Culture File: Kate Ellis' Wandering Cello

It's no surprise that cellist and Crash Ensemble boss Kate Ellis thinks genres have little meaning in new music

Culture File: Pianist-composer, Lambert's search for the right mask

Berlin-based Lambert, on the best place to obtain Sardinian folk masks and other essentials of his performances.

The Culture File Weekly No. 61 (Sat 12th Feb, 2016, w/ fecal microbiota transplantation, the ghosts of greyhounds, the sound of old Anatolia

This weekly, we’ll be remembering the old days in Anatolia, travelling to Offaly to hear about a 13th century saint who had the rare distinction of being a greyhound and exploring we get a taste of fecal microbiota transplantation (though not literally).

Culture File: Mary Fox's historical hounds

Greyhound historian, Mary Fox, on the long, strange friendship between humans and their fastest, best friends

Culture File: Antonia Arslan's Armenian grandfather

How the writings of Italian novelist, Antonia Arslan, brought memories of her grandfather's Anatolia back to life

Culture File: Antonia Arslan's Armenian grandfather

How the writings of Italian novelist, Antonia Arslan, brought memories of her grandfather's Anatolia back to life

Culture File: Patrolling the Brain-Gut-Microbiota Axis

Culture file is living up to its name this time, as we get a taste of fecal microbiota transplantation (so not literally)

Culture File at FOTE: JP McMahon's Big Plan

Food on The Edge-founder, JP McMahon on the conference he hopes will become a regular gathering of world chefs

The Culture File Weekly No. 60 (Sat 5th Feb, 2016, w/Lemn Sissay, Silver Darling, Whack!! & Aisling Kelliher)

This weekly, chomps of Hiberno-Nordic cuisine, poet, Lemn Sissay on his Superman Was A Foundling, whacks from dancer-choreographers, Philip Connaughton and Ashley Chen, and aftershocks from a certain image of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg

Culture File: Superman Was a Foundling

Superman Was A Foundling, Lemn Sissay points out in the title of a work he made for London's Foundling Museum

Culture File: Irish Food Writers Guild Food Awards 2016

The Irish Food Writers Guild honours Hiberno-Nordic cuisine, with a 2016 Food Award for Silver Darlings herring

Culture File: Whack!!

Whack!! Is this a fight? Only Whack!! dancer-choreographers, Philip Connaughton and Ashley Chen can say for sure

Owww - Ummm - Eeeh - Urrrg

Whack!!!!! Tune in to Culture File at 5:40 on RTE LyricFM to hear Philip Connaughton and Ashley Chen's fighting talk

Culture File: Mark Zuckerberg's surprise appearance

Prof Aisling Kelliher and Luke Clancy discuss a recent, very resonant image of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg

Culture File at FOTE: Quique Dacosta's "conceptual evolution of paella"

Call it "molecular gastronomy" or "techno-emotional cuisine" - Quique Dacosta is still the current boss chef

The Culture File Weekly No. 59 (Saturday 27th Jan, 2016, with Jesse Jones, TNS's 42nd Street and Gong Bathing)

This weekly, artist Jesse Jones' feminist takeover at the Hugh Lane Gallery, sawdust and tinsel at an amateur production of 42nd Street, and an invitation to a gong bath. C'mon, it'll be fun!

Gong Bath - Full Recording (no Mixing)

The full unedited recording of Lisa and Brian's Soundhenge Ireland Gong Bath.

Culture File: Gong Bathing

Come, lie down with 30-odd other souls in a candlelit, plant-filled room, and have a good sonic soak at a "gong bath"

Culture File Xtra: C'mon, get in the gong bath, the sound is lovely!

Coming up at 5.40pm on @RTElyricfm @LyricLorcan, more things that sound like this... pic: Lisa and Brian of Soundhenge Ireland

Culture File: Artist, Jesse Jones' Feminist Parasite Institution

Jesse Jones on recasting the canon at the Hugh Lane Gallery, with help from her Feminist Parasite Institution

Culture File: Jesse Jones on Robert Altman's 1977 classic, 3 Women

Artist Jesse Jones on how Altman's film, 3 Women, inspires a current feminist "takeover" at the Hugh Lane Gallery

Culture File: TMS's 42nd Street

Tinsel, glitter & the odd cracked skull as Gearoid Farrelly goes backstage at an amateur production of 42nd Street

Culture File at FOTE: Alyn Williams' Horlicks Haute Cuisine

The malted joys of Horlicks and a side of audio #foodporn from FOTE 2015, with chef, Alyn Williams

The Culture File Weekly No. 58 (Saturday 13th Feb, 2016, with Fifi Rong, RGKSKSRG, Pan Pan, Lavit Gallery)

This weekly, Pan Pan's rocking chair theatre, Fifi Rong's hybrid of English electronica and the music of the jazz clubs of 1930s Shanghai, three prize-winning graduates from Crawford School of Art and Design and RGKSKSRG's exhibition-cum-knees up at Rialto's Studio 468

Culture File: The 2016 Harvest at the Lavit Gallery, Cork

This year's harvest, at the Lavit Gallery's Student of The Year Exhibition of recent Cork art graduates.

Culture File: TMS's 42nd Street

Tinsel, glitter & the odd cracked skull as Gearoid Farrelly goes backstage at an amateur production of 42nd Street

Culture File at FOTE: Alyn Williams' Horlicks haute cuisine.

The ​malted ​joy​s​ of ​Horlicks ​and a ​​side of audio #foodporn ​from FOTE​2015​,​ ​with chef​,​ Alyn Williams

Culture File: Fifi Rong's Shanghai Triphop

The West Country gloom of Tricky and the jazz of 1930s Shanghai come cheek to cheek in the music of Fifi Rong

Culture File: RGKSKSRG's ultimate awkward dancefloor moment

The art of parties with the curatorial team of Rachael Gilbourne and Kate Strain, who work together as RGKSKSRG

Culture File Xtra: Strange @This is Sexy

Coming up at 5.40pm on RTE Lyric FM Culture File sinks into the closing night happening of a 9-month long project from the curatorial team of Rachael Gilbourne and Kate Strain, who go under the name R G K S K S R G. Sharon Phelan was in attendance for what the organisers described as "the ultimate awkward dancefloor moment"

Culture File: All That Fall Returns

Someone's outside with a van full of rockingchairs, which can only mean one thing: Pan Pan's All That Fall is back

The Culture File Weekly No. 57 (Saturday 13th Feb, 2016)

This weekly, we visit Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt for Transmediale, the 'post-digital' gathering of critics, artists, academics and hackers - and some who combine all those roles. We meet a professor of biology, who is also a choreographer, an artist who is also a 'citizen spy' and an artwork that is also an experiment in financial hacking

Culture File at FOTE: Sasu Laukkonen's excellent carrot

For Helsinki chef, Sasu Laukkonen, it's time to think much more carefully about how good a simple carrot can really be.

Culture File: Mark Doherty's Bee! musical

Be they Bumble or solitary, drones or queens, Mark Doherty has a lot of love for the bees

Culture File: Immaterial Value

At Transmediale, we meet what is a common site these days: artists sitting at a desk spoofing the financial system

Culture File: Rowell

Mapping the hidden power of think tanks, trade groups & lobbying agencies, with artist-researcher, Steve Rowell #tm16

Culture File: Microbiomes

In our first report from Berlin media thinkathon, Transmediale, we shake hands with artist biologist, F-J Lapointe

Culture File Weekly No 56 - Andy Sheppard Special

A special program with Andy Sheppard takes us to the saxophonist's Bristol eerie/studio to hear about perfect pitch, the importance of a good hifi and communal record listening, the epiphany of hearing a John Coltrane record, and making his own discs with the pretty-close-to legendary producer and label boss, Manfred Eicher of ECM records.

Culture File: Andy Sheppard Part 3

The Shakespeare of the Sax: Andy Sheppard on his latest jazz trio project, Shakespeare Songs.

