FRIDAY
Len Faki
The Limelight Belfast 10pm £14 shine.net
A resident at Berlin techno gaff Berghain, Len Faki is also a producer and label honcho shaping techno's new trends and directions. After managing the Moid and Feis imprints, Faki's move to Berlin led him to establish the Figure label, where he worked with the likes of Slam, Johannes Heil and more.
Rückverzauberung
Sugar Club, Dublin 7.30pm €16.50
Rückverzauberung is the new buzz from Kompakt co-founder Wolfgang Voigt and it's what brings him to Ireland for his long overdue debut appearance here. For the past two decades, Voigt's Kompakt set-up has been one of the more reliable imprimaturs when it comes to cutting-edge electonic music and minimal techno. As Rückverzauberung, Voigt takes his GAS alias into more abstract and creative waters meaning we're in for an ambient electronic concert-lecture-shindig.
ECM Weekend
Triskel Christchurch, Tobin St, Dublin till Sunday
It's not every musician that has a moon crater named for them, but legendary guitarist Ralph Towner has two! Triskel's annual ECM weekend keeps up its own high standards with the three-day programme of musicians associated with producer Manfred Eicher's fabled German label. As well as the innovative and much-respected Towner, the bill features Franco-German contemporary chamber duo Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier, and leading Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski's acclaimed trio, all in Triskel's listener-friendly Christchurch auditorium.
Dusky
Button Factory, Dublin 11pm €20
Nick Harriman and Alfie Granger-Howell's recently released second album Outer shows that they're a production team with a good sense of what's required to make big-room tech bangers with underground coating and effects. Earlier in their career, they worked with Above & Beyond's Anjunadeep label but the move to incorporate deeper and darker influences on tracks such as Yoohoo is what has helped the London duo gain more traction.
Seán Mac Erlaine with Jan Bang
Fumbally Stables, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 9pm, €16, note.ie
Sean MacErlaine continues Note Productions' imaginative series of duo collaborations with this tantalising meeting with Norwegian star producer and electronics innovator Jan Bang. An influential figure on the Scandinavian scene, Bang has previously collaborated with 'nu-jazz' notables like trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær and guitarist Eivind Aarset. CL
Republik
Project, Waterford 10pm €25
Republik mark their 11th year with a visit from Tale of Us. Born in north America, raised in Milan and now based in Berlin, Matteo Illeri and Carmine Conte have been making raw, emotional, fascinating electronic music together for some time. This year, the focus has been on their Afterlife series with Ibiza parties, a label compilation and the recent Afterlife Voyage mix. Support from Kompakt, Degustibus dude Fango and regulars Kenno and Warren Sauvage.
Ré
Ionad Cultúrtha, Ballyvourney, Cork 8.30pm €20 ionadculturtha.ie Also Sat, Kerry
Ré make sounds that echo long past their vibration time. Liam Ó Maonlaí and Cormac Begley are the fulcrum on which Ré turns, with MaitIú Ó Casaide, Eithne Ní Catháin and Peter O'Toole interweaving above, below and within their sound. Begley's myriad concertinas are a real treat: baritone, bass, treble, piccolo and miniature.
SATURDAY
Biffy Clyro
3Arena Dublin 6.30pm €46.50 ticketmaster.ie Also Sun, Belfast
From dissonant metal in small venues to melodic hard rock in much bigger ones – it has been more than 20 years since Scottish band Biffy Clyro – who were influenced by Kilkenny metal band, Kerbdog, lest we forget – began their ascent, and early fans would argue that something has been lost along the way. Latter-day fans, of course, may not be too bothered. Support for both shows is New York rock band, Brand New.
Young Marco
Wigwam Dublin 11pm €15/€12 wigwamdublin.com
Young Marco has been part of the fabric of Amsterdam's underground scene for the best part of a decade. Aside from buzzy releases for Rush Hour and ESP Institute, it's the Dutch spinner's ear-catching sets, which blend everything from raw house to Libyan disco to giddy Afrobeat, which put him in the frame at events such as Dekmantel. Support from the Bodytonic and Betty residents.
IMC25
Sugar Club, Leeson St, Dublin 6pm, €15, improvisedmusic.ie
The Improvised Music Company, Ireland's leading promoter of jazz and 'world' music, tonight celebrates 25 years of trying (and often succeeding) to win audiences for challenging music. Tonight's show features a bulging programme of fresh sounds, including a solo set from rising saxophonist Matthew Halpin, innovative piano trio CEO Experiment, Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, bass-saxophone and drums duo Insufficient Funs, guitarist Chris Guilfoyle's nine-piece SuperUmbra and hip-hop-meets-jazz collective Mixtapes From The Underground. Arrive early.
SUNDAY
The Welfare of Tomás Ó Hallissy
Duncan Campbell's first film since winning the Turner Prize in 2014 (Until April) Irish Museum of Modern Art, The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin Until April imma.ie
Duncan Campbell was a surprise winner of the Turner Prize in 2014. His new work reconsiders a 1960s film made by two anthropologists from UCLA about the rural community around Dún Chaoin in Co Kerry. Using archival materials and new footage, Campbell focuses on the misapprehensions on both sides, misapprehensions that undercut the substance of the original film. (Incidentally, Campbell's Bernadette is currently showing at Roscommon Arts Centre).
Jack Talty
O'Sullivan's Courthouse pub, Dingle 6pm Adm free osullivanscourthousepub.com
The concertina, like the fiddle, has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years. The instrument has always been a linchpin of traditional music, but recently has found itself in the furthest corners where intriguing soundscapes lurk. Jack Talty (left) is a Clare musician and founder member of seven-piece trad pioneers Ensemble Ériú who celebrates the release of his solo debut, In Flow tonight in the hearty location of Dingle. A tea-time treat like no other. SL
Ardee Baroque Festival
Various venues, Ardee, Co Louth Also Thu, Fri, Sat ardeebaroque.com
One of Ireland's premiere classical events winds to a close today, with a closing concert at 3pm featuring Niall O'Sullivan (trumpet), Rachel Croash (soprano) and David Adams (organ) in St Mary's Abbey. Other highlights over the weekend include the Irish Baroque Orchestra playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
