Few artists capture that sweet spot between introspection and dancefloor euphoria quite like Dublin’s Long Island Sound. Since emerging with early releases on Body Fusion before carving out a distinct identity through their own Signs of Space imprint, Rob Roche and Tim Nolan have steadily built one of Ireland’s most compelling catalogues—stretching from the shimmering house and breaks of Initial Ascent and Broken Signals to the emotionally-charged Lost Connection LP, the club-ready Don’t Let Me / Air EP, and this year’s expansive new six-tracker. Along the way they’ve earned support from the likes of Bicep, Pete Tong and Bonobo, remixed Depeche Mode, appeared everywhere from Boiler Room and AVA Festival to Berlin’s Griessmuehle and London’s fabric, while their own all-night-long parties have become something of a rite of passage back home. Fittingly, their Phonica mix captures the duo exactly where they thrive: recorded during the opening hours of an open-to-close set at Dublin’s Tengu, it patiently stretches the elastic between warm-up and release, slowly unfolding from hazy atmospherics into rolling, heads-down grooves before stopping just shy of lift-off—the moment, as they put it, when “the balloon is almost ready to pop into full-on party mode.” We sat down and had a brief chat with Rob and Tim about the mix, the new record and what they having coming up in the pipeline:
Hey Rob & Timmy, thanks so much for joining us! Can you tell us about your mix and what the idea behind it was?
This was recorded at the final stop of our recent Irish tour at Dublin’s Tengu, where we played open to close to a sick crowd. The recording captures the first two hours or so, building from slow and atmospheric sounds into chuggy rollers, finishing right on the cusp of full tops-off. We really love this part of the night, when the balloon is almost ready to pop into full-on party mode, but you’re trying to keep it inflating for as long as possible before that moment arrives.
What are your preferred methods for finding new music – do you still enjoy digging around in dusty crates, or do you prefer to buy online?
If we’re travelling for gigs, we always try to visit local record stores. It’s nice to pick up records as mementos from the places we’ve been.
When it comes to digital digging, Bandcamp is hard to beat.
What are five records you couldn’t live without?
Since there are two of us, we’re going to give you ten!
MF DOOM & Sade – Sadevillain
A really sick unofficial/bootleg mixtape of Sade and MF DOOM. We had been looking for this one for ages and finally found it in a great record store in Boston (Village Vinyl, Brookline).
Various Artists – CockTail d’Amore Music – 10 Years of CockTail d’Amore: ‘Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing Vol. 10’
Full of bangers. As many will know, Cocktail d’Amore was one of Griessmuehle’s flagship parties, as well as a brilliant label. Griessmuehle was one of our favourite clubs during our time living in Berlin, so this record carries a lot of nostalgia for us.
Yussef Dayes – Experience: Live From Malibu
An amazing album from start to finish – it somehow gets better with every listen.
Bicep – Bicep
Not much needs to be said about this one. A classic, and a massive source of inspiration for us.
Barker – Utility
An album that really showcases his unique sound – kick-drum-free techno at its very best.
SDC – Correlation #2
Funk-infused electro from one of Ireland’s best producers, and someone who deserves more flowers. We’ve been rinsing this at recent shows, especially ‘Down In Sector H’. We picked it up recently at All City in Dublin.
George McCrae – Rock Your Baby
A zero-skip disco-soul classic from 1974. The title track is widely credited as being the first major worldwide disco hit.
Nuage – Pink Television
This one’s even on Phonica, so big up for that! It’s a sick record. ‘Ninety High’ has been a favourite in our sets ever since we picked it up a few years ago.
Daft Punk – Alive 2007
Potentially the greatest live electronic music show of all time? One of us was lucky enough to see and hear this show in Marlay Park back in the day.
Kenix feat. Bobby Youngblood – There’s Never Been No One Like You
This was our theme tune at Dimensions Festival 2015 after hearing it on the first night, courtesy of Jeremy Underground. Listening to it immediately teleports us back to that time.
What do you have up your sleeve for 2026?
It’s been a lovely year so far, and thankfully we still have plenty to look forward to. We’ve just put out a new 6-track record on our label, Signs of Space, which should be hitting the Phonica shelves imminently. On June 19th, we’re buzzing to be back at fabric, opening Room 1 before Oskar Med K and Jasper Tygner. Then, on July 3rd, we’ll be hosting a stage at Funk In The Forest Festival in Wales, where we’ll be playing live alongside DJ sets from Not Even Noticed, Tom Jarmey and YouYou. We’re really grateful for these opportunities and excited to get back out there for the rest of the year. Thanks so much for having us – and big shouts to Daire!
If you say so 🙂
