Home News What's On Annual Poll Photos Forums DJs Features Music Venues Reviews Links

Features Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!

A touch of the green with Tiernan O’Neil Reported by Darz / Submitted 02-03-07 17:02 A DJ needs passion, drive, persistence and a willingness to share their love of good music. You’ll find Irishman Tiernan O’Neil values and strives to maintain these attributes. Of course there’s more to find out about this energetic and likeable young man, so who better to ask than the man himself? Music is his life, a selfless individual who strives to maintain quality, consistency and entertainment but most of all, emotion and connection in his sets and productions. His style is one of diversity; catch him playing everything from Balearic sun kissed grooves, to emotive house, electro and trance with depth. It’s been a busy couple of years for this young gun, DJing all over Ireland, a guest slot at Judgement Sundays and getting his track ‘Shine’ signed to one of Armin Van Buuren’s labels while ‘Chloe’ got caned by the world’s number 1 DJ Paul Van Dyk, and on Radio 1 by Judge Jules. But he had just enough time to talk to me. Darz: Hey Tiernan, how ya doing? Tiernan: Hi! I’m really good at the moment, thanks! I’ve just started a new production course at college and have been getting back into the studio again. I’ve also been getting myself out there for some DJ sets. D: Sound exciting! So what got you immersed in this music we all love? T: Well, I really was never into any pop music as a kid. People in my primary school started bringing in old hardcore and old skool tapes by DJs such as Tizer and Trix. I fell in love with the underground sound of dance music. I used to buy tapes every week. I loved the almost illegal feel of rave culture back in the day. Back when the Conservatives were in power and they were closing clubs throughout the UK left, right and centre, clubbing had a real underground culture feel. Even though I was too young to visit the clubs, this vibe attracted me to the music. My uncle used to have an extensive collection of old skool tapes and needless to say I nicked them all off him! I think he knew, but never said anything. From there, I spent my whole life listening to dance music before finally getting a set of decks in 1998 after pestering my mum. D: I hear it was a chance meeting with the Radio 1 Head of Dance in 2004 that gave you somewhat of a break? T: Yeah I met Matt Priest a few years back in Derry before One Big Weekend. He accidentally lifted my CDs at a talent show he was presiding over. He took my CD bag back to the hotel and realised it wasn’t his and rang the number in the inside sleeve. When I went to pick my bag up, I fired him a few CDs. When Radio 1 came back to Derry, he let me warm up for Dave Pearce and Agnelli and Nelson at an outdoor festival on Halloween at Victoria Market. Neither acts showed so I got to play for nearly three hours to a crowd of about 2,000. D: And this lead to a guest slot at Judgement Sunday @ Eden in Ibiza? T: After going to Ibiza for the past 4 years religiously and firing my CDs out to everyone, I finally got one to Jules. After listening to it he gave me a set in the backroom at Judgement Sundays a few months later. It was easily one of the best gigs I’ve ever played. The crowd were outstanding. It was one of those moments that makes all the hard work worthwhile. When you’re playing music you love to a crowd that’s really responsive, I don’t think anything can beat that feeling. D: Definitely! You like to mix your styles up a lot, rather than stick to just one genre of dance music. Can you tell us more about this? T: I couldn’t play just one style of music all night. As a DJ, I think its good to play the best music from all genres. That doesn’t mean being all over the place. If you play good music the right way, it fits. For example I love really downtempo balearic house, and then building it up into more progressivey emotive trance and then into tougher house. I like groovy emotional uplifting music, with a fresh, energetic edge. I prefer to call it emotive dance music, a sound that’s between house and trance, yet isn’t completely deep or proggy. D: What DJ’s influenced you early on and who are you into at the moment? T: Early on, it was a lot of the old skool DJs but my biggest influence has to be Paul Van Dyk. A lot of his older tracks like ‘Forbidden Fruit’ are, in my opinion, some of the best tunes ever made. I don’t think anyone can get the same feeling, or message into their music as he can. I’m also a really big fan of DJs like Max Graham, Sven Vath and I’m still really into Tall Paul. Col Hamilton, the resident of Lush, is also