Culture File: Andy Sheppard Part 2

"If you can't do it in two days, why bother?" ECM Producer, Manfred Eicher, gives studio advice to Andy Sheppard

Culture File: Andy Sheppard Part 1

Up the winding hill-roads of Bristol to the instrument-lined eyrie of British saxophone giant, Andy Sheppard.

Culture File: Somerset Museum of Innocence

Culture File visits Istanbul's Museum of Innocence, the strange phenomenon that inspired a new film from Grant Gee

Culture File: Andy McFadden

Michelin-starred, Tallaght-born chef, Andy McFadden, on climbing the London fine dining ladder

Culture File Weekly No 55

This weekly, we travel from the Western Front in 1916 and what it meant for one Irish boy, to the economic front of 2008, and what it meant for one Icelandic chef. Master maker, Jack Doherty introduces us to some explosive pottery and we wonder why it is that despite being very good, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film The Revenant isn't very good.

Culture File: Minimalist Movie Sounds

If live performances of music by blockbuster composers such as Williams and Elfman never quite lit your torch, would a night out work where Glass and Nyman are the heroes and minimalism -- and everything after -- the house style? MINIMAL FILM takes place on Friday, 29th Jan, at Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, Dublin, starting at 7.30pm.

Culture File: Hast Seen The Brown Bear?

Chances are, if you haven’t seen multi-nominated movie, The Revenant, and indeed even if you have, you could find yourself perplexed when it comes to sharing your real feelings. Because, once you’ve cooed over Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead performance, and the substantial assistance he gets from co-stars, Tom Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson, and indeed a substantial blanket of bearskin; once you genuflected approvingly at Emmanuel Lubezki photography “all shot in sequence and using natural light” - you might even add, cinéastically; after all that prayer-like murmuring of approval, you might be thrown back on the unspoken thought that no matter how good the Revenant is, it’s not actually that good. Now listen on...

Culture File: Minimalist Soundtracks

If live performances of music by blockbuster composers such as Williams and Elfman never quite lit your torch, Irish composer Natasa Paulberg may have the thing for you, an event at which Glass and Nyman are the heroes and minimalism -- and everything after -- the house style. Sharon Phelan spoke to about her own compositional journey, and her plan to highlight minimalism at the multiplex.

Culture File @FOTE: Gunnar Karl Gíslason's special poo

You have some pretty great advantages if your mission in life as Reykjavik chef is to protect the culinary traditions of Iceland, the foremost of being that you're​ ​in Iceland. But ​the value of your isolation can go down as well as up. When the crisis of 2008 hit iceland, imports were suddenly out of the price range of the new restaurant he was opening - so, Gunnar Karl needed a new plan, as he explained to us backstage at Food on The Edge's Eyre Square base. Chef, Gunnar Karl Gíslason there, at the inaugural food on the edge symposium in Galway. And you can hear more from food on the edge, head to soundcloud.com and search for Culture File Gunnar Karl Gíslason

Culture File: Chloe Dewe Mathews' Shot at Dawn

Private James Crozier. 07:05 / 27.2.1916. Le Domaine des Cordeliers, Mailly-Maillet, Picardie. The title​s​ for Chloe Dewe Mathews photographs of 1st world war execution sites contain only the stark details recorded in the official records. Behind them lie a plethora of stories of young men, shot by their own sides for cowardice or desertion, often after murky courts martial. Mostly what we ​know for certain is what also know about Dewe Mathews's photos, that they were shot at a ​specific location​s​, at dawn. On Wednesday, 27th January, 2016, Prof Alex Danchev of the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, will give a Lecture at IMMA, Kilmainham titled: Shot at Dawn: Moral Witness.

Culture File: Death Row Memoirs of an Extraterrestrial

Hiberno-American quartet, Decoda, are working with actor, Diarmuid deFaoite, on Death Row Memoirs of an Extraterrestrial, a genre defying composition by American contemporary composer, Mark Neikrug, which gets its Irish premiere at the Music For Galway Winter Festival on 24th January, at the Town Hall Theatre, Dublin.