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The London Ear with Nessy // Show 171

The London Ear with Nessy // Show 171

Hello hello hello! I’ve got an hour of freshest new music for you. See I’m down with da kidz. On The London Ear this week, I’ve got new music from The Eskies, Trick Mist and, I have to say, I adore Ham Sandiwich’s new one ‘Bodies’.

Also, I’m bad, today is my godson Cian’s birthday and I didn’t give him a shout out. Happy Birthday Cian!!

The London Ear with Nessy // Show 171 // November 18 2017

Here’s the playlist for today’s show:

1. The Eskies: I’m not sorry
2. Nocturnes: Humans
3. Heavy Soda: Elephant
4. Hayes & Y: Always so Simple, Always So Cold
5. Penrose: Better Man
6. Picturehouse: Somebody Somewhere
7. Ivan Nicholas: Moving On
8. Trick Mist: Fraction (Phare Remix)
9. Wyvern Lingo: Out of my Hands – Ringsend Road Sessions
10. Peco: Self Harm – A Beginner’s Guide
11. HamsandwicH: Bodies
12. Sinead Harnett: Unconditional
13. Conor Mason: Grounds to Fall
14. Childhood: Too Old for My Tears
15. Rews: Your Tears

Listen On Demand to The London Ear

Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview and outside Ireland you can listen online.You can listen to the show again on the RTE player. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.

Don’t forget to check out the RTE 2XM website. You can keep up with me here.

Check out The London Ear on Facebook and Twitter

Listen to the music on Spotify

You can keep up to date with all the music I play on The London Ear in one handy Spotify playlist. Every track I’ve played in 2017 and that is available on Spotify is in there. You can find it right here.

Listen to The London Ear on Mixcloud

You can keep up to date with me here.

November 19, 2017
Playlist // Wanderlust – Songs of Places and Travel

Inspired by my chat on The London Ear with Katie and Luke from The Ungraceful Guide, my Mum and Dad going to Australia for the first time and generally being envious of some friends who are currently travelling in different parts of the world, I decided I’d put this playlist together.

Playlist // Wanderlus – Songs of Places and Travel

So here we are, may I present Wanderlust – Songs of Places and Travel

1. Bjork: Wanderlust
2. Four Tet: SW9 9SL
3. St Vincent: New York
4. The Kinks: Waterloo Sunset
5. Iggy Pop: The Passenger
6. Ocean Colour Scene: The Day We Caught The Train
7. Manic Street Preachers: Australia
8. Hole: Malibu
9. Frank Sinatra: Come Fly With Me
10. Johnny Cash: Tennessee
11. The Animals: We Gotta Get Out of This Place
12. Scott McKenzie: San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)
13. Razorlight: America
14. The B-52s: Roam
15. Gerry Rafferty: Baker Street
16. Luke Kelly: Dublin In The Rare Auld Times
17. Toto: Africa
18. Friendly Fires: Paris
19: Daft Punk: Around The World
20. Catfish and The Bottlemen: Glasgow
21. Ringo Starr: Liverpool 8
22. Kirsty MacColl: A New England
23. Heather Nova: London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do)
24. The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin
25. Tom Waits: Jersey Girl
26. Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
27. Runrig: Canada
28. Dionne Warwick: Do You Know The Way To San Jose?
29. Duran Duran: Rio
30. Alphaville: Big Japan
31. James Taylor: Mexico
32. Declan McKenna: Brazil
33. Willie Nelson: On The Road Again
34. Duane Eddy: Deep in The Heart of Texas
35. Simon & Garfunkel: Homeward Bound
36. Fat Freddy’s Drop: Russia
37: Public Image Ltd: Seattle
38. Grateful Dead: France
39. Phantom Planet: California (Tchad Blake Mix)
40. Tori Amos: China
41. Peter, Paul and Mary: Leaving on a Jet Plane
42. Mark Lanegan: St Louis Elegy
43. Wilco: Impossible Germany
44. Frank Black: Los Angeles
45. John Denver: Rocky Mountain High
46. Sophie B Hawkins: California Here I Come
47. Estrella Morento: Cuba – Cali – Con Alain Pérez
48. Radiohead: The Tourist
49. Sara Bareilles: Vegas
50. Johnny Cash: I’ve Been Everywhere
51. Chuck Berry: Route 66
52. Kiss: Detroit Rock City
53: Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama
54. Grateful Dead: Truckin
55. Roger Miller: King of The Road
56. Eagles: Hotel California
57. Beastie Boys: No Sleep Til Brooklyn
58. The Prodigy/Sleaford Mods: Ibiza
59. The Proclaimers: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

Listen on Spotify

You can listen to the full playlist on Spotify below or through this handy link

November 11, 2017
It’s Time to Make Your Own Sloe Gin

It’s Time to make Your Own Sloe Gin

I’ve finally done it! After years of thinking ‘Ooh I should do that!’, I’ve finally got my ass in gear and got everything together and have made some sloe gin, which should be ready in time for Christmas.

