30 years of Irish dance music celebrated in four-part radio series

Irish radio station RTÉ 2fm has released a four-part series documenting 30 years of dance music in Ireland, with guests including Bicep, Or:la, Fish Go Deep, Mano Le Tough, Tommy Holohan, and Bobby Analog.

Each near hour-long episode of The Breakdown traces back through electronic music across the island from Cork to Belfast and everywhere in between, from the early 90s to the current day.

Produced by Media Tone’s Hugh Fowler, The Breakdown is made up of four episodes with interviews from key players in the Irish electronic scene as well as a showcase of some of the most important tracks that led the sound through the decades.

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The Breakdown first aired on January 1 and 2 on the national radio station and remains live on the RTÉ website. In the first episode, The Breakdown steps back to the 90s to take a look at some of Ireland’s earlier dance music pioneers.

In this, Bumble’s David McDonnoll hones in on the early days of acid house in Ireland before Mr Spring takes us through the imminent saturation of breakbeat sounds toward the mid-90s.

Episode two looks at the first footing into the new millennium with Chris Agnew of trance duo Agnelli & Nelson who discuss their iconic track ‘El Nino’, later taken over by legendary Cork duo Fish Go Deep as they take a look into early sampling.

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As the radio show moves through the noughties and into the 2010s, Mano le Tough talks through his Berlin influence and the impact of electroclash on Ireland’s music scene, the introduction of garage and UK bass, and Or:la’s deep dive into her earliest musical influences.

Heading up the current day, The Breakdown lands its final episode on Belfast duo Bicep. The pair talk through the creation of their hit track ‘Glue’ and latest album ‘Isles’ before Tommy Holohan and Bobby Analog discuss their rave-inspired sounds.

Listen to all four episodes of The Breakdown here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter