, Santiago seems to wear it on its walls. It didn’t take long to get a glimpse of the steadfast Chilean support for Palestine; the vibrant Bellavista quarter had large murals in tribute to the children of Gaza and to Palestinian liberation. The barrio of Patranato was even more revealing. The streets had an array of Arabic cafes and clothes shops, and every second lamppost was flying a Palestinian flag. Some of the flags were fresh and new, while others, faded in colour, seemed to have been flying for years. <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d16fe00d5ce6e079e5c16b8c57cf8cbabb1e2ae4615e7ca34faf60410cbc2dbe/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.23-1.jpeg" data-mid="245069617" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d16fe00d5ce6e079e5c16b8c57cf8cbabb1e2ae4615e7ca34faf60410cbc2dbe/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.23-1.jpeg" /> I went to Palestino’s stadium, the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna, to watch the club play Club Universidad de Chile. Above the main stand of the grounds, the Chilean flag flew proudly side by side proudly with the flag of Palestine. Amongst the passionate home fans in the stand were Palestino diehards in traditional Arabic thawbs and headdresses wearing the Celtic tribute shirt, looking a bit like a Unionist politician’s worst nightmare. Even the food stalls had swapped the classic Chilean completo hotdogs for shawarma and falafel. The Cisterna stadium felt like a living monument to the unlikely entanglement of these two cultures. After the match, I reached out to members of the Palestinian community to find out how it came to be that a football club in Chile had become an international symbol for Palestinian identity and resistance. I met with Valeria Apara Hizmeri (34), Palestino fan and social media manager of the Comunidad Palestina de Chile in the social sports club. Valeria’s great-grandfather had come to Chile from Palestine, and she can trace her family roots back to Bayt Jala, Bethlehem and Ein Karem, which became an Israeli settlement after the Nakba of 1948. The club itself was born of the waves of immigration to Chile that her own family was part of, and which led to Chile today having the largest Palestinian community outside of the Arab world. The South American country is home to an estimated 500,000 of Palestinian descent, with many residing in Santiago. <img width="500" height="333" src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/787c6024af49f41f35316c4d0aad2559b5fab19221c606680988f19ae7f9475d/embedded-6d0869f2.jpg"> CD Palestino playing at Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna in Santiago (from CD Palestino) “The immigration started before 1900, a little before that the first family started to come here. And then in 1910 a lot of people came. Initially, the people that came were from Bayt Jala, Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. There were Christian families in that time, Palestine was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, and the First World War had begun. The Ottomans said to the Christian families that they have to give their child to go to fight for Turkey and many families were afraid, and they didn't want to, and so they started to move to other countries.” “One of the common routes was starting in the port of Haifa [now part of the state of Israel] and they went to Europe, to Napoli or Marseilles, for example. And then they went straight to Buenos Aires. They caught the train to Mendoza, which is a city near Santiago, but on the other side of the Andes, and they came by donkey to Santiago, over the Andes. Then they started to go to different parts of Chile, to the north of Chile, to the south, while others stayed in Santiago. And that's why, because they wanted to look for more opportunities to work. They used to work in textiles, in clothes, and that was not very big here in Chile. So they started to buy things like materials and go to the south to sell them. So the Palestinian people always looked for a way to continue their way of living.” Explaining the complex multi-stop journey of the Palestinians' arrival in Chile, crossing continents and mountain ranges, Valeria remembers a joke from her father:&nbsp;“My father has a joke - he says that the price of the ship was the same if you went to the first stop or to the last stop, and because they were Arabs, they wanted to take advantage of the ticket and go to the last…this is a joke, okay? But the truth is, Chile was a land with more opportunities, and was not so developed. It was a starting country. Palestinian people are also very close to their families. So when they came here, it started with the first one, and then they brought another one, and then they brought the fathers, and then they brought their grandfathers. So I think that's why the community became concentrated here in Chile.” <img src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c487cc41393ba419cc7e6c2d1801f73c949bdd7626e3fe3154178652c46585a6/embedded-5398fde8.jpg" width="269" height="330" style="width: 269px; height: 330px;"><img src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d60f9a32c58fe3f6bf0e795f3e16399bac9049bd1bf2192de6f788821845795e/embedded-44785ae5.jpg" width="267" height="332" style="width: 267px; height: 332px;"> Valeria Apara Hizmeri While the first wave of Palestinians arrived in the early 20th Century, seismic events of ethnic cleansing following the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, meant that Palestinians continued to arrive in Chile in large numbers and join the growing community there.&nbsp; “The second wave came at the establishment of the state of Israel, when 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes and forced to leave their land. So there were a lot of people that went to Jordan first. In 1948 in the register of Chile, you can see there were a lot of Jordanian people coming here to Chile, but they weren't Jordanian people. They were stateless Palestinians with Jordanian passports.” “The next wave was in the Naksa in 1967 in the Six-Day War, there was another big displacement of Palestinian people from their villages [around 300,000]. Then, in the beginning of the 2000s, more came as refugees, invited by the government, and now, with the genocide, we know that some more families have come.” Throughout those waves of migration and displacement, Club Deportivo Palestino was established and became a beacon for the Palestinian community in Santiago. It was founded in 1920 and gradually became one of the most popular clubs in Chile, attracting immigrants and Chileans alike. Since their foundation, they have won Two First Division titles, three Chilean Cups, and two Second Division titles. The club itself is testament to what football at its very purest can represent, something that is perfectly captured by its motto:&nbsp;“Palestino has a motto in Spanish: Mas que un equipo, todo un pueblo! [More than a team, an entire people!] You know that is the slogan of Palestino, because it’s not just a football team, it is a team that represents the Palestinian cause. Every time they go to play in other countries, they go with the Palestinian flag. So everyone here in Chile of the Palestinian community, almost all of them support Palestino, or Palestino is their second team.” <img width="450" height="300" src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fd7812815a544124352730f88069eb72c5a8eca6196371690966ed232b1cf829/embedded-0fb77afd.jpg"> CD Palestino players wearing the keffiyeh (from CD Palestino) It is that exact cause which has made the shirt an international symbol that has resonated throughout the world. On the club’s jersey becoming a symbol, Valeria said:&nbsp;“When we see images of the marches in other countries, in France, in England, there