a great DJ, some of his warm up sets are the best I’ve ever heard. Production wise I’m into Jaytech, Perry O’Neill, Matthew Dekay, Gabriel Ananda, Steve Lawler, Max Graham, Remy, Simon and Shaker and I like a bit of Funk Agendas music too. There’s tons more, but I don’t think I’d fit their names on this page. D: Which are your favourite clubs either that you’ve played at, or just been at clubbing? T: I suppose the best club I’ve played at was the backroom at Eden. In the UK it’s Lush in Port Rush, here in Northern Ireland. It’s got the craziest crowd and probably the best sound system in Europe. If you’ve been there I think you’ll agree, but Amnesia in Ibiza is probably my favourite club in the world. It’s just got this really atmospheric vibe. D: And of course that ice cannon!! Personally, I feel the clubbing scene is thriving at the moment, there’s lots of small nights, with the emphasis on fun and good times. What are your thoughts? T: Yeah absolutely, a lot of smaller nights are thriving. I think people are starting to be more open-minded, you can hear DJs playing a wider variety of music. I don’t think clubland has been as strong as it is now. The quality and consistency of the music is at its best for as long as I can remember. It’s good now, because music is less commercialised and branded. Producers are starting to put themselves into the music more, instead of trying to create the next big track. I think if producers and DJs make their music more personal, it has a greater effect. Without wanting to sound like a hippy, music is a form of communication and expression and if you play music that reflects you and your life, people will feel it far more. As I said people are being far more experimental with sounds and merging different genres together, and it’s very healthy. D: Like me, you seem to have a fairly shy personality, does it change when you get behind the decks? T: Yeah, I’m one of those guys who always has a big stupid smile behind the decks. I like a bit of crowd interaction, I’m not one of those guys who stands still all night. It’s not me showing off, or whatever, it’s just the rush of seeing people enjoying music you really love. The only feeling I can compare it to is like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid, waiting to get to your presents. It’s one of those vibes you feel in your stomach. I also think its good to be vigilant about the crowd reaction, you constantly have to keep checking if the music you’re playing is working. It’s a bit like being an octopus, putting your tentacles into the crowd and feeling what’s happening. I think that may be a crap analogy but I hope people can see what I mean. D: Do you have any interesting or funny stories to tell from clubs you’ve been in? T: Seeing my mate breakdancing during one of my sets was funny, he’s a great guy, but a crap breakdancer. The door staff didn’t know what to do. It was funny and slightly unnerving. When I was playing in Ibiza these two girls kept exposing their breasts to me, it was kinda puzzling, but I thought it was quite funny. Also seeing a guy licking the dust off a cracked tile in the Space Terrace in Ibiza was a little weird too! But if that’s your forte, then I guess its not harming anyone. D: Haha, weird! Let’s talk about your productions. You’ve recently been signed to Electronic Elements, one of Armin’s labels. How does it feel to have been signed to such a respected label after just two tracks? T: It still hasn’t sunk in. The guys at Armada are really nice. They’re straightforward, they’re passionate about music and want to get the best out of you. I couldn’t talk for a while when I heard they wanted to pick up the track, I was in shock! When I found out last March they wanted to sign my track ‘Shine’, I was going to a memorial for my step-dad’s mum who had passed away the previous month. It was a sad occasion but it made me feel really lucky and thankful to achieve something like that at such a sad occasion and early point in my career. I honestly didn’t envisage the tracks doing as well as they did. I just went into the studio wanting to create something personal, something that was about me and my life, something that told a story. I didn’t have a conscious plan or format. I think things work far better if you just let the creativity flow instead of planning the exact sound you want. I think it’s good to put yourself into your tracks, because if you don’t create something you like no-one will be able to feel it. D: Top advice dude. Your track ‘Shine’ has been played several times on Radio 1 by Judge Jules and your all time hero Paul Van Dyk, among others. You must be overwhelmed by the success it has had. T: Yeah, Jules