An Taobh Tuathail @ 25 - Cian Ó Cíobháin's ultimate playlist

An Taobh Tuathail (ATT), RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's flagship alternative radio show, presented by Cian Ó Cíobháin show turns 25 in May 2024.

The seminal music show, described by The Irish Independent as "one of the finest music shows ever produced, on any station", has been broadcasting every Monday to Friday on the national Irish-language station since 1st May 1999.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we asked Cian to put together his ultimate ATT, and select 25 songs that sum up a quarter-century of an Irish musical institution. Listen below...

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He introduces each track below... One. More. Tune!

To Rococo Rot - Die Dinge Des Lebens (1999)

This was released the day before the show first aired and any time I hear it, it brings me back to the magic and chaos of those early nights on air. It's a track that I’m deeply connected with and possibly the most played track of all time on the show. Only in the past couple of years did I discover that it "borrows" very heavily from Gigi Maisin’s Clouds.

St. Germain - Rose Rouge (2000)

I’ve mentioned this record in a few interviews recently and "record" is the operative word. In my early years of broadcasting, promos were sent to DJs on vinyl or CD. Music still hadn’t become an ubiquitous presence on the web and internet ‘leaks’ weren’t in vogue yet. I believe that Donal Dineen may have had the first copy, he used to spin it on his Today FM show. I begged record label Blue Note to send me a 12". So, for a period in 2000, before its eventual release, if you wanted to hear the record, you had to tune in to either Donal’s show, or mine, or - if I’m not mistaken - John Kelly’s, and hoped we played it that night.

Villalobos - Dexter (2003)

This is one of the most mounful, elegiac techno tracks I’ve ever heard. First heard it one muggy, overcast summer’s day driving over the Cork/Kerry county bounds and it made an instant emotional impact. An ATT classic, it feels like part of my DNA.

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Kings Of Convenience Vs Royksopp - I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (2001)

From 1999 to 2005, there was a ban on RTÉ RnaG on broadcasting songs in English. I made a point of not playing instrumentals if the tracks originally had words, but made an exception for this as both versions are magical. Pre-2005, you would have heard the instrumental version on the show, post-2005, the version sung by Erlend Oye.

Dead Can Dance - The Song Of The Sybil (1990)

There were a number of presenters rotating on ATT in the early years and fellow Kerryman Ben Ó Faoláin was one of them. This was a track we both used to listen to, besotted as we were with all things 4AD when we were growing up. I was in a friend’s house one Christmas Eve and heard Ben play it on the radio. If ATT is a voyage of musical discovery, it’s not just the contemporary releases that count, the spotlight also needs to be shone on gems from the past.

Roger Doyle (Operating Theatre) - Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth (1986)

A close friend of mine introduced this song to me written by Roger Doyle in Bray in the mid-80s only a few years ago and it has become one of my favourite songs of all time. The temptation to play it every night on the show is almost irresistible, but I have surprised myself by exercising admirable restraint.

The Long Blondes - Fulwood Babylon (2007)

Lots of radio shows and streaming platforms make a big deal about having exclusive rights to broadcasting a song for the first time. To be honest, this is not something that ever concerns me, I’m not one to witter on about ‘world exclusives’ (except on 25th anniversary week). But on a visit to Galway, London DJ Erol Alkan, who produced the record, handed me the CD-R of this cut, fresh out of the studio and gave me first dibs on playing it on the radio. It’s still one of my favourite of his productions and a staple on ATT over the decades.

Burial - Gutted (2006)

This one came completely out of the left of field and absolutely floored me. I didn’t really know how to frame it in the context of scheduling my show, there was nothing contemporary that I had in my collection that sounded quite like it. That was before a whole spate of Burial copy-ists followed in its wake.

The Jimmy Cake - Thugamar Féin An Samhradh Linn (2019)

The cult Dublin band made this especially for the radio show’s 20th birthday anniversary in 2019 and it’s one of the greatest songs ever played on ATT. Dripping in psychedelia, made for May, it heralds the coming of summer.

Fairmont - Gazebo (Sebastien Leger Remix) (2006)

For the first decade or so on the airwaves, I played my selections on air through two CD players in RTÉ RnaG’s studio in Casla. I also had one old record player, where you couldn't manipulate the tempo (i.e. couldn’t mix) and also a Technics 1200, which is the industry standard version and perfect to mix with. At a certain point, labels stopped sending vinyl and even though I was still buying records, to ensure that I kept the flow going on my Thursday/Friday dance shows, the only way I could do this was to first play one track off CD, then mix the next one in on vinyl on the Technics. I requested a CDJ1000 from RTÉ’s tech team, so I could mix one CD into another into another, but while I waited, this record ended up getting played a lot on those shows.