always appears a person with the Palestino shirt. It is not only a shirt of a football team, it is like a symbol of resistance. If you look at it closely it pays homage to the Palestinian cause and identity in lots of ways; the colour of the flag, the map - the historic map, the coffee. This year Palestino has a new shirt designed like a watermelon, and it's so beautiful. The watermelon started [to be used symbolically] in the Intifada when Israel prohibited the Palestinian flag. So the Palestinian people, to represent the Palestinian flag, they started using the watermelon.” The strength of the club as a community and the symbolic resonance of the shirt has created unlikely bonds the world over - most notably in the now-iconic Celtic tribute shirt:&nbsp;“When the genocide started, the people here in Chile and the directors of Palestino started to see that the Celtic fans give a lot of support to Palestine, not only in the games there in Scotland, but also in the place against Israeli teams and in the Champions League - that was huge! They didn't care about the economic fines. They always continue supporting Palestine and that's why last year Palestino said, Okay, we're gonna have a shirt. This is going to be our third shirt in honor to the people of Celtic and the Celtic fans, because they are the most supportive fans of a football team in the world, to Palestine. That shirt is really popular here in Chile.” <img width="517" height="344" src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/94948551a3ef8d14084da26421e3da89c421e834e77573899598c61d01421885/embedded-fa6db998.jpg"> CD Palestino players in the 2024 Celtic-inspired kit (from CD Palestino) Israel’s genocide in Gaza has had a profound impact on the club and on the wider Palestinian community in Chile. The social club exhibits proud mementoes of the club’s history, but amongst them are reminders of the sustained slaughter of civilians taking place in the club’s heartland. Outside is a huge mural with two Palestinian children, the flag and a white dove behind them. Above them, written: En memoria de los niños de Palestina [In memory of the children of Palestine] On average, Israel has killed 28 children in Palestine every day for the last two years. <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2113a96a9b3c927e0056f0ead0e84ddf045e6c647f5269855fea982944e8846a/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.23-2.jpeg" data-mid="245069618" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2113a96a9b3c927e0056f0ead0e84ddf045e6c647f5269855fea982944e8846a/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-10-at-16.44.23-2.jpeg" /> “There is immense sadness and frustration because a lot of people here continue having people over there too. For example, I have my own people living there. So it's caring like, who in your family is still there?&nbsp; The community here is really sad, but I think some parts of the community still have hope, because this waking up, that things are gonna start changing. Okay, some people are more negative and think this is not going to end. But the positive thing is that some people of the community that are of Palestinian descent, maybe, second, third, or even fourth generation that were really assimilated with Chilean people, they start to say, Oh, I'm Palestinian - now I have to work for Palestine. They weren't working for the cause before, and now they have this awakening.” I asked Valeria if she had a parting message to Ireland, where the Palestino shirt is so popular and where ordinary people have made their support for Palestine loud and clear: “I want to say that I love the people of Ireland! I know that you have a struggle really similar to us about your freedom, about your traditions, about preserving what you really are. We have a similar struggle and I am really grateful to the Irish people, and also to the Celtic fans because they weren’t scared about all the people in the world, or UEFA who said ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that!’ They continue to support Palestine, and I will ask them not to stop in their support of Palestine until Palestine is free.” The need to nurture the connection with Palestine finds many other outlets beyond football, as Omar Salameh (32) explained when I spoke with him outside the social club. A Palestino fan and third generation Palestinian, Omar works as a lawyer, but he also teaches dabke, a traditional Palestinian and Levantian dance, as well as tatreez, traditional Palestinian embroidery. Showing me images of an array of tatreez and the symbolic importance of certain stitches, he explained to me why he thinks it is important to teach the art and culture of his heritage: “I think it's necessary to preserve our culture, especially for Palestinians that we've been living in the diaspora or in exile for generations. So the new generations need to connect with Palestine through our traditions. Maybe you're Palestinian, born in Chile, for example, and you never visited Palestine. So this is the way that you can connect with those traditions and not to forget our origins and our culture.” “It's resistance, because just to exist and just to preserve our traditions, this resistance, this is like a message for the world, okay, we are Palestinians. These are our traditions, and we are here, and we are not going anywhere. I don't care how many generations have passed, I'm Palestinian. It's part of my identity. We have strong traditions and identity that the colonial settlers cannot erase.” For Omar, Palestino Deportivo isn’t just important as a means to show those traditions and identity exist and are strong today, but that they have been there for many years: “For me, Palestino is like living proof that we were in Palestine long before the Israeli state. [The club] was established in 1920, years before the operation of the State of Israel [1948]. In Chile, in the other extreme of the world, we have a First Division football team that was established 30 years before Israel. So, for me it's very important, because we are also victims of negotiation.” As the club’s motto proclaims, Palestino is about much more than football. It is an entire community bonded together through their shared culture, their shared history of exile and their shared wish for their people to be free. For years, Chile was a frontrunner in Latin American politics in terms of recognising Palestine, and in recent years in condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza; however, that could be set to change. With the election of far-right President José Antonio Kast, Chile joins Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay in the South American shift towards the right, and towards leaders that are pro-privatisation and staunchly pro-Israel. Kast’s own ardent support of Israel is all the more curious considering his father, a German immigrant to Chile, was a member of the Nazi party. Despite this possible looming change in national policy towards Israel, the Palestinian community in Chile represents a flourishing resistance to those attempts to erase a people and their culture. For over a century, the diaspora has expressed its roots and kept them growing in whatever way it can. Football chants belted out with arms linked tight across shoulders, fine coloured threads weaved firm into tatreez tapestry; these bonds form and maintain a community that stands together with incredible resilience - one that refuses to be cast out. They can inspire in Chile, in Ireland, or anywhere else in the world. Palestino is a shining symbol of the power that community and culture can have. A reminder that while the wanton boys in power try to kill for their sport, a people can come together and play to resist. https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/GONEPLACE-Interview Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:08:42 