He may only be a fan, but Nialler9 knows what he's talking about when it comes to music. The highly popular Nialler9 Music Blog features the indie, electronica, hip-hop, folk, dubstep and other kinds of music he loves--as Nialler9 himself quips: "As long as it's good."
But more than that, what makes Nialler's site so special is his sprinkling of the most popular music in Ireland. With this, the music blog has become highly influential on the Irish music scene, giving Nialler the chance to write Internet-related content for the most popular newspaper in the country as well as other newspapers and music publications, and a spot on the judge panel for the annual Irish album of the year award--the Choice Music Prize. He's also received the Irish Blog Award in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Nialler may not play or teach guitar, but he certainly knows what he's talking about when it comes to this and other music topics. He certainly knows what he's doing!
What’s your background in music?
Only as a fan. I've avidly been listening and collecting tapes, CDs, digital files and vinyl since I was young. I was in a band when I was 15. We were called The Chewbacca Defence. We did covers of DJ Shadow and Cornelius. We played about 5 times. I had to retire when I played the ultimate bum-note in the world ever in front of an audience of 80 people. It wasn't pretty.
Who are some of your musical influences?
When I was maybe twelve, I stole my sister's copied tape of Beastie Boys' Ill Communication. It blew my little mind and I've been a Beasties fan ever since. I love the way they work in the studio: mixing it up between sampled music, instrumentals, sampling their own instrumentals and the range of genres they have touched on throughout their career. Apart from that, my favourite bands are Super Furry Animals and Broken Social Scene. As a rule of thumb, if it has a healthy eclecticism, I'll probably love it.
What made you create your site? Do you feel the music blog world is lacking in its coverage of the Irish music scene?
Well I don't exclusively cover Irish music at all though it is part of what I do. I started my site after buying a domain to get a job. I got the job so I started using the site to give my friends' ears a break about all the new music I would recommend. I talked about my finds fairly regularly so instead, it was easier to put them in a central place.
What do you cover outside of Irish music?
Anything and everything I like. How would you describe the Irish scene?de
In the last few years, Irish music has exploded in creativity and dynamism, shunning the singer songwriter abundance of the previous ten years. Before the range of music being created mainly resided in rock, indie or folk. These days we have some brilliant electronica (Prince Kong, Legion of Two, Hunter Gatherer), gameboy music (The Vinny Club), ambient atmospheric bands (The Holy Roman Army, Halves), heavy guitar music (Adebisi Shank, Bats, ASIWYFA), electro-pop (Nakatomi Towers), amazing songwriters (Villagers), bands with a kitchen sink attitude (Super Extra Bonus Party), one man bands (R.S.A.G.), eerie doo-wop (Patrick Kelleher) and loads loads more. It's an exciting time.
Your blog has been called “an influential force on the Irish music scene.” What do you believe makes it so?
That is someone else's opinion but generally, as so many Irish people read my blog, if I post something, a lot of people trust me enough to listen to it and will like it too.
How does this blog differ from traditional Irish music media?
No constraints, no negativity, no deadlines. I can write about anything I want basically.
Apparently the blog has led to other writing opportunities. Tell me about some of them.
I now write about Internet-related content for the biggest Irish national newspaper The Irish Independent every Friday.
You run State Magazine? Tell me about it.
Well I co-run State.ie with Phil Udell now since the print magazine folded last year. It's more of a traditional music magazine in an online platform with live reviews, album reviews, news and interviews. I'm hoping to expand it over the next year or so, time permitting.
What can we expect from the blog and from you in the future?
Lots and lots more recommendations. Who knows beyond that?
He may only be a fan, but Nialler9 knows what he's talking about when it comes to music. The highly popular 
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