was the first DJ to play the track, even before me. The advice he gave me when making the track and the kind words he had to say about the finished project were inspirational, he’s a great bloke! Having local DJs (many of them good friends) playing ‘Shine’ was fantastic too! Seeing PVD, Matthew Dekay and Perry O’Neil play it was a massive shock, in a great way! I woke my parents at 4am when I got a mail from someone telling me Paul Van Dyk played my track on his radio show. My mum was like, “that’s great!”, and went back to sleep. But regardless of whether it’s a big DJ or an unknown who like my music, it’s equally as rewarding. D: The B side of ‘Shine’, a track called ‘Chloe’, named after your younger sister if I’m not mistaken, has had equal success. T: Yeah it’s named after my 9-year-old sister; she’s a character alright! She’s got the personality of a 30-year-old and is great at imitating people’s persona and voice. The times I’ve been left in stitches by her are uncountable. She’s also quiet adept at nicking pound coins out of my room for sweets. That aside, Chloe’s a massive inspiration to me, even though because the age-gap she feels more like my kid than sister. I was unsure if the B-Side would do as well as ‘Shine’. But having PVD play it on countless occasions was awesome. He played it three times on his Soundgarten show in Berlin and even played it at Fabric when he was crowned No. 1 DJ of 06. I saw him at Lush back in November and he played the track 10 mins before the end of the night. I went up to thank him. It was a memorable night! It was also nice having my mate Liam Melly play it quite a bit too. Col Hamilton played the track at Lush, as his last track before Jules and he played it again on NYE. I was really happy with the track, and I’m glad other people are also. D: Awesome. Do we expect to see any follow ups to ‘Shine’ and ‘Chloe’? T: Yeah I’ve just started a new track. I’ll be back in the studio shortly to finish it. It’s got that similar vibe to ‘Shine’ and ‘Chloe’ but it’s slightly different. D: Looking forward to it already, shoot me a copy across! What plans do you having coming up for the year ahead? T: Just to continue doing what I love, producing and DJing. As long as I feel happy with what I’m doing, that’s enough for me. I’ve got a few gigs coming up. The next one is in Belfast in a month’s time. D: How do you enjoy yourself apart from music? T: I’m really in history documentaries; I like watching shows about WW2 and stuff — not something I always publicise to my mates in fear of retribution. I also love my XBOX 360, I’m pretty good at the Call Of Duty games and I’m trying to make going to the gym my new year’s resolution, but I make that pact with myself every year and don’t go. D: Haha, don’t we all! Finally, DJs either love this question or hate it, as it’s often too hard just picking one — what’s your favourite track of all time, and why? T: That’s an easy question for me: Gat Décor — ‘Passion’ (Original Mix). I haven’t found a tune that’s got the same feeling! It’s a really simple song, just a piano and a beat. But there’s something really endearing about it. It was made in 1992, and it still stands the test of time. It to me really sums up the Balearic vibe in dance music. Whenever I hear it, the hairs on the arms and neck rise up! D: Good stuff mate, thanks for your time, continue the good work and see you in Ibiza in the summer no doubt!! T: Thanks! It was pleasure! I’ll be back in Ibiza if things go to plan. I’d just like to say thanks to everyone who’s supported or helped me over the last while, and even those who haven’t been as positive. Hopefully I can keep doing what I love. Without your support I wouldn’t have had half of the success. I hope everyone has a happy and successful ‘07 and beyond! Photos courtesy of Tiernan O’Neil. Not to be reproduced without permission. Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments: From: Andy Dunford on 8th Mar 2007 18:54.59 I bought Shine recently - nice tune - bit different! Always hated that Gat Decor tune at the time though haha (apart from the really blissed out bit at the beginning) From: Lx on 10th Mar 2007 12:52.36 nice read guys i love Gat Decor/Passion too. how old is this dude? From: Darz on 10th Mar 2007 19:11.51 think he is 21 Lex, you fancy a piece of him!? Lol. From: Lx on 11th Mar 2007 18:19.15 i knew he was like 100 years younger than me.typical. piece wouldn't be enough but he seems all fragile From: sxygal on 28th Mar 2007 21:48.21 I know him, hes hot.

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. All other content is (c) 2001-2024 HarderFaster.

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement | Text Mode