The long-awaited debut album You from Dublin five-piece Meltybrains? was released on January 25 via Strange Brew records. Brian Dillon talks about what took them so long, their various acquaintances and sideprojects along the way - Micheál Quinn drums for Dermot Kennedy for example, Sim Simma is always one of the best parts of festival season, while Brian and Ben Bix also helped make the music, with Eoin 'Talos' French, for Emmet Kirwan's latest show Accents.

It has been years in the making - an exploration of the journey of five young men, trying to get from one end of their 20s to the other. Much like the making of the album, this journey was trickier than any of them thought it would be. It’s an absolute beginner’s guide to the microcosm, the macrocosm and everything in between. It’s also a bit of fun and a pretty good record, combining influences from footwork, drone and j-pop with krautrock, psychedelia and prog.

https://meltybrains.bandcamp.com/album/you

TPOE 248: Meltybrains?

Brian Dillon, one part of Meltybrains, released his second solo album under the moniker The Line on November 1, 2023. Entitled Red Blood Cells and Righteousness, it's an album full of collaborations, featuring Lullahush, Fehdah and Loah, Sarah Corcoran (Pillow Queens), Sorcha Richardson, Talos, God Knows and Murli, and lots more. On this episode, we talk through all the tracks on the album and discuss the making of it. 

Brian says: “This is an album built on personal relationships and communication, dedicated to playing a small but significant role as a part of a world so much bigger than any of us are willing to admit. After all, maybe we’re all just blood cells, swimming through the veins of the earth, serving a much higher function.”

On January 25 at The Horse Gallery, Dorset Street, Dublin, the exhibition White Blood Cells is opening, a sister piece to the album. A series of immersive soundscapes by   Brian Dillon in collaboration with photographer Mark McGuinness. The audio-visual work explores the role and effect of supply chains in today’s global world. From the press release: One of the key topics highlighted by the audio work is immigration and refuge. In 2024 global migration is taking place on a level never seen before. The work explores the West’s reluctance to give shelter to people who have been driven from their homes due to economic factors which are heavily influenced by western consumer demands. If Dillon’s soundscapes pose questions for the future of society, industry, and migration, McGuinness’ images act as accompanying notes on our present. The images are all taken from the ongoing project, I Hope I’m Wrong, which documents the impact human activity is having on the environment. All of the images are taken in locations in Ireland which are predicted to be heavily impacted by sea level rise within the next decade.

A live performance will take place on the opening night by a music group made up of migrants and asylum seekers. They will perform a short set of songs from their home countries at 6pm, Thursday 25th January 2024. Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.

You can buy Red Blood Cells and Righteousness at TheLine2.bandcamp.com

TPOE 292: The Line

The Point Of Everything is a podcast based out of Cork that tackles the biggest issues in the music world, near and far, every week. Expect chat, music, and interviews every week

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