• Film: XIU XIU & FORMER GHOSTS
• Event: Live Events
• Date: Friday, October 29th 2010
• Time: 8:00pm
• City: XIU XIU & FORMER GHOSTS in Dublin
• Venue: The Grand Social (Formerly Pravda)
• Address: 35 Lower Liffey St
• Country: IE
• Admission: €15
• Age restrictions: No Minors
• Notes: Skinny Wolves in association with Darklight 2010 presents XIU XIU + FORMER GHOSTS & special guests Friday 29th October The Grand Social, (formerly Pravda) Doors 8pm Tickets €15 available from http://www.tickets.ie/skinnywolves & City Discs ———– XIU XIU http://www.myspace.com/xiuxiuforlife Read almost any piece about Xiu Xiu and you’ll see words like ‘harsh’ or ‘brutal’ — the same words that appear before ‘truth’ when an unwavering eye is turned on any intimate detail of our lives. Fair descriptions of the themes central to the music, they sit incongruous to the refined, intricate, and beautiful approach taken in crafting the twelve tracks on Xiu Xiu’s new album Dear God, I Hate Myself. Stewart is joined by new full-time band member Angela Seo on piano, synth, and drum programming; with production handled by Jamie and Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier. Together they’ve crafted a fully grown sound for Dear God, I Hate Myself with elements from goth and pop that are expertly performed by a crop of brilliant musicians. Saunier himself plays on much of the record as does Ches Smith (John Zorn, Terry Riley, Marc Ribot) who supplies timpani, conga and moog along with a broad range of other instrumentation. Deerhoof’s John Dieterich is all over a rendition of the traditional folk song “Cumberland Gap” and Xiu Xiu is even joined by the Immaculata Catholic School Orchestra in Stewart’s ode to heartbreak and healing, “This Too Shall Pass Away (for Freddy).” The title track, one of four songs done primarily on a Nintendo DS, explores the relationship between faith and despair with a layer of commentary provided by the bizarre sounds of the music itself. Each new Xiu Xiu release has evolved alongside the lives of Jamie Stewart and company. On this record you’ll find more intensity and introspection than ever before, but sonically and lyrically it continues to move forward with a subtly new perspective — hyper-focussed yet aware of a larger, external picture unfolding. The pace of the record grips you, the music offers layers of detail, and the themes focus on not just the past or stark present but hint towards vespers of the future as well. Dear God, I Hate Myself will challenge you and force you to look inside yourself, but only after you get lost in the music. It’s passionate, it’s energetic, and it affects you. Dear God, I Hate Myself is a beautiful piece of humanist art. It’s an important addition to the growing body of intelligent music from Xiu Xiu. And it’s a brilliant gothic pop record that can stand next to anything. http://pitchfork.com/artists/4683-xiu-xiu/ ————————- FORMER GHOSTS http://www.myspace.com/formerghostssleep “Former Ghosts is a new synthpop project from Freddy Ruppert, formerly of This Song Is a Mess But So Am I. The band is also comprised of Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Zola Jesus’ Nika Roza. Ruppert is the lead songwriter on this brutally gloomy, Joy Division-esque project. The title of the debut, Fleurs, is a reference to the white-flowered iris (Iris germanica). ” – lastfm
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It is with great pleasure that we announce to you details of this year’s festival, Darklight Festival 2010 – The Heroes Edition. This year’s Darklight will be a Symposium year and will take place 28th – 31st October in various venues across Temple Bar.

The theme of Darklight 2010 is ‘Heroes’ and we’ve asked some of Our Heroes, some of our favourite Darklight contributors over the past 11 years, to invite Their Heroes to this year’s Darklight Festival and programme a series of screenings, talks and events inspired by them.

We’ll announcing our Heroes very shortly for you. Plus details of early bird deals and film making competitions for all aspiring auteurs. Make sure to stay tuned! Follow us on Twitter for all the updates @Darklight_2010. In the meantime watch Gavin Kelly’s short from our 2008 movie challenge Dublin: The Movie

FYI: More brilliant Hotel Darklight pics by Ian Tierney HERE.

Join us for the World Premiere of Darklight’s latest DIY Movie extravaganza. The culmination of days of frenetic activity – a new Irish feature film is born!

In Dublin there is a mysterious hotel that to the casual observer might seem no more special or different than any other. Yet there is something quite strange about this place that makes it different to any hotel you’ve ever stayed in. Think of it as Dublin’s own hotspot for the paranormal or fantastical: Ireland’s own very own Twilight Zone, where the magical, the impossible and the terrifying all co-exist… Welcome to Hotel Darklight!

The event will be preceded by the presentation of the 2009 Darklight Awards, celebrating achievement in short film, as voted for by the viewing public over the weekend.

More about Hotel Darklight HERE.

Watch last year’s DIY movie extravaganza, Dublin: The Movie, HERE.