LE GALAXIE

Web Awards “music site of the year” maestro Nialler9 celebrated eight years in the business with a midnight spectacular of Irish music in the Olympia Theatre last Friday night. It’s a testament to Le Galaxie’s popularity that they managed to draw a near sell-out crowd to the Olympia on a night in Dublin where the majority of the major venues in the city had not one but two concerts occurring, with the likes of Haim, ASIWYFA and The Blades taking to stages around the city.

Cork electro duo Young Wonder finished off a memorable year with an impressive set of songs from their critically acclaimed EP ‘Show Your Teeth’. Singer Rachel Koeman didn’t disappoint thanks to her Björk-via-Cork vocal stylings and quirky headdress.

A brief flourish of the theme from Jurassic Park signalled that it was time for Le Galaxie to take the stage eventually emerging from the shadows of an especially dark Olympia just after 2am. Anybody who was thinking about their bed was instantly given a second wind as Le Galaxie laid down a marker with an impressive rendition of Lucy Is Here. Frontman Michael Le Galaxie – head shorn with grizzly beard freshly grown – played the part of pied piper leading the crowd to partyland via vigorous dance moves as he crossed every inch of the stage. Fan favourites Midnight Midnight and Nightcrawler followed completing a thoroughly engaging opening volley from Le Galaxie.

A troupe of dancers made the first of three appearances occupying a channel between the drummer and the rest of the band during CNNXN. At times they seemed to get in the way of the band while their appearance during Le Club added greatly to the overall performance of the track. However the dancers weren’t the only visual aid successfully employed by the band as a series of impressive lighting arrangements way above those you would normally expect to find in The Olympia bathed the band in Gary Numan-esque rays.

May Kay of Fight Like Apes made a typically startling guest appearance on Carmen with her trademark gritty vocals combining perfectly with those of Michael Le Galaxie as the pair met on the edge of the stage for a spikey duet. Beyond Transworld and Put The Chain On completed the set in a vibrant fashion with the other members of the group making the most of their chances to stride to the extremities of the stage.

Love System was the highlight of the encore and the performance as a whole with the dancers delivering their finest moment and the crowd screaming back the words at the band. As ever the last hurrah of Jurassic Park filled the venue with hands in the air as the crowd hummed along in unison. And it was no more than Le Galaxie deserved, for this (The Olympia) is their level now, they’ve earned it. No doubt if their popularity continues to rise we’ll lose them to the UK and Europe in time. So our advice to you is catch them while you can. - Golden Plec

Being featured in the Guardian’s “must-listen new tracks from around the world” is a somewhat ‘golden nugget’ for bands nowadays. ‘Lucy Is Here’ by Le Galaxie was featured this week, so the electro-dance quartet must be in their element.

For those not in the know, analog advocates, Le Galaxie, have been gaining steady acclaim in their native Ireland with crowd-pleasing performances and a stream of feel-good records – imagine the soundtrack to ‘Drive’ mixed with The Pet Shop Boys.

Their recently well-received gig at Koko in Camden echoes the mounting support for the band, as they hammered through a string of hits to a packed crowd, opening with intense instrumental, ‘Heat City’, from 2012 EP Fade 2 Forever. They also showcased tracks from the upcoming Le Club LP, such as ‘Humanise’, which was recently remixed by the likes of Blende and The Japanese Popstars.

‘The Nightcaller’ was a personal favourite of the night, and watching one of the band members using a drum stick to play the keyboard (flawlessly) was pretty special. If that doesn’t satisfy you though, just stare in awe at the magnificently groomed beard of front man Michael Pope, who had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout the night. - Sloth Boogie

They've been recently described as one of Ireland's best-kept musical secrets but we make no apology for alerting you here to the wonderfulness of the genius quartet Le Galaxie and this fantastic slice of dancefloor action. Steadily building up a loyal fanbase thanks to their impressive sell-out live shows, including a recent gig at Dublin's Olympia and playing support to Primal Scream on their recent Irish tour, their sound is geeky 80s electro funk, 2014 style, but with move of a sci-fi influenced groove and a nod towards those seminal killer tracks that Giorgio Moroder or early Human League used to make back in the day. See what we mean when the band take to the stage at Club NME at Koko in London tonight (May 23) or catch them at Longitude in Ireland on July 18 and Secret Garden Party the week after. Before you go though, we suggest you do as we did and download the whole of their incredible 2011 debut album Laserdisc Nights 2 for free from their website immediately. On the evidence of our featured new track Humanise, the forthcoming album Le Club (which the band have recently been working on in LA with ex-DFA guru Eric Brouce) is going to be an absolute classic when it finally hits us towards the end of this year or early next year. Hot, sweaty, dirty and euphoric. They deserve to absolutely own the entire planet in 2015. - Record Of The Day

As soon as the Arctic Monkeys finished we hightailed it over to the Body & Soul for once last show as there's really no better way to finish an Electric Picnic than with a Le Galaxie show. The Body & Soul stage was about as jam-packed as we have ever seen it, with hundreds of people defying their weary limbs and eeking out whatever dance moves they could muster to the sounds of one of Ireland's finest live acts. The band were, as is always the case, on fine form. Any energy the crowd expended was returned with more from the band as they pounded through a furious hour long set, throwing glowsticks and balloons (which somehow had lights in them) into the delighted crowd. 'Beyond Transworld' and 'Midnight Midnight', two of our favourite songs, well, ever were our particular highlights. - Entertainment.ie

Le Galaxie are, quite simply, one of Ireland's finest live acts. Their recent 3D show in Dublin's Meeting House Square was among the most anticipated events of the Dublin Fringe so far and, even in spite of a few hiccups presenting themselves in advance of the show, it still managed to rock our socks off. Read on for our review.