Mount Kimbie - Maybes (2009)

I remember this being sent to me during the Christmas holidays in 2008. I played it over and over again during the Xmas break and couldn’t wait to get back on air in January to play it. I’ve met Kai Campos from Mount Kimbie twice and shared this experience with him and he’s nodded politely each time, with a look of faint bemusement in his eyes.

Two Lone Swordsmen - Work At Night (2007)

As many of my listeners know, the late, great Andrew Weatherall was a huge influence on me and on the show. It was only later in life that he began to sing on his own records. Like Terry Hall, or Bernard Sumner, he didn’t have a classic ‘perfect’ singing voice. But you could feel the vulnerability when he sang. This track became especially poignant following his death in 2020.

Metro Area - Miura (2001)

Picked up a 12" of this around the time it came out in 2001, on one my shopping jaunts to Soho. Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani’s dusty disco cut didn’t sound of its time then and has therefore remained timeless. Played to death at the time and still gets an airing a couple of times a year.

Peter Gordon & Love Of Life Orchestra - Condo (2017)

Recorded in 1981 by downtown New York kingpin Peter Gordon (but released decades later), featuring David van Tieghem’s motorik drum programming and Rebecca Armstong on vox, ears always prick up and curious messages sent my way when this gets a play on ATT.

Mount Eerie - Forest Fire (2017)

This song is as heartbreaking as they come - singer Phil Elverum grieving the death of his wife as forest fires rage on around him.

Wilco - Sunken Treasure (1996)

Though I picked up quite a few of their records over the years, I was never a huge Wilco fan. This song though brings me to my knees anytime I hear it. Which means I have to get up off the floor very quickly to back-announce it, as my microphone is at standing level.

Grouper - Disengaged (2008)

Around the time this came out, someone I was close to was battling with depression and there were nights I was playing it on the radio with a lump in my throat, fearing that he might take his life. Thankfully, he's still with us.

Mike Smalle - Peggy Saturday (2021)

Gaway’s Mike Smalle has been making music for a very long time under different monikers and he's been on a midlife creative-roll. This is as good as any pop song in the classic pop canon.

Truss - Clawdd Du (2015)

Banging industrial techno with a devilish sense of humour. Tops off. COME ON!

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Every Night I Die At Miyagis (2005)

Ariel Pink has been a fixture on the radio show since his very first releases. He knows how to write a jaw-droppingly perfect pop song, awash with melodies. Imagine if ABBA went lo-fi…

Mercury Rev - Frittering (1991)

One of the greatest songs ever written. I can’t muster the words to do this song justice.

Don Downing - Dreamworld (A Tom Moulton Mix) (1974)

During the lockdown years, I hosted some house parties on the radio, in an effort to bring people together, seeing as we were unable to dance together safely. These shows were themed, each one had a particular premise, or was based on a certain genre. I discovered this when researching the ATT disco special. Where had it been all my life? Who cares, it’s become a keeper for all time.

Chequerboard - Konichiwa (2005)

The music of Dublin’s John Lambert has been a constant on the show over the decades. You hear stories of music-makers hearing sounds in their dreams and trying to re-capture them in the wide-awake world. This one sounds like John composed and recorded it in a dream, then found the means to transfer the recording to the waking world. Utterly bewitching and beguiling.

PolyGlove - Darius (2024)

ATT is predominantly about sharing interesting new music. So here’s a new one for you - from the mighty PolyGlove from Dublin.

Billy Idol - Eyes Without A Face (1984)

This one has only ever been played once on ATT. It was for the Balearic special I did last year. As the programme’s conclusion loomed, I was running out of time and had space to include one more record. I almost went for a ‘safer’ option, but stuck this on instead. Othewise, when would I ever get the chance to play Billy Idol on ATT again?

An Taobh Tuathail (ATT), RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mondays @ 11pm, Tuesdays - Fridays @10pm - listen back here.

An online archive of ATT shows covering more than ten years, which includes all playlists and audio streams, can be accessed here.

An Taobh Tuathail @ 25 - Cian Ó Cíobháin's ultimate playlist

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