City Guide

There is a low-frequency rumble coming from the basements and back rooms all over the city of Dublin. It is the sound that heralds the birth of a new generation of musicians. Dublin is looking to the artists, the writers and the musicians not just for entertainment, but for direction. A city whose heartbeat has always been music is experiencing a dramatic creative surge. It’s an intoxicating thing to be part of.

 

It’s a time of unprecedented opportunity for those with creativity, imagination and skill. You may have the talent and the drive, but you also need to be in the right place at the right time, and I can’t think of anywhere more accessible or exciting to make music than Dublin right now. It’s a city where songwriters and musicians have a unique cultural importance.

 

Musicians need community. They need to interact, to share sounds and songs. They need to argue, to champion an ethos or approach to songwriting and production. To do this, and to find like-minded souls, they need a place with an accessible and inclusive music culture. Dublin is a remarkably welcoming place for musicians. It’s the sort of place where a musical instrument, an honest voice or a bag of records is the only introduction you’ll need.

 

For generations Dublin city has been an exporter of music on a scale that is totally disproportionate to its population. The 1960s Trad and Folk scene saw the likes of Bob Dylan make the pilgrimage to the bars of Baggot Street, where the great Luke Kelly and the Dubliners held court. For decades they would sing of their Dirty ol’ town, from Baggot Street to the Budokan in Tokoyo.

 

In the 1970s, the leather-clad Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy became Lord Mayor of Rock City, and dramatically changed the international perception of the Dublin music scene. Through the doors that Lizzy kicked open followed the Boomtown Rats, U2 and Sinead O’Connor, amongst many others. By the 1990s Dublin was firmly established as a town where major labels might sign a stadium filler. The local industry responded by creating state of the art recording, rehearsal and performance facilities. The last two decades have seen Dublin produce an eclectic array of globally successful acts, from the pure pop of Boyzone to the more sensitive, cerebral, folk-based styling of The Frames and Villagers. Furthermore, Dublin supports a thriving dance music scene, which has provided the sound tracks to some of Europe’s best loved club-nights.

 

 

Dublin has become home to a multinational community of writers and performers. Also, of the many internationally successful acts born and bred here, it’s remarkable how many chose to return between tours to write and record. There is an energy in the city that recharges, inspires and challenges.

 

The easiest way to understand the deep effect that music has had on the city is to take a stroll through town. Start at the Grand Canal and head north down Camden Street to Wexford Street. Every bar you pass will have a soundtrack. At the heart of the neighbourhood is Whelan’s, a venue that over the last couple of decades has become legendary, not just as the crucible for local acts, but for playing host to international artists, many of whom could sell out venues ten times its size. As is the case with most Dublin venues, there is no genre-based music policy, so you are quite likely to encounter a Trad legend in the main venue while an Electro-Pop outfit is playing upstairs.

 

As you head down into the city centre you hit Dame Street, another musical hub. In recent years a host of smaller venues has opened here as live music has experienced a rebirth. The Mercantile and Sweeney Mongrel have small but excellently equipped live rooms, perfect for acts that are developing their stage craft. Also, and for no apparent reason, these venues have been adopted by the local Rockabilly and Alternative Country scene.

 

Within a few blocks you will find the city’s more established venues — The Olympia and Vicar St, and across the river lies The Academy, all of which are firmly on the international touring circuit. On either side of the banks of the Liffey, connected by the Ha’penny Bridge, are The Workman’s Club and The Grand Social, both of which define the concept of venues run by obsessed music fans, for obsessed music fans. The more you explore the city the more music you will encounter, just follow the noise.

 

I can almost guarantee, by the time you read this, someone will have installed a PA in what was once a cocktail bar or boutique, such is the current proliferation of new performance spaces.

 

Dublin has also embraced the revolution in recording technology. Producers are taking over rooms all over town and creating recording and rehearsal spaces. The result is that Dublin has become a remarkably cost-effective place to produce a record. These inexpensive and innovative new facilities have spawned an army of young promoters and producers pushing Dublin’s new acts forward.

 

For a city that has a history of producing major label acts that require high-end recording facilities and all the infrastructure that goes with that, this new ‘DIY’ ethos has had a remarkably reinvigorating effect.

 

Dublin has a lot going for it from a practical point of view, but there is also an element to the city that is harder to define. It will welcome you in, but it will also push you. It’s not a town that judges its bands by their haircuts; it will demand that you live your music. Dublin has a healthy sense of the underdog, a need to prove itself. That’s a character it shares with towns like Manchester or Glasgow, Portland or Seattle, or wherever the next wave of great bands will be born.

 

There’s no doubt that Dublin has a proud musical history, spelled out for visitors by paintings of its music icons on the Wall of Fame in Temple Bar and the statue of Phil Lynott off Grafton Street. But it also has a passion for the new, the brave and the unexpected because, at its best, Dublin is a city where music history is being made today.

 

 

 

Rory O'Keeffe

• Dara Kilkenny
• John Cunningham
• Hothan Isman

• Aoife FitzPatrick
• Sean Heffernan
• Emma Kelleher

• Eoin O'Brien
• Karen Gleeson
• Roberta Connolly

• Helen Shyne

Links

Irish Music Rights Organisation www.IMRO.ie

Recorded Artists Actors Performers www.RAAP.ie

Irish Recorded Music Association www.IRMA.ie

Phonographic Performance Ireland www.ppiltd.com

First Music Contact www.firstmusiccontact.com

Hot Press Music Magazine www.hotpress.com

Student Support

Attendance

Parents and Attendance

Learning Support

Additional Support Network

Fund for Students with Disabilities

Pastoral Support

• Financial issues
• Personal issues
• Emotional issues
• Psychological issues  

Your QSS Officer can offer one-to-one tutorials which provide support, guidance and a friendly ear to those that require it. The team is well-equipped to listen and provide non-judgmental support regarding all manner of issues.

However, there may be times when you require further support in which case your QSS Officer can refer you to one of our College Counsellors who provide a completely confidential and free service. Some of the issues students might bring are attendance difficulties, relationship problems/break-ups, loss, depression, identity, eating disorders, alcohol and drug problems, stress, panic attacks, obsessions or simply a place to reflect.

Counselling can be helpful in enabling you to work through issues that have become overwhelming, or when you feel stuck. It may help you discover your own resources to find a new understanding or solution.

Accommodation

Unfortunately, we do not have any student accommodation on our Francis Street campus.

However, all BIMM Dublin students are registered with our education partners DIT, so they can avail of the Student Services which they provide. DIT do not have any accommodation on their campuses either, but they have block booked suitable student accommodation with external providers for 2011/2012.  Griffith Hall and The Herberton are located quite near Francis Street so might be good options.

For more information check out the DIT website.