This year has been an absolutely stellar one for Irish music – it’s heartening to listen to releases by Irish bands that aren’t ‘good for an Irish band’, they’re ‘damn well good for any band’ and would stand up to Pitchfork’d acts from Portland or NY or San Fran or wherever the new cool hub for upcoming bands is these days.

One of my favourite releases so far has been Strands, by Strands aka Steve Shannon. Steve is a Dublin-based producer and musician who has played with Halfset and recorded albums by Babybeef, Cap Pas Cap and Groom, and Strands is his first venture into releasing his own music.

I visited Steve at his Experimental Audio studio – which is a top-notch set-up tucked away in a suburban back garden, testament to the superb DIY ethic that Irish musicians have these days – for a chat about all things Strands.

The interview featured on the most recent Sweet Oblivion show, along with music from Strands, New Amusement, Benoit Pioulard, La Sera and more.