POSTS TAGGED : Sliab Cuinciu

Cuinciu – ‘Face Facts’

Cuinciu - Face Facts - VERSION5

Wicklow producer Ross McDonald’s output under his Cuinciu guise (formerly Sliab Cuinciu), has seen him impress no end with releases to date, and he’s proven to be a rather steady source of quality electronic music.

New leaner moniker aside, McDonald continues this positive trend, keeping the tunes coming thick and fast with new EP, Face Facts. The new three-track EP draws inspiration from a wealth of hip hop, synth pop, disco and electronic influences, as McDonald delivers yet another convincing effort, of which, opener ‘Cosmonaut’, sets the tone. Driving beats and synths combine to create a smooth, slinking and captivating sound, with a dusky dream character (Kavinsky meets John Carpenter if you will). ‘Dayglo’ meantime is more playful, bouncing along as it goes. Closer and title track ‘Face Facts’ is like a bridging point between the previous two, chirpy and cheerful, while keeping the driving groove going, in a captivating soundtrack kind of way. As has been mentioned prevously, it’s been both interesting and enjoyable to witness Cuinciu’s progress the past 12 months, which has firmly placed him in the top end of a rather talented bunch of emerging homegrown electronic producers. If the past is anything to go by too, we’ll be hearing more from Cuinciu before too long.

You can download the Face Facts EP for free from Cuinciu’s Bandcamp page.

Sliab Cuinciu – ‘No Way, You’ll Never’

Sliab Cuinciu

Last year Wicklow native Sliab Cuinciu added his name to a growing list of talented homegrown electronic producers with the release of his 8-track collection, ####.

Mr. Cuinciu, aka Ross McDonald, is back with his latest musical offering, ‘No Way, You’ll Never’, ahead of a forthcoming, as yet untitled EP. Like his previous work ‘No Way, You’ll Never’ remains heavily indebted to raft of sounds and styles, influenced by hip hop, synth pop, disco and a wealth of electronic music. Saying that, it offers a slightly different side to his talent, in his own words, it’s “a distinctive mix of paranoia, self loathing, synthesizers and hip hop.” Add to that a persuasive array of  head nodding beats, sustained smooth-as-fuck groove and warped, twisted vocals, including some borrowed from Gang Starr’s ‘Mass Appeal’. It is as shadowy and eerie as we’ve heard Sliab Cuinciu but importantly it comes together ever so well and it works.

Not fixed date for Sliab Cuinciu’s next release but for now, there’s ‘No Way, You’ll Never’. You can stream and download it for free below.

New Tracks from Sliab Cuinciu: ‘Tricks’ & ‘Stay Gold’

Sliab-Cuinciu

Sliab Cuinciu has been, in my humble opinion, the finest new electronic producer to emerge from these shores in 2013.

The 24-year-old Wicklow beatmaker’s 8-track collection, ####, released earlier this year was pure gold; a spellbinding mix embracing all things hip hop, synth pop, disco and a wealth of electronic music, as well as soul, funk and rock. Yes, yes, all great you say but what of now? Well, the good news is Sliab Cuinciu has returned with two new jams, ‘Tricks’ and the aptly titled ‘Stay Gold’, and it looks as though there’s no chance of dropping the standard any time soon. Both tracks are smooth, cool as fuck hip-hop inspired electronic tunes, permeated entirely with a serious feelgood vibe. ‘Tricks’ bounces along some of the funkiest beats and bass you hear this side of the ’70s, it’s so irresistibly infectious. ‘Stay Gold’ meanwhile, has much more of a daydream quality, taking us on a tranquil wander through a land of ’80s synths and drums, much more indebted to the early days of hip hop. In short; two tunes as cool and refreshing as a breeze on a scorching hot summers day.  

You can listen / download (free) to both ‘Tricks’ & ‘Stay Gold’ below. And if you’re liking what’s on offer, you should definitely check out ####, it is available gratis from bandcamp.

Introducing: Sliab Cuinciu

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24 year old Wicklow native Sliab Cuinciu is the latest to emerge from what is a rather talented bunch of homegrown electronic producers.

Over the past couple of years the sheer number of producers emerging from Ireland has been staggering. Thankfully, by and large anyway, the quality has remained pretty damn high and Sliab Cuinciu falls squarely into this top quality category. He spent the summer working on his own brand of productions, the fruits of which, is called ####. This 8-track collection is heavily influenced by hip hop, synth pop, disco and a wealth of electronic music, as well as soul, funk and rock. This blending of styles and influences, particularly the ‘8os disco vibes with hip hop beats ala ‘Boy’ & ‘Drug Game’, leaves us with a collection of smooth, cool as fuck hip hop infused electronic jams. No doubt about it, the beats will have your head nodding. Meanwhile ‘Blue Saphires’ and ‘Cosmonaut’ are utterly captivating and have a real soundtrack quality to them (Kavinsky meets John Carpenter if you will). On the whole it’s an interesting, inventive and enjoyable body of work we got right here.

There’s a lot on offer here, suffice to say, you’ll loose nothing giving Sliab Cuinciu some of your attention over the weekend. In fact, ####, is available on a ‘name-your-price basis’ from bandcamp.