Ricer Knows #13: Sam Smith

Jeff Mills is without doubt a techno legend, hailing from Detroit, Michigan his influence on electronic music over the last 30 years will be felt for generations to come.

Sam Smith is an English singer songwriter. An Oscar, Golden Globe & multiple Grammy & BRIT Award winner, his new single "Unholy" feat Kim Petras is out now ahead of the release of his as of yet untitled 4th album.

Dermot Kennedy is arguably the hottest name in Irish music, his sophomore album "Sonder" drops November 4th

Matty Healy is the lead singer of the multi platinum UK band The 1975, their new album "Notes On A Conditional Form" is out now.

Niall Breslin AKA Bressie, is an Irish musician, television personality, author & mental health advocate. He found success as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter with pop band The Blizzards, as a co-writer and producer with XIX Entertainment and as a solo artist. He was the winning coach on the first and third seasons of The Voice of Ireland. His book "Me and My Mate Jeffrey" won a Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Award in 2015 & he has also penned two highly successful children's books.

Paul Gallagher is a Manchester born, London based DJ & Photographer....also older brother to 2 of the most iconic names in music - Liam & Noel. We talk about Irish Mammies, bootleg country & western tapes, 90's Madchester & why you should never meet your heroes.  

Bon Voyage NYC are an international Hip-House outfit. Dublin born, London based DJ Arveene & MC extraordinaire Shamon Cassette drop bass lines and spill rhymes for catwalk and dance floor excursions. They channel Fast Eddie, Doug Lazy, Traxx Records, George Clinton & Mike Dunn as spirit guides, closely washed down with a penchant for Alejandro Jodorowsky and the general vibe of Andre Agassi.

Vince Power is a man who had it all, lost it all & is on his way to reclaiming it all back. The Co Waterford-born, London-based self-made mogul started his Mean Fiddler empire in 1982 with one humble yet revolutionary venue: innovations at The Mean Fiddler in Harlesden included cold Budweiser beer, a proper PA system and decent showers for the bands. The Fleadh, Benicassim, and the Reading & Leeds festivals all soon followed as part of an illustrious career in the live music industry. Having also run the likes of Madstock, The Phoenix Festival, Tribal Gathering and Homelands, in 2001 Mean Fiddler overhauled Glastonbury, revitalising it for the 21st century. Power never forgot his Irish roots whilst building Mean Fiddler into a global promotional enterprise, which he finally sold to rivals Clear Channel in 2005 for £38 million.

Mark McCabe is an Irish Dance Music Icon. His single “Maniac 2000” marks a moment in time and has long achieved cult status, he put the “Oggy” into Irish Dance music. Released nearly 20 years ago, the single reached Number One in the Irish Charts and stayed there for ten weeks. This was only the start for Mark though, he has since had a thriving musical career both as an artist and on radio. He was signed with New York tribal house legends Twisted Records and remixed songs for some of the world’s biggest artists, most recently remixing Gavin James’ “Nervous”, along with releasing music under other aliases.    

Tony Duffin is the CEO of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, a Dublin-based non-profit organisation which advocates for a health-based, harm-reductive approach to the issues of drug-use and drug policy in Ireland. First established in 1982, the Ana Liffey Drug Project offers services to people who use drugs in the Dublin, Mid-West and North-East regions of the country. Along with the London School of Economics they have in the last 6 months released a report calling for the decriminalisation of people who use drugs in Ireland. The report, titled ‘Not Criminals’ notes that treating possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use as a criminal offence is counterproductive in that it both fails to discourage drug use and acts as a barrier to seeking help and reintegration for those people who are using drugs