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/GONEPLACE-Interview A chat with GONEPLACE The Belfast illustrator capturing nightlife’s highs, lows and late-night truths. Somewhere between the first sip of a pint and the flicker of morning regret is where the world of GONEPLACE lives. Through grainy textures, awkward exchanges and characters that feel both exaggerated and painfully familiar, the Belfast-based illustrator has built a visual diary of nightlife’s peaks and troughs. Equal parts hilarious and quietly unsettling, his work captures the moments that never make the hungover Instagram dump - half-remembered conversations, friendships stretched thin and the loneliness that creeps in even when the room is full. These are a few questions we pulled together at 5 am in a stranger’s kitchen:<img width="1050" height="1115" width_o="1050" height_o="1115" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83d33aa02d3c345bf52ae3bf54733c8f69c2f26170ef63f9e35594971a381080/gp1.png" data-mid="244724741" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83d33aa02d3c345bf52ae3bf54733c8f69c2f26170ef63f9e35594971a381080/gp1.png" />Your work has evolved fast over the last few months, but certain things keep resurfacing. What are the through-lines you’re consciously holding onto and why do they matter to you? The idea of absurdity is a constant throughout my work, and I think that’s because I find it interesting how bizarre some regular, everyday things are, yet nobody comments on it. Party culture is a lot more prominent in my work at the minute, and it’s I think interesting to show the weirder side of it all, and the positive and negative elements. I like to show how surreal these scenarios are, but take away the humour and I think a lot of my work consistently has a feeling of anxiety and horror. Sometimes this is by design, but sometimes this is just how I’ve interpreted a scenario and it translates on to the page without me realising. Another thing I’ve noticed is some things that I find humorous in the visuals, other people find horrific, and vice versa. I love that it can appear differently to different people. <img width="1050" height="1115" width_o="1050" height_o="1115" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/31573ace707dd2c4fa31082f4a54cc55ff022c87fa3a722653704ce339e7ac53/gp2.png" data-mid="244724742" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/31573ace707dd2c4fa31082f4a54cc55ff022c87fa3a722653704ce339e7ac53/gp2.png" /> Nights out sit at the heart of your work - equal parts of the chaos and the quiet aftermath. How do you balance humour and honesty without tipping too far into either glorifying or condemning it? I think the humour and honesty go hand in hand in my current work because there is humour in all of these scenarios to an extent, without me needing to add it.&nbsp; What I love about what I’m creating at the moment is the fact that I don’t lean into labelling anything as good or bad, I leave it as is, and then people’s interpretation of it tells the rest of the story. It’s just nice to know it makes an impact You’ve made LFO - LFO almost inseparable from the Goneplace world. If you had to swap it out for another track, what would it be? And would that change the work slightly? In a perfect world, I’d pick a Beatles tune, but I don’t know how well that would go down. In terms of a dance track I’d have to say ‘Jamie xx - Gosh’ just purely based on sentimental value. It was my absolute favourite tune in my early 20s. When I think back to raves, that’s the first tune comes to mind, but if you asked me tomorrow, I’d probably give a completely different answer. There’s too many to choose from.&nbsp; Honestly, I don’t know if any tune other than ‘LFO - LFO’ would suit my videos, but the who knows what the future holds. <img width="1050" height="1115" width_o="1050" height_o="1115" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/868d017591bb2006ca616f1e89945f609481b7e3b8551275b729df2183bfe6ec/gp3.png" data-mid="244724743" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/868d017591bb2006ca616f1e89945f609481b7e3b8551275b729df2183bfe6ec/gp3.png" /> You’re clearly building out a full Goneplace universe rather than isolated pieces. Are there any unspoken rules in that world, and where do you see it expanding next? I like to think there are no rules at all in that world, but I think if there were one, it would be that anything I draw is based on some form of reality, and I want to keep it that way. In terms of expansion, since I was 4 or 5 years old, I always wanted to create comic books, and I stopped wanting that for a long time. This has shown me now that it’s possible and that people might actually read something I create, so that’s definitely next on the list. <img width="1050" height="1115" width_o="1050" height_o="1115" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/130b70d844f2d1f8e99f3f0de9937f9c240bc503a008d23229c807759494abed/gp4.png" data-mid="244724744" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/130b70d844f2d1f8e99f3f0de9937f9c240bc503a008d23229c807759494abed/gp4.png" /> A lot of your work hits people in that uncomfortable “too real” zone. When someone sees themselves in a piece, what do you hope they walk away feeling? “If my work has someone walking away from it with any feeling at all, nostalgia or anxiety or something else entirely, I think it’s done it’s job” FOLLOW GONEPLACE HERE https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Why-Lidl-Can-Open-a-New-Pub-Here-But-You-Can-t Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:53:07 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Why-Lidl-Can-Open-a-New-Pub-Here-But-You-Can-t Why Lidl Can Open a New Pub Here But You Can’t:Lidl announced last week that it has secured High Court approval to open its first-ever in-store pub in Dundonald. A novelty. A big-saving supermarket dipping its toes into the hospitality industry with an on-licence establishment. Just because it couldn’t secure one for its off-licence due to other offies in the area objecting. <img width="1668" height="726" width_o="1668" height_o="726" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8d8e513cc5fc0d825f1ab9f0b4d184a381e437d9a7dec9c0d28bed29e11e43c2/lidlsls.png" data-mid="225930851" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8d8e513cc5fc0d825f1ab9f0b4d184a381e437d9a7dec9c0d28bed29e11e43c2/lidlsls.png" /> Initially, the satirical headlines and thoughts of a cold pint after an impressive receipt for your weekly shop seem like a harmless notion, and why shouldn’t it be? &nbsp; But scratch beneath the headlines, and you get hit with the fairly depressing wall of Northern Ireland’s antiquated and restrictive licensing laws. Known as the 'Surrender Principle', it continues to stifle local independent bars and entrepreneurs while big businesses navigate the system with ease and big bank balances. Licensing laws in the north cap the number of alcohol licences in the region. This means if you want to open a new bar, you can’t just apply for a licence - you have to buy one that already exists. This "Surrender Principle" forces new businesses to strike deals with existing licence holders to transfer their licence. In Lidl’s case, they could afford to do just that. For small, independent bars or anyone with a fresh idea for a new venue, though, this process can be prohibitively expensive. Licences can cost upwards of six figures, and that’s before you’ve paid rent, fitted out your premises and poured your first pint. To put it in perspective, as of December 2022, there were 1,089 liquor licences for public houses in Northern Ireland, down from 1,193 in December 2021 - a decrease of 104 licences in just one year. (communities-ni.gov.uk) This decline highlights the increasing scarcity and