An Scian agus na Guillemoteanna

One of the few programmes worth catching on the myriad music channels on satellite these days is the always interesting '120 Minutes'
It's usually on in the early hours of the morning and allows an artist to choose some of his/her favourite music and videos
Easily my favourite one from the last year was 4tet's slot and the two videos that particularly stood out were from Guillemots and The Knife
Guillemots' euphoric We're Here with it's fast motion shots of animals, clouds, ebbing tides and sunrises brilliantly brings to life the beauty of the Scottish highlands
Whilst The Knife's Pass This On is just one of many inspired videos from the Swedish siblings - we see a transgender woman performing a song onstage at some community centre perhaps in rural Sweden, already there is something strange about this scenario, it's almost dreamlike - her audience watch, entranced, hypnotised...until....

Guillemots have been added to the bill for Damien Rice's gig in Marlay Park this August, a venue I'm not pushed about but the addition of Guillemots has gotten me interested
Unfortunately The Knife aren't fond of touring but I had the pleasure of seeing them last November in The Forum in Kentish Town and they didn't disappoint, easily my favourite gig of last year - incredible visuals and an arsenal of breathtakingly inventive tracks ('Silent Shout', 'Marble House', 'Pass This On', We Share our Mother's Health' to name just four), they are one of this century's essential bands