Happy New Year, my first radio show of 2026 is in the can, 📻 listen back to #44 of The Human Recommendation on mixcloud.

The most common image I have seen used to capture 2026 is from Fritz Lang's silent classic movie Metropolis, which attempted to depict it.

This winter has felt that grey, and I cant wait for the longer days and hopefully some blue skies.

Radio

This year also marks the centenary of Irish radio.

"There are now 33 commercial radio and 21 community stations broadcasting across Ireland, with almost 3.5 million people tuning in each weekday."

I recorded a special Human Recommendation radio Mix over the holidays, called 'The Music of What Happens' which is available on Mixcloud and contains the best of Irish indie music from 2025, along with sound bites, sports moments, archive digs & more from the past year.
Hopefully it can provide an enjoyable musical accompaniment to your next journey.

'The Music of What Happens'..A Human Recommendation Special Mix by The Human Recommendation | Mixcloud

This is my 100th Mixcloud Upload and for it I decided on a special, a celebration of all things Irish! This is the "Music of What Happens", a 2 hour playlist showcasing the abundance of incredible talent from our small island ☘️🇮🇪 Music includes: The Altered Hours - Such a Steal pot pot - 22° Halo Far Caspian - First Day Martina and The Moons - Laundry Mat Dove Ellis - Love Is Joshua Burnside - The Good Life The Murder Capital - Words Lost Meaning Ways of Seeing - Idolise Florence Road - Stor...

Writing

If you happen to see copies of the print magazine The GOO around Dublin, I have a couple of interviews in this month’s edition with Cork based band The Altered Hours and the quirky, delightful Telekura.

I started contributing also to Atwood Magazine, my first piece published was an interview with Montreal based post punk band Ribbon Skirt.

Interview: Ribbon Skirt’s Billy Riley on Lifting the Spirit of the Anishinaabe Experience Through Music - Atwood Magazine

Ribbon Skirt guitarist Billy Riley reflects on the band’s meteoric rise, the making of their Polaris-shortlisted debut album ‘Bite Down,’ and the creative, cultural, and emotional forces shaping one of Montreal’s most compelling new voices.

Interviews

I had the opportunity to talk with Belfast based singer-sogwriter, producer Thom Southern about his slowcore side project "how r u" that he formally launched in late April 2024 and since then he has swiftly carved out his own quiet space on the internet.
Thom spoke about making music, the slowcore genre that sucked him in, producing music with his sibling, the liberating release model where he drops music whenever it feels right. He has been prolific in that regard in 2025.

The Human Recommendation interview #52 with slowcore artist how r u (Thom Southern) by The Human Recommendation | Mixcloud

The Human Recommendation is a weekly radio show on Flirt FM 101.3 in Galway city showcasing the best of indie & alternative music from Ireland and around the globe. But in this special interview side project, host Damien had the opportunity to talk with Belfast based singer-sogwriter, producer Thom Southern about his slowcore side project "how r u" that he formally launched in late April 2024 and since then he has swiftly carved out its own quiet space on the internet. Thom spoke about making mu...

New Music

It’s only January, and there are already some exciting albums being released that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Anishinaabe musician and artist Status/Non-Status announced their new album 'Big Changes' which at its core, is an act of community-building and will be available March 6th via Youvechanged Records.

But the album’s crunchy first single, “At All” is a “self-explanatory examination on the daily grind,” says longtime musician, cultural educator, activist, advocate, business owner Adam Sturgeon.

“A commentary on the current stress, struggles and trauma of simply trying to get by in your day to day/ support a young family and keep your head on straight.”

I got introduced to the music of Status/Non-Status through Zoongideewin aka Daniel Monkman (who also makes a guest appearance on Big Changes) and their excellent collaboration in Ombiigizi. I wrote a review of their excellent, much under rated album.

I'm excited for this release as Adam and the band continue to grow in confidence and their big noise 🎸. I interviewed Adam last year and I hope to talk to him again ahead of this album.

Another album just released is ‘Desert so green’ from the collaboration of musicians known as Winged Wheel. The band includes Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Circuit des Yeux), Cory Plump (Spray Paint, co-owner of the dream venue Tubby’s), Matthew J. Rolin (solo guitar wizard and half of the Powers/Rolin Duo), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Lonnie Slack, and Fred Thomas (Idle Ray, Tyvek)

Winged Wheel Desert So Green

The new Whitelands single ‘Blankspace’ is out now on all digital platforms ahead of the release of their second album, ‘Sunlight Echoes’ on the iconic record label Sonic Cathedral, on January 30. This dynamic London based shoegaze/soul gaze band are getting ready for a big year ahead!

An Irish act to note are Martina and The Moons who release their highly anticipated debut EP ‘Starfish Social Club’ on Friday, January 16th, via Rubarb Music. Their two singles are excellent in “Baby Turtle” and “ Laundromat”

About the EP, frontwoman Martina Moon says,

“Starfish Social club is a project that's full of
contrasts. And yet, although sonically the songs are very different, the lyrical themes and
overarching sentiment is the same. The songs tell different stories about moments where you lose your innocence, where your inner child disappears.”

Other Newsletters

Other newsletters that maybe of interest include Tom French’s substack from Beataboutmusic who are building the infrastructure that turns local discovery into sustainable live music economies

Part 2: The Leaky Funnel; where and why fans don't end up at gigs

Why Fan Discovery Dies Before Artists Get Paid

"Even when a fan attends a gig, the artist may not capture the follow-up.
This is the structural failure at the heart of modern grassroots music: the ecosystem is excellent at producing intent and remarkably poor at delivering income."

Another reason to listen to music

One final note, Melbourne researchers link regular music listening to a 39 per cent drop in dementia ris. Researchers have found that listening to music can reduce dementia risk by 39 per cent in older adults according to a Monash University-led study of over 10,800 older people.

“The study found that always listening to music was associated with the greatest reduction in dementia risk, with a 39 per cent lower incidence of dementia and 17 per cent lower incidence of cognitive impairment, as well as higher scores in overall cognition and episodic memory (used when recalling everyday events). While regularly engaging in both music listening and playing was associated with a 33 per cent decreased risk of dementia and 22 per cent decreased risk of cognitive impairment.”

According to the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) “vinyl record sales jumped 20 per cent last year with Irish acts featuring more strongly than the previous year”, almost 480,000 physical records were sold!

I'm seeing more and more people looking to move back to a more analog lifestyle ditching the algorithms and all the digital subscriptions, Long live physical media!

Help celebrate music discovery through human curation 🙌

Forget the "samey algorithms" and tune in at 8pm(GMT) every Monday on FLIRT FM 101.3 FM in Galway city and via streaming at flirtfm.ie , to discover some of the best new indie and alternative music from Ireland and around the globe! 🇮🇪 🌎 

#TeamHuman