value of these licences. For years, independent hospitality businesses and advocacy groups like Free the Night have fought to change these outdated restrictions. But pushback from vested interests (those who already hold licences and benefit from the scarcity) has kept the system locked in place. The results mean it’s harder for new, innovative venues to emerge, especially in an economic climate where margins are already razor-thin. Meanwhile, multinational corporations with deep pockets and legal teams can breeze through the process, snapping up the few available licences and reshaping the hospitality landscape to suit themselves. Lidl should be able to open a bar if they want to. It’s not about them. It’s about the fact that while innovative local bars and independent venues are being squeezed by licensing constraints, a major retailer can now sell cheap pints inside a supermarket. What does that mean for how people socialise? Will it put more pressure on smaller publicans already struggling to keep their doors open? Will we lose the charm and character of our independent nightlife scene, replaced by sterile, corporate drinking spaces? There’s obviously a genuine concern that loosening these laws could open the floodgates for massive chains like Wetherspoons to dominate the market, undercutting local bars and homogenising nightlife. And yes, for many current licence holders, that licence is a valuable asset they’ve invested in. But the system is broken. Instead of celebrating the novelty of a Lidl pub, we should be asking why our licensing laws continue to favour corporations over communities. It’s time to rethink how we approach licensing in Northern Ireland. Not to throw the doors wide open for corporate giants, but to create a fairer system that gives independent businesses a fighting chance. Because our local bars deserve more than just survival, they deserve to thrive. So next time you’re grabbing a pint (whether it’s from Lidl or your local), think about the bigger picture. Support your local watering hole. Fight for fair reform so the people with dreams of opening a new jazz bar, karaoke club, listening lounge, roller-disco bar or whatever kind of establishment they can think of can do so. Keep supporting the nightlife scene that reflects the creativity, diversity, and spirit of the people who actually live and drink here. And of course,&nbsp; Follow and support Free The Night and the brillaint work they are doing to try and change things here for the better. https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/FAITHLESS-LIVE-AT-THE-TELEGRAPH-BUILDIN Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:08:44 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/FAITHLESS-LIVE-AT-THE-TELEGRAPH-BUILDIN GIG REVIEW: FAITHLESS LIVE AT THE TELEGRAPH BUILDING<img width="2250" height="1500" width_o="2250" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5b8b1b82d937a7ce05cde0298dc7bde535e849eb594ab959b4184e4572d2b87d/DSC07002.jpg" data-mid="222044105" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5b8b1b82d937a7ce05cde0298dc7bde535e849eb594ab959b4184e4572d2b87d/DSC07002.jpg" />PHOTO BY NIALL BOYLE&nbsp; As a first-time attendee of a Faithless live performance, any concerns about the band's new lineup quickly dissipate. The thunderous chords, pounding drums, and mesmerizing light displays make a resounding statement: while one of rave music’s most iconic bands may have lost their charismatic frontman, Maxi Jazz, Faithless has adapted and evolved, continuing to ignite fervor among massive, energetic crowds. Hot on the heels of rave reviews from headline performances at Glastonbury, Wilderness, and Bestival, Faithless brought their electrifying show to Belfast’s historic Telegraph Building in late October. Far from feeling like a band searching for footing after a significant loss, their performance exuded passion, soul, and confidence. As part of their highly anticipated 21-date UK and EU tour, the band unveiled their awe-inspiring new live setup—a showcase first introduced on a limited-run tour earlier this year. The Telegraph Building, with its industrial charm and cavernous space, provided the perfect backdrop for an evening that journeyed through electronic music history, radiating waves of euphoria. <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83ce1ceebf78f45cad3803f4945174370f73abdc8ed2f3f2f4fe9cdcceb8426f/DSC06742.jpg" data-mid="222044102" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83ce1ceebf78f45cad3803f4945174370f73abdc8ed2f3f2f4fe9cdcceb8426f/DSC06742.jpg" /> Sister Bliss, at the helm of the seven-piece band, commands the stage with an enigmatic intensity. Effortlessly blending big-room dancefloor anthems with more tender, introspective tracks from their forthcoming album, Champion Sound, she steers the crowd through a spectrum of emotions. The band’s recent single, “Find A Way,” stands out as a classic house anthem with its infectious piano loops and driving beats. It slides seamlessly into the setlist alongside iconic tracks, a vivid reminder of why Faithless remains one of electronic music’s most influential forces in the 21st century. From the moment the lights dimmed, the crowd’s roars set the tone for the night—a collective celebration of dance music’s unifying power. The audience's unwavering energy felt like a tribute not only to the band’s enduring legacy but also to the shared euphoria of live music. This reimagined iteration of Faithless doesn't dwell on replacing the irreplaceable but instead channels its renewed energy into cementing electronic music’s rightful place on the world stage. By the time the final beats reverberated through the venue, it was clear: Faithless has not merely survived the loss of Maxi Jazz—they have thrived. Their performance was a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the enduring magic of electronic music. Maxi Jazz's spirit undoubtedly lives on in their music, and this electrifying show is one he would surely be proud of. <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d63fd1b9ebfa749ecca6122ce2b98163a63fae9edb0ac14a64f4819ee43b7ea2/DSC06695.jpg" data-mid="222044101" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d63fd1b9ebfa749ecca6122ce2b98163a63fae9edb0ac14a64f4819ee43b7ea2/DSC06695.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e151d7ebf86d4e5cbb102ecc142bd18f7c07b8eb82c9265bcc38fe4660212496/DSC06660.jpg" data-mid="222044100" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e151d7ebf86d4e5cbb102ecc142bd18f7c07b8eb82c9265bcc38fe4660212496/DSC06660.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/abbed799396adf3e30da3a2daeb59c25947b21b2c2579a7447aa6ac016b61fd3/DSC07099.jpg" data-mid="222044106" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/abbed799396adf3e30da3a2daeb59c25947b21b2c2579a7447aa6ac016b61fd3/DSC07099.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83ce1ceebf78f45cad3803f4945174370f73abdc8ed2f3f2f4fe9cdcceb8426f/DSC06742.jpg" data-mid="222044102" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83ce1ceebf78f45cad3803f4945174370f73abdc8ed2f3f2f4fe9cdcceb8426f/DSC06742.jpg" /> https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Plain-Sailings-Scariest-Tracks-Of-All-Time Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:59:09 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Plain-Sailings-Scariest-Tracks-Of-All-Time Plain Sailings' Scariest Tracks Of All Time&nbsp;Ahead of their seismic (sold-out) show for Halloween this Thursday in Ulster Sports Club, party throwers Plain Sailing dug into their crates to select some of those tunes that send shivers across your skin, whether it’s a bassline from beyond the grave, Hitchcock grime samples or just dark and twisted techno. Blawan - Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage “Terrifying techno that’s menacingly elegant, produced by an absolute master of his craft. We think this track probably makes it into most Halloween picks. It’s an absolute classic that never fails to bring the ghouls out to play.”