One of the most anticipated events of this year's Dublin Fringe Festival was overshadowed by rumours beforehand - "Oh, it’s been pushed back to Sunday night! In the Olympia!" - but the gig went ahead in its original venue on its intended day, but without a liquor licence. Not that this seemed to effect the crowd any over the course of the gig, as they left for one of the local pubs, shotgunned their drinks and then ran back to the concert as fast as their drunken legs would allow.

Being touted as a "3D gig" might've been a little disingenuous, as everyone who arrived was given a pair of old-school red and blue 3D glasses, and there was indeed a 3D visuals screen going on behind the band on stage. Gates opened a little after 9, but the band themselves didn't hit the stage til 10.30pm, and were off stage again a little after 11.30pm. A short, sharp blast, but a blast nonetheless, knocking out one great song after another. "Heart 2 Heart" is the best song Hot Chip never made, "Gotta Go" belongs on the Drive soundtrack, "Heat City" still sounds like the score to an early 80’s Arnie movie, "The Nightcaller" is the perfect Ibiza, hands-in-the-air trance anthem… no two songs sound the same, but they all worked together as a perfectly cohesive whole. Also in the mix was their new tune "What, Us?", which from the reaction of the listeners, should become an instant fan favorite.

Closing the gig with arguably their most popular song, "Love System" was a perfect cap to the set, sending the crowd into a lovey-dovey overdrive. Of course the night was ended with the now obligatory theme tune to Jurassic Park, and then it was time to go. The band members seemed genuinely overwhelmed by the crowd's response, and the absolutely packed out square didn't let up on the energy once. After being one of the highlights of this year's Electric Picnic, and now this, the sky is truly the limit for Ireland's electro kings. - Entertainment.ie

Live electro is not something that Ireland has traditionally done well over the years but Le Galaxie can now justifiably claim to be Ireland’s brightest in the synth-rave stakes. From the moment the band take to the stage, it’s relentlessly pumping songs beamed from another dancefloor universe with synthesizers, guitar and thumping bass-heavy beats, all delivered by four guys who always look like they are having a better time than anyone else. Luckily for Le Galaxie, it’s contagious. A4 pages with TUNE! are ceremoniously handed out and the excitement gets too much for singer Michael Le Galaxie who climbs the sound rigging to play some cowbell. They should have played a much much later slot. - Nialler9.com

There seems to be something of a tradition at the Electric Picnic of programming the most exciting Irish bands of the moment at unearthly hours, but at least Le Galaxie draw the Saturday straw and face an audience with spirits raised by the unfolding sunshine. Not that they need any sort of luck on their side, producing as they do one of the performances of the weekend. We know that they’re unbeatable in small venue yet it is heart warming to see how well they adapt to the larger stage. It’s the little touches that set them apart – the hundreds of TUNE! signs handed out to the audience, the drum ensemble that join them onstage, the sheer warmth of humanity that runs through their machine driven electro. A thundering ‘Midnight Midnight’ brings it all to an end, with Mick attempting an Odd Future style climb side stage, cowbell in hand. Stunning. - State Magazine

'[We Bleed The Blood Of Androids] from loudly heralded Dublin space rockers Le Galaxie sounds like Mercury Rev fronted by Hal, the bonkers super-computer from 2001: A space odyssey. As eerie synths creak and guitars swoon and sigh, a (possible insane) robot chirrups menacingly in the foreground- all to goosebump-inducing effect. Please buy this and make them famous...”
SINGLE OF THE WEEK, METRO - Metro Newspaper

'[We Bleed The Blood Of Androids] is as fine an example as any of their spaced-out, sci-fi inspired sonic explorations...manages to retain and organic warmth that's rare to find in electronica...'
HOTPRESS MAGAZINE - Hotpress Magazine

'...blends Mogwai with Kraftwerk...' ***
KEVIN COURTNEY, THE IRISH TIMES - Irish Times

'...‘We Bleed The Blood of Androids’ manages to be about as intergalactic as the name suggests, a sodastream of audio that is bubbling with invention from start to finish...this is one of the few genuinely exciting acts to emerge from the capital this year. Catch them before they go supernova...'
MP3HUGGER.COM - MP3HUGGER.COM

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Le Galaxie drew the short straw as their set clashed with that of Disclosure on the Main Stage. However, they weren't going to let that stop them giving those in attendance the performance of a lifetime. A set loaded with stage-climbing, fist-pumping, shiny jacket-wearing electropop goodness meant the Heineken Stage was packed to the rafters. Songs such as Love System and Nightcaller along with guest appearances from Elaine Mai and Fight Like Ape's Mary Kate added to the spectacle which ended with an explosion of sparkling confetti. Le Galaxie have long been touted as Ireland's best live act. Saturday night proved as much. - indublin.ie