Where do I get sloes?

All the Sloe Gin Ingredients

First issue I had was where on earth I would get sloes? I live in London, not exactly widespread countryside. My first point of call was to try some supermarkets, none of which had any in stock. I then asked the lovely people in Turnips in Borough Market, who hadn’t any either. In the end, I went to ebay and found 2lb s of sloes, ricked and vacuum packed in Wales for £15. Since I bought these, I notice that the price has gone up. If you need some, get in and get them quickly.

The sloes arrived a couple of days later, vacuum packed, everything beautiful. I stuck them in the freezer overnight and separated the packet in two.

Adding sugar to the sloe gin potion

Recipe for Sloe Gin

When I was looking for a recipe, I decided to go with one Nigel Slater wrote in The Guardian in 2010.

Here’s the thing, I’m not a gin drinker. Nope, not a clue do I have about what is a good gin and a bad gin. In his recipe, Nigel said not to spend a fortune on an expensive gin, so I headed to Lidl and got a litre of Finton’s gin for £15. with a standard bottle being 75cl, that meant I had to adjust the recipe. 33 per cent more.

I put in the gin first, added the sugar then bashed up the frozen sloes a bit and put them in a jar.

Here’s what I used:

1 litre of Finton’s gin
600g of sloe berries
466g of sugar

The Waiting Game

For the first week, I stirred the potion everyday, this ensures that the sloes don’t clump together and the sugar gets a good chance to dissolve.

Now, I’m still stirring the jar, once a week. I’ve chosen Sunday so I won’t forget to. After two weeks, I’ll admit, I’ve taken a lick of the spoon and there is a gorgeous sweetness battling against the gin. Now, myself and Talulah just have to sit tight and not touch the jars until at least Christmas. It’s going to be a yummy one!

Sloe Gin – The Waiting Game

How about some Sloe Vodka?

Once I had the sloe gin all sorted, I wondered what I would do with the leftover sloes. After a quick google, I decided to try sloe vodka.

Our friends in Lidl have a Putinoff vodka which comes on 50cl bottles, perfect for the amount of sloes I’d left over. Adjusting the recipe to suit, I now have sloe gin and vodka sitting on my shelf.

Bashing up Frozen Sloes

November 5, 2017
The London Ear on RTE 2XM // Show 170 // Ailbhe Reddy and Four in The Morning

The London Ear on RTE 2XM // Ailbhe Reddy and Four in The Morning

Happy Halloween! It’s a Bank Holiday Weekend in Ireland but no, I’m not jealous at all. I will savour every second when I have to go to work on Monday. No, you’re wrong, I’m not bitter at all, I don’t know what you’re talking about..

On this week’s show I had the chance to catch up with two Dublin natives, chatting about their music.

Chat with Ailbhe Reddy

Ailbhe Reddy is a singer songwriter who has just released a new single called ‘The Tube’, it’s an absolute cracker! It’s the follow up to ‘Relent’ which was released earlier this year.

Ailbhe has been making a steady name for herself outside Ireland signing a publishing deal with BDi Music.

She’s also playing in London on November 2 in St Pancras Old Church as part of London Folk and Roots Festival.

Find Ailbhe Reddy Online

You can keep up to date with Ailbhe Reddy on her website, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Chat with Kevin Dolan from Four in The Morning

Kevin Dolan is a Melbourne based Dubliner, who is the man behind ‘Four in the Morning’. The band are about to released their debut EP, ‘Half Asleep’.

I know Kevin from my time in DCU but haven’t seen him since 2011/2012 so it was great to catch up, chat about what he’s up to and what the local music scene is like in Australia.

Find out about Four In The Morning

You can find out more about Kevin Dolan and the band Four in the Morning on their website, Facebook and Instagram.

The London Ear on RTE 2XM // Show 170 October 28 2017 // Playlist

1. Heavy Soda: Elephant
2. Hayes and Y: Always So Simple, Always So Cold
3. Chat with Ailbhe Reddy
4. Ailbhe Reddy: The Tube
5. Gar Cox: Tombstone Heart
6. Chat with Kevin Dolan from Four in the Morning
7. Four in the Morning: Terrified
8. Chat with Kevin Dolan from Four in the Morning (Part 2)
9. Four in the Morning: Lavender
10. Graham Mitchell: Maria Browne

Listen On Demand to The London Ear

Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview and outside Ireland you can listen online.You can listen to the show again on the RTE player. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.

Don’t forget to check out the RTE 2XM website. You can keep up with me here.

Check out The London Ear on Facebook and Twitter

Listen to the music on Spotify

You can keep up to date with all the music I play on The London Ear in one handy Spotify playlist. Every track I’ve played in 2017 and that is available on Spotify is in there. You can find it right here.

Listen to The London Ear on Mixcloud

You can keep up to date with me here.

Photo of Ailbhe from Facebook

October 29, 2017