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Public InquiryInterested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
Human Rights in IrelandIndymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
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Dublin - Event Notice Thursday January 01 1970 Gig - Joyce and the Sonic Gypsies | Ailie Blunnie![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the songs and dance of revolution Joyce and the Sonic Gypsies | Ailie Blunnie JOYCE AND THE SONIC GYPSIES s are one of the most startling alternatives to the standard 4-piece rock band Dublin currently has to offer. Their present album ‘The Bosphorus’, recorded partly in Turkey and named for the strait that bisects Istanbul, forming part of the boundary between East and West Europe, is the perfect metaphor for their sound and aesthetic. Mixing pop sounds and influences from the West with Eastern, African and Latin rhythms, they are a study in dynamic tension and sharp contrasts. The backbone is recognizable - piano, electric and acoustic guitars, bass and drums, as well as the prominent violin and occasional clarinet - but it is in the interaction of these instruments (all expertly played) with the vital and unusual percussion, from mid-Eastern darbuka to African djembes and Latin conga drums that the music comes alive. The band have a serious commitment to rhythm, willing an audience to movement and celebration. Lead vocals are shared by Mick Joyce and Sarah Williams, providing a further area of simultaneous harmony and contrast - male and female, East and West, electric and acoustic sounds. Lyrically, Joyce’s songs are concerned with maintaining humanity and dignity in the face of the dark days we live in, as expressed in Credo, with its refrain ‘'praise for the dollar, praise for Allah, but what about each other?”. There are big subjects to discuss, but also reasons to believe in the transformative power of music. Clearly enjoying themselves throughout, from an irreverent country stomp take on Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ to the joyous pulse of ‘Kamikaze Moon’, Joyce & the Sonic Gypsies’ energy ripples through a crowd, raises the mood of a room and leaves even the most hard-hearted of cynics smiling long into the night |