If grief was the language of For Those I Love’s debut, Carving the Stone is its translation into the language of a nation. David Balfe returns after four years with an album that moves from the deeply personal into the generational, tackling grief, class, violence, toxic masculinity, and the systems that keep us trapped.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we explore how Carving the Stone speaks to a modern Ireland under late-stage capitalism, and why it’s a vital counterpoint to the rise of misogyny and far-right radicalisation.

00:00 Intro

00:30 For Those I Love

01:20 This Week’s Show

01:53 For Those I Love - Album Retrospective

04:15 Fighting Toxic Masculinity

07:23 A Return

08:24 Carving The Stone Reaction

15:04 In Review

16:31 Conclusions

19:03 David Balfe

Five years ago, Gemma Dunleavy released Up De Flats, an EP that did more than just tell her story. It told a place’s story. Sheriff Street. Dublin’s North Inner City. Communities flattened in headlines but still rising in rhythm.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White reflects on the legacy of Up De Flats, what it meant then, and what it means now—against a backdrop of ongoing redevelopment, class erasure, and cultural resistance.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Gemma Dunleavy

00:52 This Week’s Show

01:47 Sheriff Street

04:20 Up De Flats Retrospective

07:10 Gentrification

08:14 Reflections

15:30 5 Years On

16:32 What Do You Think?

17:19 Gemma

CMAT’s new single Euro-Country is a cultural reckoning. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White breaks down how CMAT takes aim at the ghosts of the Celtic Tiger, the fallout of the 2008 crash, and the legacy of Bertie Ahern.

From the fluorescent ruins of Santry’s OMNI Shopping Centre to Ireland’s Celtic Tiger past, this video explores why Euro-Country has struck such a deep chord across generations in Ireland.With themes of intergenerational anger, grief, memory, and economic betrayal, CMAT’s bold songwriting is already being described as one of the most powerful political statements in modern Irish pop.

00:00 Intro

00:33 CMAT

00:51 Why Euro-Country?

01:24 Ireland & The 2008 Crash

03:50 CMAT is the perfect artist for this…

05:45 Euro-Country Music Video Analysis

07:30 CMAT Euro-Country Reaction

13:45 Reflections

15:29 What do you think?

16:07 Shame

The Oasis reunion is no longer a rumour, it’s happening. With shows already underway in Manchester, Cardiff and soon Dublin’s Croke Park, fans are once again screaming Champagne Supernova like no time has passed.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, I revisit the song that captured Oasis on the edge of everything, before Be Here Now, before the implosion, before break-up and the 2025 reunion.

I first heard it on a crackling 2FM broadcast in Waterford in 1996. Now, watching clips from the reunion flood social media, I feel the same way I did back then like the world cracked open for just a few minutes.

This video explores why Champagne Supernova might be the most Oasis song Oasis ever made, all drift, ego, grandeur and aching beauty.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Noel Gallagher

01:39 Champagne Supernova IS Oasis?

02:28 Memories of Oasis live in 1996

04:39 What Oasis meant then

08:07 Oasis at their most Oasis

09:44 Why is matters now

16:25 Champagne Reunion

17:40 What’s your favourite Oasis song?

18:58 Noel

“Let God Sort Em Out” isn’t just a comeback it’s a calculated strike. Clipse have returned with one of the most competitive, ruthless rap records in years, and they brought Pharrell and Kendrick Lamar into the ring with them.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we dive into the philosophy behind the album, how Pusha T and Malice weaponise precision, and why this record proves that hip-hop is still a full contact sport.🎙 Featuring a deep dive on Chains & Whips, Pusha’s legendary beef track record, and how Clipse’s return rejects nostalgia in favour of confrontation.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Pusha T

01:46 Clipse Let God Sort Em Out

03:10 First Impressions

06:58 Chains & Whips

08:10 Music As A Full Contact Sport

17:34 Clipse Are Ruthless

18:24 What do you think?

