Resilience of the electronic music scene in Cork has come to the fore in 2022.

It would be fair to say that Cork’s Electronic Music scene has hit new highs in the last year, following all the uproar over the pandemic, which had caused lots of clubs and promoters to suffer greatly due to the almost complete closure of nightlife.

2021/2022 saw a spike in the music scene, as clubs and pubs began to re-open, giving opportunities for DJs to once again show off their talent behind the decks. This year, in particular, we’ve seen lots of collectives and DJs rise up in Cork and I honestly couldn’t be prouder of the way Cork’s music scene is heading. My duo partner Luke and I only started getting gigs this year, but so far we’ve met dozens of top-tier local DJs and even made long-term friends within the community. 

It would be impossible to fit in all the great DJs and collectives currently running in Cork, so I’ve picked a handful that I’d like to give a brief introduction to. First off I want to start with NATMAC and the Electronic Music Council. This project, involving multiple talented and creative individuals is a key ingredient in the resurgence of Cork’s nightlife and supports all local artists and gigs running week in and week out. The work they put in is outstanding and I can only expect that it’s going to grow to something huge in the
coming years. 

Natalie McCormack a.k.a NATMAC is one of the key figures in Cork as she is the founder of the Electronic Music Council and Underground Ovation. Nat recently ran an Open-Deck night at her home studio for aspiring female DJs, to give them the knowledge and confidence they need to get their DJ careers up and running. An absolutely amazing move for not only the female artists involved but for everyone in Cork who might soon get to experience what these women have to offer. 

The next collective I’d like to speak about is none other than CICADA Selects. Jamie Lynch / CICADA is a well-known DJ/Promoter in Cork who has run numerous shows with high-end headlining artists. His upcoming show on December 21st features the Galway/Mayo-based DJ & producer Hester. With each gig, he seems to up his bookings and production level and we can be sure he is going to run more massive gigs in 2023. CICADA also believes strongly in supporting local acts, and with that in mind, he has just signed 3 residents for his collective, Charlotte Walsh, DIVERSION, and Jason O’ Riordan. Expect to see these names frequently as the CICADA Selects brand goes further in Cork’s electronic music scene.

Another honourable mention would have to be the collective ‘Skewed’. This collective is run by artists Ladrin, Jinn, and TIARNØLA. They are already well known in the Cork DJ community and the shows they’ve organized under the ‘Skewed’ brand have consistently showcased hard-hitting tracks across the spectrum of electronic music, primarily oriented around techno. They’ve had a chain of successful events in An Spailpín Fánach and high praise to them for what they’ve done for the scene. 

I’m going to finish this article off here with a big thank you to Electronic Music Council for giving me the opportunity to do this write-up. I didn’t have nearly enough time to write about all the positive things going on in the Cork Electronic Music scene but hopefully can give more in the future.

Fionn Murray

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https://www.instagram.com/natmacdj/ https://www.instagram.com/_diversion___/ https://www.instagram.com/__hester/ https://www.instagram.com/cicadaselects/
https://www.instagram.com/charlotte_wm_/ https://www.instagram.com/_skewed_/