&nbsp; Trends &amp; Boylan - Norman Bates “A certified grime riddim from Trends and Boylan. It came out on the now defunct label Oil Gang in 2016 and was easily the biggest grime instrumental to drop that year. It also samples Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic Psycho, so it has to go in.”&nbsp; The Prodigy - Omen &nbsp; “It’s RIP Keith Harris forever. The little girl in the video for ‘Omen’ used to proper creep us out. There’s something about that xylophone. It’s the perfect blend of heavy band and dance music; a terrifying song that also delivers a kind-of inspiring energy, in its own way. Keith was a true innovator.”&nbsp; Randomer - Bring &nbsp; “The early-mid 2010s was an incredible time for scary UK techno. This one from Randomer has gone off at so many parties in Belfast over the years. Hemlock Recordings too, what an incredible label. If you played this at a funeral you would descend straight to hell.” Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy “Don’t think much needs to be said about this tune! Imagine a load of children with Aphex’s distorted face chasing you about. Horrific and timeless.”&nbsp; Follow Plain Sailing here https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Gradaim-Nos-2024 Fri, 16 Feb 2024 12:59:04 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/Gradaim-Nos-2024 Oíche spreagúil speisialta ag Gradaim Nós 2024. <img width="2025" height="854" width_o="2025" height_o="854" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/33fc3b35723790671fb81d7bca6c20896dfcb8af63ca8e0da7eb012dd60e8a2f/nosyeo.png" data-mid="204797961" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/33fc3b35723790671fb81d7bca6c20896dfcb8af63ca8e0da7eb012dd60e8a2f/nosyeo.png" />HUARTAN by Niamh Ruadh Ní amháin go bhfuil ceol agus cultúr na Gaeilge beo agus rathúil - tá siad ag síor-athrú, ag síor-fheabhsú, ag síor-thiontú. Bhí seo amhlaidh ag oíche fhíor speisialta Ghradaim Nós 2024. Rinne an ócáid dhodhearmadta seo ceiliúradh ar an cheol agus an ealaín is fearr fud fad na tíre. Bíonn réimse mór i gcónaí le feiceáil ar ghearrliostaí Ghradaim Nós, ach ba chosúil go raibh sé seo níos leithne ná bhí riamh, ag clúdach gach cinéal ceoil ó hip-hop go trad, ceol turgnamhach agus ceol leictreonach. Seo comhartha láidir den ard-chaighdeán de gach cinéal ceol Gaeilge atá á chruthú agus á sheinm ag draoithe uirlise agus léiritheoirí seomra leapa na hÉireann. &nbsp; Seo an chéad uair riamh ar cuireadh na gradaim ar siúl i mBéal Feirste (níor chréid mé seo ach oiread). Sa Black Box mar óstóir, agus Ceathrú na hArdeaglaise (nó an Half-bap) níos cosúla le Ceathrú na Gaeltachta an oíche ar fad. Deirtear go minic na laethanta seo go bhfuil dul chun cinn an-suntasach á dhéanamh ag cultúr na Gaeilge sa chathair, go bhfuil atmaisféir nó mothucháin ar leith ann ó thaobh thábhacht an phobail agus na n-ealaíon a chruthaítear. Tá an ráiteas seo ar bhealach chóir a bheith uasal le híseal (níl sé doiligh Feirsteach a mhaslú); tá traidisiún láidir, saibhir ann i mBéal Feirste ag dul siar na blianta fada. Ach tá an ráiteas go hiomlán ceart, dar liom. Ní hé nach raibh na fréamhacha ann cheana, ach gan amhras ar bith tá siad anois faoi bhláth. Léirigh oíche Nós seo agus níos mó. &nbsp; Ó thaobh na ngradam féin, bhí dhá bhua mhóra ag Trá Pháidín, an banna as Conamara agus Corcaigh. Is orthu a bronnadh &nbsp;an duais do ‘Albam na Bliana’ do An 424 agus ‘Físeán na Bliana’ do ‘Maidin Heinz’. Bhí an t- aitheantas tuillte as albam thar a bheith álainn agus aibí ó Thrá Phaidín. Cé gur féidir comparáidí áirithe a dhéanamh le Black Country New Road ó thaobh na fuaime de, tá amhráin uathúla cumtha ag an bhanna a fhaigheann inspioráid mhór ó thírdhreach garbh mistéireach an iarthair. Go cinnte seo ceann de na halbaim Éireannacha is suimiúla agus is spreagúla le blianta beaga anuas. &nbsp; Tugadh aitheantas don hip-hop thar barr atá á chruthú faoi láthair, agus ‘An Murda Meaisín’ le Súil Amháin agus Rob Mulhern a thug abhaile duais ‘Amhrán na Bliana’. Tiúin réabhlóideach den chéad scoth, a dhéanann tagairt do Frantz Fanon agus Chuck D, tá na focail láidir ón Chiarraíoch dírithe ar chóras oideachais an stáit. Bhuaigh na hamhránaithe óga sean-nóis ó Bláth na hÓige, an tsraith thar barr TG4, gradam d’albam traidisiúnta na bliana. Ag glacadh leis an ghradam bhí Síle Denvir, í féin a rachadh ar aghaidh chun ‘Ealaín na Bliana’ &nbsp;a bhaint dá halbam Anamnesis. Bronnadh an duais is mó ar an oíche ‘Banna / Ceoltóir na Bliana’, ar an bheirt laoch ceoil Rónán Ó Snodaigh agus Myles O’Reilly, a raibh a n-albam iontach Beautiful Road ar cheann de bhuaicphointí ceoil na bliana. Tháinig nóiméad inar bhog croí an lucht éisteachta ar fad agus ar ardaíodh gach dorn san aer le bronnadh Ghradam Rónáin Mhic Aodha Bhuí do ‘Nuatheachtaí na Bliana. Rinne iníon Rónáin, Fionnuala, óráid agus bhronn sí an gradam ar Huartan. Thug Catriona ón ghrúpa ómós don chraoltóir cheannródaíoch, fear a rinne éacht nár sáraíodh le teanga agus ceol na Gaeilge a chur chun cinn go mór. Thaispeáin Huartan go díreach an fáth ar bronnadh an gradam orthu le léiriú dochreidte dá meascán de tradronica (nó ‘techno trad’, chuala mé duine ag rá) agus damhsa a chuir deireadh leis an oíche. Bhí na taibhithe uilig iontach ar fad, agus léirigh siad caighdeán tallainne an cheoil Ghaelaigh atá ann faoi láthair. I measc na léirithe bhí IMLÉ, Mulu (ball de Huartan), agus Conor Torbóid de chuid Nós féin, ag dul faoina ainm cleite rap, Torby. <img width="2025" height="1110" width_o="2025" height_o="1110" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/abd3ddc1c4954be82f093039f1555a56afbaffd20dc6b3e91ae210f24e1c79fc/gro.png" data-mid="204798193" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/abd3ddc1c4954be82f093039f1555a56afbaffd20dc6b3e91ae210f24e1c79fc/gro.png" /> GROOVELINE by John&nbsp; Tracey Chuaigh banna Liatroma/Dhún na nGall Grooveline i bhfeidhm go mór ar an tslua le seó a bhainfeadh allas as laghairt. Agus muid ag caint leo ina dhiaidh, dúirt an banna óg linn go raibh aithne acu ar a chéile ón crèche an bealach ar fad go dtí an coláiste, agus gur sheinn siad le chéile le blianta fada sa scoil cheoil áitiúil. Chuir siad síos ar a gceol mar ‘high energy funk’ le ‘go leor fuinnimh, go leor spraoi, go leor damhsa’. Má tá an t-ádh ort iad a fheiceáil, beidh sé deacair agat gan aontú leis an chur síos sin. Chomh maith leis an tsiamsaíocht ar fad, bailíodh airgead chun tacú le muintir Gaza, in éineacht le hEalaíontóirí ar son na Palaistíne, agus labhair roinnt de na ceoltóirí amach faoin éagóir leanúnach. Rinne foireann Nós agus gach duine a bhí páirteach sárobair ag léiriú cé chomh hiontach is atá ceol na Gaeilge faoi láthair agus cén fáth a bhfuil a measúnú agus a spreagadh chomh tábhachtach sin. Téama seasmhach tríd an oíche ar fad ná an lóchrann a chur ar aghaidh . Agus mé ag caint le cúpla duine aithnidiúil i domhan na Gaeilge, luaigh siad go léir an beagán daoine a d’aithin siad i mbliana, agus an gliondar a chuir sin orthu. Ó bhunaitheoir Nós, Tomaí Ó Chonghaile, ag cur an eagarthóra reatha Conor Torbóid in aithne sular sheinn sé, go hóráid Fhionnuala Nic Aodha Bhuí, níor ceileadh aon siombalachas orthu siúd a bhí i láthair. B'fhéidir go bhfuil an cultúr agus an teanga anois níos mó faoi bhláth ná bhí i gcuimhne bheo, mar gheall ar na glúnta a chothaigh an timpeallacht agus an t-atmaisféar atá againn inniu, agus toilteanas na hóige a rud féin a dhéanamh leis sin.&nbsp; Cuirtear seanfhocal áirithe i gcuimhne. Rud éigin faoin bholadh atá ar an aos óg.