Interview: Phil Kieran on his return to playing live for the Awesome Soundwave Live series
As we look to dive into the Awesome Soundwave Live series, with our Ireland double header we share a recent chat we had with Irish electronic music ambassador, Phil Kieran. Phil headlines both the Dublin and Belfast legs coming at the end of August, and will be performing live for the first time in over a decade. We feel honoured to be hosting him alongside co-founder, Christopher Coe, and fellow Irishman, Sturge who recently jumped aboard the Awesome Soundwave team, kicking things off by assisting with the organisation of this family affair.
Phil Kieran will play live for the first time in over 10 years on August 29 in Belfast.
Phil’s dedication to music has always fascinated us, and the impact he has had on electronic music in his home country is admirable. His taste is diverse, and his productions span a multitude of genres, creating atmospheres for all different pockets and moments. Releasing music on the likes of Cocoon, Skint, Soma, and of course his own PKR (Phil Kieran Records) which continues to shine strong with a host of releases in the pipeline, but simultaneously working on film scores and compositions, showing the true versatility of the artist.
Here is what went down when we caught up with the man himself…
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Hi Phil, welcome to Awesome Soundwave. We can’t wait to have you with us on the 28th in Dublin, and 29th in Belfast. How has the summer been for you so far?
I’ve been having a great time. I know this chat is about music, and there’s plenty happening there, but I’ve also recently restored my 1973 VW T2 camper van and have been touring around Scotland and Ireland while playing a few gigs along the way. It’s been very cool combining DJ gigs with travelling around and just having some fun with it.
I am sure we speak for the masses but we are ecstatic to share this moment with you, your first live sets in over a decade. How has it been in preparation so far? And is there any reason why now is the right time?
To be very honest, doing a live show playing music from my more techno side wasn’t on my radar at all. It’s really been driven by Christopher Coe, who got in contact with me and suggested it. I wasn’t planning on doing one at all.
The only reason I can really give you is that I thought it could be a lot of fun. I’m not thinking too much about what it means for my future, or even why I’m doing it. It just feels like the right time, and like a fun thing to do.
Ireland has always had a unique electronic music culture. What do you think has changed most since you first started playing?
I’ve seen so many changes, ups and downs. I feel like I’ve been there since very near the beginning of acid house, or dance music, whatever you want to call it. Maybe I wasn’t making records when I was 16, but I was going out to the Art College nights, Sugar Sweet and Choice when I was very young, a baptism of fire, to say the least.
Sometimes I think to myself, I can’t believe dance music still exists. It felt like it was only going to be a thing for a decade or so and then fizzle out, like most music genres, with something else eventually coming along. Somewhere between 2005 and 2010, it felt like everything was starting to go downhill, but things have grown again and now it seems to be bigger than it’s ever been.
It feels like a privilege to have watched the whole process and seen how things have developed. Of course, there’s a serious amount of rubbish out there, but it’s best to ignore that and focus on the positives — the people making and playing genuinely interesting music — and just ignore the nonsense.
What does The Ulster Sports Club mean to you, and the local community?
It’s been a great place to play in Belfast. The sound is good, the ceiling is low, and there’s always a great atmosphere in there. I love it when things feel heated in there — it can really be something special.
Tell us a bit about the setup you will be opting for on the day?
I’ll be using a laptop to sequence, but I’m going to try to keep the use of audio clips in Ableton to a minimum and use outboard analogue machines as much as possible.
I want to split everything up as much as I can, to the point where I feel like it’s almost going to fall apart. I don’t want to play it too safe. I want to avoid just playing the tracks as they sounded in their released form and instead introduce a sense of unpredictability and chaos.
As clubbing evolves, how important do you think it is to keep pushing the live aspect?
I think it’s good to step away from just playing CDs or USB sticks once in a while. They’ve become so sophisticated and so much easier to control than what it was like playing vinyl, or even when CDs first came out.
I think having sound coming directly out of machines, without the same “mastered” dynamic running through the whole night, can introduce a really interesting sound that you just don’t get from recorded or mastered music.
Your career has spanned decades, moving between a multitude of genres and projects. Can you give one piece of advice for young artists starting out?
I always say I’m not sure if I’m the right person to give advice on being successful. What I do know is that if you want to feel satisfied creatively, just be true to what you believe is right.
Don’t make decisions based on guessing what might be the next big thing. If you show some individuality and create something unique, you’re much more likely to stand out in a world where everyone is competing and most people are just regurgitating other people’s ideas — or even their own.
I like just trying to stay interested in what I’m doing. Make something that you think sounds interesting, and the chances are someone else will too.
What else do you have coming up in the months to come?
There are some new releases coming up on my label, PKR:
PKRD047 — Phil Kieran & Jordan Nocturne — Going Home
PKRD048 — Phil Kieran — Leave It All Behind
PKRD049 — Roman Flügel & Phil Kieran — Kosmische Advice EP
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▷ See Phil Kieran performing live at Awesome Soundwave Live events on August 28th & 29th, 2026 - in Dublin and Belfast.