19:05 Pusha

Glastonbury 2025 became one of the most politically charged festivals in recent memory from Bob Vylan’s explosive set being investigated by police, to Kneecap’s BBC censorship, and Rod Stewart backing Nigel Farage in the press.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we explore the growing tension between protest art and platform control, and ask:Who gets to speak freely on the biggest stages and who gets silenced?

With Palestinian flags in the air, a woman live-streaming censored sets in real time, and police watching musicians instead of listening to them, we’re witnessing a major shift in how protest music is treated.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Nina Simone

01:33 Why Glastonbury 2025?

02:03 Bob Vylan

04:12 Matty Healy

05:26 Freedom of Expression

10:45 The Politics of Glastonbury 2025

12:15 Why?

19:43 We Choose The Art We Consume

21:07 Dangerous Days

22:37 Chuck D

In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope live on Saturday Night Live and paid the price for telling the truth. Booed at Madison Square Garden. Silenced by the industry. Mocked by the media.But what if she was right all along?

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we revisit that moment not as scandal, but as protest, an act of defiance rooted in Ireland’s painful history with the Catholic Church.

From the SNL performance to the Bob Dylan tribute, and all the backlash in between, we trace the legacy of Sinéad’s bravery through the artists carrying her torch today: Kneecap, CMAT, Pillow Queens, Radie Peat, Boygenius and Dua Lipa, who just honoured her live in Dublin.

This is not just a music story.It’s an Irish story.And it still matters.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Sinéad O’Connor

01:06 Performance as Protest

01:38 Ripping Up The Pope

03:22 The Legacy of Catholic Ireland

07:08 Booed at Bob Dylan Tribute Show

09:34 Why it matters

16:34 Sinéad O’Connor’s Legacy

18:18 Final Thoughts

19:24 Sinéad

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we break down the powerful courtroom moment when Kneecap’s Mo Chara demanded to speak Irish during his trial in London and why that decision echoes far beyond the courtroom.From The Pogues to Johnny Rotten, Shane MacGowan to Fontaines D.C., this is a history of Irish voices using British stages to express defiance, identity, and survival. Mo Chara’s stand isn’t new, it’s the latest verse in a long rebel chorus.The Last Mixed Tape is hosted by Stephen White00:00 Intro00:28 Mo Chara01:54 Kneecap, Mo Chara & The Courts02:24 Mo Chara Vs The Crown04:19 The Irish Voice07:12 Voices From The Past09:44 Thoughts21:49 Future 23:18 Outro

Ireland’s housing crisis. The ghost of Dublin. The music of frustration. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we dive into Fontaines D.C.’s “In The Modern World” and explore how it captures the voice of a generation let down by their country.

With echoes of Gertrude Stein’s “Lost Generation”, this episode connects the cultural disillusionment of Hemingway and Joyce with Ireland’s own Generation Perdue, the artists and outsiders shaping our modern protest music.

Featuring a key moment from Blindboy almost a decade ago, this is an exploration of art as identity in exile.

00:00 Intro

00:29 Blindboy

02:01 Gènération Perdue

04:17 Fontaines D.C In The Modern World

09:46 Surviving 2025

11:28 Reflections

20:30 Ghost Towns

21:50 Your Comments?

22:29 Outro

Gilla Band are not the most commercially successful band of their generation but they might be the most influential.

In this deep dive from The Last Mixed Tape, through the lens of Franics Bacon I explore how this uncompromising Dublin four-piece rewrote the rules for noise, post-punk, and experimental rock and why their contorted, chaotic sound is being echoed in a new wave of artists like Fontaines D.C., Black Midi, IDLES, Sprints, and more.

Featuring analysis of key releases (Holding Hands with Jamie, The Talkies, Most Normal), their creative ethos, influence on the Irish scene, and personal reflections from their landmark 2019 comeback show, this episode makes the case for why Gilla Band may just be the most important underground band of the 21st century.

The Last Mixed Tape is hosted by Stephen White

00:00 Intro

00:25 Francis Bacon

01:26 Gilla Band

03:15 The Contorted Soundscape

08:20 Echoes in the Noise

10:09 The Most Influential Band of the 21st Century?

20:30 Future Shapes

21:28 Your Thoughts?

23:13 Outro