&nbsp; Amhrán na BlianaAn Murda Meaisín – Súil Amháin + Rob Mulhern Albam na Bliana (Nuacheol)An 424 – Trá Pháidín Albam na Bliana (Amhráin Thraidisiúnta)Bláth na hÓige – Bláth na hÓige Físeán na BlianaMaidin Heinz – Trá Pháidín Ealaín na BlianaAnamnesis – Síle Denvir Banna / Ceoltóir na BlianaRónán Ó Snodaigh + Myles O’Reilly Nuatheachtaí na Bliana – Gradam Rónáin Mhic Aodha BhuíHuartan https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/YEOCASE-ELLY-MAKEM Tue, 17 Oct 2023 09:56:24 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/YEOCASE-ELLY-MAKEM YEOCASE: ELLY MAKEM We’re excited to get back to showcasing local visual artists along with our music and event coverage, so it’s an honour to share the bold and beautiful work from Elly Makem. <img width="1440" height="1792" width_o="1440" height_o="1792" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f85b1844a19d01e53e86c6cf281cd131fff19d3830c95566a884ecfab9efa1f6/Q1.JPG" data-mid="193942335" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f85b1844a19d01e53e86c6cf281cd131fff19d3830c95566a884ecfab9efa1f6/Q1.JPG" /> What were some of your earliest memories of being creative? I think everyone - especially as young children - is creative, and one of the sad things about growing up is losing touch with that. My mum is a visual artist and my dad is a trad musician, so I always remember doing lots of creative things with them from no age. I made my first comic when I was 10 and tried to get it sold in the corner shop beside my primary school - it was aptly titled, ‘Angry Man’. The man who worked there was very sweet and negotiated a ‘contract’ with me. It sadly didn’t get past the board of directors. <img width="1426" height="1485" width_o="1426" height_o="1485" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9c0bf0275347b852e686b70cec7d8d2e19cd6ecae7a18ba4af65c7bc2104783e/Q2.PNG" data-mid="193942336" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9c0bf0275347b852e686b70cec7d8d2e19cd6ecae7a18ba4af65c7bc2104783e/Q2.PNG" /> What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a creative career? One of the most important things I’ve learned is that you have to know how to be a self-starter. We find it easier to do ‘mundane’ tasks at a job for someone else, but so much of a creative career follows the same discipline as any other career.&nbsp; Someone who is not skilled at drawing but does it every day will always be more successful than a person with a natural gift that has no discipline. So my advice is to ‘get good’ at doing boring, mundane things, every day. My second piece of advice is that you will be hired for what you’re already making. The more you can ‘live’ right now, the way you imagine your life to be when you’re hired, then you will have the practical skills ready for when an opportunity arises. <img width="1580" height="2228" width_o="1580" height_o="2228" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f63c63042d72571ed1aac0db246a5384faa8c2a6ca54341cd1b9ff2e4bfb2f5/Q3.png" data-mid="193942337" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f63c63042d72571ed1aac0db246a5384faa8c2a6ca54341cd1b9ff2e4bfb2f5/Q3.png" /> What kind of music do you find best to listen to when making art? So I actually don’t listen to music while drawing! We do have music on in the office, but I often find it distracting while drawing. It obviously depends on the type of work I’m doing, but if it’s a creative piece and I’m in the zone, it’s silence or brown noise. Rule no 1 in ‘The Animator’s Survival Kit’ by Richard Williams is ‘unplug’ - and I’m a big believer in this. <img width="1601" height="2387" width_o="1601" height_o="2387" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/53402f352111ed225ad7cec37c957b56c37fcbdda829d9028a1181c0dc6b0846/Q4.png" data-mid="193942338" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/53402f352111ed225ad7cec37c957b56c37fcbdda829d9028a1181c0dc6b0846/Q4.png" /> Is there a discipline/style you would love to learn? I feel like I have gone through a few visual genres as an Illustrator, but my bread and butter has always come from a foundation in life drawing. I’m trying to lean more heavily into a painterly style for image making, is that a style? I always love using geometric shapes and I’m trying to apply that to building colour and depth. We’ll see how it goes. <img width="1668" height="2388" width_o="1668" height_o="2388" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/415bb9977413e5243304867be0049dccf5adc5f3a6e7c6159c1dffec1e326cd2/Q5.PNG" data-mid="193942340" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/415bb9977413e5243304867be0049dccf5adc5f3a6e7c6159c1dffec1e326cd2/Q5.PNG" /> Who/what are some of your current inspirations? I’m heavily influenced by Mondrian and Degas, and that’s been pretty steady for the last few years - I really love visual artists who capture the ‘reality’ of something - literally or through abstraction (though the line often blurs!). I think they’re quite inspiring in terms of illustrating a person’s journey to develop an honest visual language - that type of authenticity just screams off the page. In terms of contemporary artists - Rachel Merrill is on the Pinterest board lately - she has a lovely painterly quality to her illustrations that I quite admire, as well as Timo Kuilder - his animations are so fluid and he builds shapes so brilliantly. &nbsp; I also should mention that I work with a roster of powerhouse illustrators who are a constant source of inspiration to me in terms of the craft itself. Jamie Beard, Fiona McDonnell and Mel Carroll. I’m very fortunate to share a desk with these thoughtful, talented people, who contribute so much to the visual livelihood of the city. <img width="1543" height="2183" width_o="1543" height_o="2183" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f13a7d8ed46fa7469734caf514a647c5e1d26519afc31d9299f7adfe978013fa/Q6.PNG" data-mid="193942341" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f13a7d8ed46fa7469734caf514a647c5e1d26519afc31d9299f7adfe978013fa/Q6.PNG" /> Having your studio affected at the Cathedral Building fire last year was a nightmare - how have things been since then? Yes, nightmare is definitely the term! But you know what - my mentality is that I have gained much from the tragedy. I think I viewed it as a physical manifestation of the conditions of artists in the city, and people have sat up because of it. Seeing the council come forward, my friends rebuild their practice, and the resilience of the other occupants, has been inspiring. Vault getting better, city-based accommodation was another collective win. Things have been going very well personally, a lot of which has been from the relationships that grew from the fire, and a skilled therapist. I have a wide group of queer friends that I see a few times a week, we’ve got a sapphic basketball practice every Saturday, and a fortnightly film night, and I now work for the illustration agency UsFolk part-time who were my original sanctuary the day of the fire. Doing creative projects for the city with people who are your tribe is a literal dream. They have supported me in every facet and I’m very grateful every day to argue over Taylor Swift with them. <img width="3508" height="4961" width_o="3508" height_o="4961" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/613d27d0d97ceca92be0718200c7c69fd1d1764f29f96ffa582c218add6afd5c/Q7.JPG" data-mid="193942342" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/613d27d0d97ceca92be0718200c7c69fd1d1764f29f96ffa582c218add6afd5c/Q7.JPG" /> Congrats on your debut solo show! How long has this been in the making and can you tell us a bit about it? Thank you! You’re very kind. I pitched the idea, and Ruth helped me refine it a bit better and get to the heart of what I was trying to express. I had planned a solo exhibition for this year anyway, and Outburst coincided at the perfect time. I recently came out as a Trans Man and so have been exploring creating more