Shelf-reading has two purposes: one, to make sure everything is in its right place; and two, to discover works you would not necessarily have though to look for, left to your own researching devices. <\/p>\n
I decided to take purpose #2 and apply it to Bandcamp’s tagging system, generally, and the Irish music section, specifically. I then decided to use the counties of Ireland (North and South), arranged alphabetically, as a framing device for the experiment. <\/p>\n
I begin today with County Antrim, which contains Belfast, which has large, thriving scene, so this time my selections do skew dramatically towards one geographic location. <\/p>\n
I’ve also noticed that, as one would expect, artists from further out in the countryside have drifted Belfast-ward, which muddies the waters a bit. With one exception (David C. Clements) I’ve tried to confine myself strictly to artists who have tagged their work “County Antrim.”<\/p>\n
Without further waffle, here is what I found that I liked, drawing both from Belfast as well as the county at large:<\/p>\n
I last wrote about Mr. Clements<\/a> back in January<\/a>. Since then he has added five songs, one of which I haven’t yet extracted from Bandcamp’s clutches (a cover of Devil Town<\/i>) and the other four which, together with the first two that I wrote about, I listen to on endless repeat for thirty minute stretches at least once a day.<\/p>\n Update Nov. 2013: He’s removed some tunes and moved others, and The Longest Day in History<\/i> is now a four song ep<\/a>. Here is my favorite tune:<\/p>\n