honest, radically queer, work. The show is 7 pieces, exploring sapphic, queer and trans love scenes. I am so pulled towards drawing as a medium to express intimacy - and I really wanted this exhibition to speak unapologetically about lesbianism and transness with a bang. It’s explicit, and the intention is definitely to reclaim sapphic sexuality in the public realm. I think in patriarchy, women often have sex ‘placed’ upon them - the agency just isn’t there in a lot of our public media surrounding sex. It’s not the way I have sex, and how I saw myself experiencing this, and exploring my own masculinity with sleeping with women, was through online queer erotica. I drew some of this over lockdown, and I’m so into the idea of taking this very secret, not discussed, forms of intimacy and putting it in the public forum. It’s toying the line between lesbianism, butchness and trans masculinity. I’m personally striving to let go of a lot of my own shame about it through this exhibition, so it’s purposely playful for everyone involved. Elly’s exhibition ‘F/F: Fragments/Freeform’, is launching on 10th November at Outburst Festival - BE THERE!! ELLY’S INSTAGRAM https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/LIVE-REVIEW-FLOAT Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:49:12 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/LIVE-REVIEW-FLOAT REVIEW:“Float” A play by Orla Graham &amp; Kirby Thompson Words by Hannah McCallum Barbie isn’t the only production released this week that celebrates the innate beauty and importance of girlhood and women’s empowerment. <img width="1440" height="2221" width_o="1440" height_o="2221" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2c577525c58b8847ba55b25cac568291dd6d28e948ee1d1e36d2e3b2672be6f3/BE60B6D4-FABE-4DDA-ADDF-583DBB351EEB.JPG" data-mid="186583191" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2c577525c58b8847ba55b25cac568291dd6d28e948ee1d1e36d2e3b2672be6f3/BE60B6D4-FABE-4DDA-ADDF-583DBB351EEB.JPG" /> On Sunday evening I attended the rehearsed reading of “Float” in the lyric theatre. I had no idea what this piece was about or what to expect in general but it’s safe to say this touching piece written by Orla Graham and Kirby Thompson lit a fire in my heart and I’m sure with plenty of others in the audience, especially the women. Graham and Thompson approached such a delicate topic with empathy, care, resilience and affable joy in that only women can do. Highlighting the trauma of sexual abuse that 97% of women worldwide experience in their lifetime . We follow the story of 4 normal girls, living together through university, who try to navigate their 20s and the complexities that come with it. This play highlights&nbsp; the noise of being told “women can be anything” but really meaning “we should be everything”: thin, beautiful, liberated but innocent and most importantly eternally grateful without breaking a sweat. These 4 outstanding actors created a whole new world with different settings and played multiple characters without leaving their seats. I can only imagine what this play could be as a full scale production but it was perfect as it was. I beg of you to go see this production whilst you can, next showing at Dublin fringe festival 12th-17th of September. https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/INTERVIEW-MAHALIA-IRL Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:14:52 +0000 YEO Magazine https://yeomagazine.cargo.site/INTERVIEW-MAHALIA-IRL INTERVIEW:&nbsp; MAHALIA ‘IRL’ IS A STATEMENT OF SUCCESS FOR R&amp;Bs RISING ICON.&nbsp;14.7.23&nbsp; British R&amp;B singer and songwriter Mahalia is no stranger to career milestones. Having been signed to Atlantic Records at 13 after an early start performing at open mics and busking , she caught the attention of the iconic label and has been accomplishing new heights with every release. Now, two years after she had originally planned to release her second album due to the pandemic draining her creative momentum, she returns with an album that explores her growth as an artist, navigating personal relationships, and self-acceptance. If you treat yourself to her debut album, "Love and Compromise," you’ll understand why the hype around this next project, "IRL" (out July 15), is so palpable. a decorated creator of modern, anthemic RnB who blends the full spectrum of romance with tales of self-assurance and contradictions. Her heartfelt lyrics float across instrumentals from some of the best producers in the business, making Mahalia contend as a generational R&amp;B icon. <img width="2480" height="3508" width_o="2480" height_o="3508" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4b6621838249dba3804a349a4ebba831350de0a44c1017d9229319028a5e3c7/MahaliaPrint-3.png" data-mid="185056087" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c4b6621838249dba3804a349a4ebba831350de0a44c1017d9229319028a5e3c7/MahaliaPrint-3.png" /> Contrary to the name of the album, we did not speak "IRL," but over Zoom, in the middle of a long press day for the young artist. Having assumedly been asked similar questions for a few hours, she admirably maintained the warmth of character that she has become renowned for in pretty much every article attributed to her. Initially intrigued by a video she had posted to social media explaining the emotions of releasing an album as being "2 parts fear and 1 part excitement," I was interested to know how the scales tipped with only a few days to the release date. "Yeah, it’s less fear now, for sure." I think this last week, I actually just felt happy. I took a holiday last week because I was like, "I need to!" I need to get out of here! It's funny, actually, because I think everybody was kind of like, "Why the fuck are you taking a holiday right before your album?" but I was like, "Because you're all stressing me the fuck out!" and I just want to be away. But yeah, I think for the past few months since I announced it, it was all fear, then excitement came in, and the fear just kind of stayed. "But now I'm just excited." Being excited about the album is understandable once you hear it. It’s a collection of tracks that bring the nostalgic heart of early 00’s RnB while demonstrating a diverse range of styles. Groovy slow jams like "Ready" and "Hey Stranger" flow with faster radio-ready hits like "T&amp;C’s" and "Cheat." Plus, a tender love ballad with a singing Stromzy called "November" is a guaranteed tearjerker to complete this incredibly well-rounded album. an album that may have been shaped completely differently if the world hadn’t stopped in 2020. Mahalia had planned to wait just 2 years after her debut album in 2019, but unlike some of her peers, she found the lockdown creative process a struggle. I asked how that album that never came may have compared to "IRL." "I think it probably would have been really similar to my first one." which is why I'm kind of happy that it got delayed, or just that I had more time. I think when I was younger, I only really wanted to talk about love and stuff like that. "Whereas now, I think making this record, I had so much more that I wanted to delve into and just talk about some more interesting sh*t." I think as you kind of move through your 20s, each year almost feels like 10, like 20 to 25, and I feel like I don't know who that girl is over there. So I think that album would have been way different. To be honest, This one definitely feels reflective of, like, my life and some of the relationships that I've been in and just some stuff that's happened. So I think that the album definitely wouldn't have been as reflective because I wouldn't have had the time to look back, you know? While Mahalia has experienced exponential growth the past few years, her career extends back to her early teens, as evidenced by a magazine clipping she posted to Instagram recently with the highlighted quote "I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT PEOPLE KNOW I’M 15"—I had to ask if she felt the same way 10 years on. "Not at all!" The other day I got ID’d in Tesco, and I was so fucking happy when it happened. I was like, "Thank you." I'm going to take that. "Yes, I have it." But while the pressures of Tesco’s "Think 25" policy are one thing, Mahalia extends her thoughts: "Do you know what? The industry has a way of making girls feel like they're really getting along, if that makes sense?" I would like to think that it's the same with guys, but actually, I feel like the older guys get, the more appealing they get. They kind of start to become these, you know, gorgeous older men. Whereas I think for us, we always feel like there's a little bit of a ticking clock, so I don't think everyone needs to know that I'm 25, but I'm also trying to embrace it and not be freaked out by the fact that I'm getting older. For sure." As an artist who has been in the thick of the music industry for nearly more than half her life, her views on the business feel incomparably reputable, with demographic equality not being the sole cause for the change she wants to see. Having repped a Burberry coat at this year's Brit Awards, I donning the slogan "Long Live RnB," addressing the lack of representation of nominees in the genre and the shoehorning of it into the "Pop" category. I was intrigued to know if the artist had noticed any change in the months after the ceremony. "I don't even know." I think it's quite hard to even see it. I think it's probably something that happens gradually over time. I mean, the one thing that I do see though is that everybody talks about, you know, UK R&amp;B and how we can do better, but it's interesting because sometimes I'll be asked by, like, a radio host, and I kind of want to be like, "Well, it's kind of you." You guys.&nbsp; "You guys are part of this." So it's nice that people are talking about it, but I think we'll know as time goes on. There are definitely things; you know, even being able to see a girl group like Flo play at the Capital Summertime Ball was, I think, a huge moment. I don't think I've ever seen a R&amp;B artist play that stage before, so things like that help 100%, but I think it's important that we're getting the music out to people who are home listening, and then we can let them decide if they like it or not. If we think about everything that we had on the radio growing up, coming from America, that was all R&amp;B and soul; we all grew up on that music. Everybody.&nbsp; If you have a party, no matter what music anybody's into, every fucker knows Destiny's Child's "Say My Name." So where's the disconnect? "And I think the disconnect is just that the music isn't being played enough." The issue of underrepresentation for R&amp;B acts is something that Mahalia has taken beyond red-carpet slogans. She launched her own night last March called "Mahalia Presents," a club night starting in London and recently expanding into New York. I was interested in the idea behind the night, so I asked how it came about. “I think I wanted to be able to give brand new or just up-and-coming artists, R&amp;B and soul artists, a platform to be able to play music to sold-out rooms. I think there aren't many people doing that. And I wanted to create a space where that could start happening. I think more people could be doing it. I think we could be doing it generally for up-and-coming artists, as there aren't many stages that people can come and perform on. "So I just wanted it to be one of them." Take a look at the videos from the nights, and it’s easy to tell that "Mahalia Presents" goes beyond a gig. The weight of support from the namesake artist to emerging acts seems tenfold compared to regular shows, with high-quality visual content and well-curated lineups making the night feel like a real professional platform for the artists. While R&amp;B may be looked down upon in Britain, Mahalia feels the music industry in the US is miles ahead in terms of respect for the genre. I asked if she sees much difference when it comes to audiences between the two continents. "The American crowd is definitely more vocal in that everybody loves to kind of, like, "WOO’s," or "You got it, girl," and they love to kind of shout at you. I really enjoy that because I just like that dynamic. But no one screams as loud as the UK. like mental here, but I think it's because I'm from here. "I think you naturally feel like you want to hold your own ice." That’s all fair and well, but with two Irish dates coming up in October (Dublin on the 13th and Belfast on the 14th), Mahalia is incredibly well-travelled as an artist, having been on tour for the vast majority of the year pre-covid. I was interested to know about her rituals on the road and if she had any memories of playing in Ireland. "The main guy that I've always toured with is my musical director and bassist." His name is Charlie, and I remember we did a tour of Ireland. It was literally me and him in a car; I was in the front seat, and he was driving, listening to a podcast, and driving across Ireland just having the best time. He's a proper foodie, and like, I'm really bad with food on tour because I'm always knackered, so the first thing I want immediately is just some fries. I'm knackered, and I would like some carbohydrates, preferably some salty carbohydrates. He's the opposite; he's like, "No, there's this amazing place in this city we're going to go to," so I think now the first thing that we all think about is food. Finding something that is incredible In the city, not just any food, you know, so I think that's it, but also I just like to walk around. If the weather's nice, I'll hop off the bus and just take a walk. And I always like to walk on my own because I basically spend six weeks locked in a tin can with fucking 10 boys when I'm in America. "Yeah, all I want to do is just go and, like, get my nails done or just do something really normal that I might do at home but completely alone with nobody around." That sentiment is something that Mahalia catchily addresses on the certified jam that is "Isn’t That Strange" through lyrics that long for the simpler times before the whirlwind of a life as a successful recording artist. She questions the contradictory aspects of her desires and actions, so I asked if the process of making that song had inspired any changes in her life. "I mean, honestly, I wish I could change what I've tried to." I don't think it's made me change them, but it's made me think about them more for sure. I call my mom more now. and I don't spend I don't spend money that I don't have on stupid shit. I don't pretend that I like cocktails. I am now back to drinking pints, and there are definitely things that I've changed since writing that song. I also much more enjoy my alone time now, whereas when I was writing that record, I think I was feeling a little bit like, "Oh, I don't want to sit in my house on my own because I feel fucking lonely." I feel safe in saying that Mahalia becoming more confident in herself has worked as an incredible genesis for one of the albums of the year. For fans of groovy R&amp;B and soulful vocals, this album will surely be on heavy rotation throughout the summer, whether you’re deep in thought on the London Underground, partying on the rooftops of Manhattan, or sitting in the Botanic Gardens with a special someone. Go stream ‘IRL’ and grab tickets to Mahalia at Mandela Hall here. <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/965b00c8cec46426693e4b54d7c94ef93496ff15f87902d37fc9e407007ddcee/Mahalia-Belfast-SQ.png" data-mid="185056186" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/965b00c8cec46426693e4b54d7c94ef93496ff15f87902d37fc9e407007ddcee/Mahalia-Belfast-SQ.png" />