The Rubberbandits
Sharp Limerick wit meets gritty hip-hop beats. A surreal, satirical take on Irish life that balances absurdity with biting social commentary.
Sharp Limerick wit meets gritty hip-hop beats. A surreal, satirical take on Irish life that balances absurdity with biting social commentary.
The sound of The Rubberbandits is a collision between the grey, concrete reality of Limerick City and a vivid, plastic-bag-masked fever dream. Musically, it sits on a foundation of early 2010s electronic hip-hop, utilizing punchy drum machines and bright, often intentionally tacky synths that mirror the aesthetic of cheap dance music and local radio. The vocals are delivered with an unapologetic, thick Shannonside accent, turning local vernacular into a rhythmic weapon that is as technically proficient as it is hilarious.
What truly sets them apart is the 'Gas Cuntism' philosophy - a specific brand of Irish surrealism that uses the absurd to speak truth to power. While the surface level is often crude or comedic, the underlying songwriting is deeply observant, tackling themes of class, mental health, and post-colonial identity. They manage to make songs about horses and 1990s rave culture feel like essential sociological documents without ever losing the sense of a chaotic house party.
Start with 'Horse Outside' for the cultural impact, but dive into 'Dads Best Friend' or 'I Wanna Fight Your Father' to hear their range. It is music for people who like their comedy dark, their beats heavy, and their social commentary wrapped in a Spar shopping bag.
The Rubberbandits were an Irish comedy hip-hop duo from Limerick. They consisted of Blindboy Boatclub (real name Dave Chambers) and Mr Chrome (sometimes Bobby Chrome; real name Bob McGlynn). During performances and interviews, they concealed their identities with masks made from plastic shopping bags. They were often accompanied by DJ Willie O'DJ, a silent masked caricature of local politician Willie O'Dea (portrayed by several consecutive men, including Spin South West DJ Paul Webb). The group described themselves as artists, and had dubbed their movement as "Gas Cuntism". Chambers and McGlynn met while attending Ardscoil Rís, Limerick. Primarily a satirical stage and television act, they have performed throughout Ireland, the UK and the US with shows at events such as Electric Picnic, Oxegen and the Bulmers International Comedy Festival. The Rubberbandits first rose to prominence in December 2010, when their music video "Horse Outside" went viral on YouTube. They have since won awards for both their music and comedy. In 2011, the duo were declared "Best Irish Act" at the entertainment.ie awards, and also won an IFTA award for "Horse Outside". The duo have also been involved in television, creating sketches for RTÉ, MTV and Channel 4, writing and starring in a Channel 4 comedy pilot, and writing and narrating the ITV2 series The Almost Impossible Gameshow. In 2016, they created The Rubberbandits' Guide to Everything, a mockumentary TV series for RTÉ. Since 2017, Blindboy Boatclub has been host of The Blindboy Podcast, quickly becoming one of the most listened-to Irish podcasts, with 150,000 weekly listeners as of March 2018.
Shares boom bap, abstract hip-hop (subgenres); lo fi, sample based, drum machine (production style)
Shares boom bap, abstract hip-hop (subgenres); playful, defiant, rebellious (moods)
Shares sample based, bedroom production, lo fi (production style); boom bap, abstract hip-hop (subgenres)
Shares rebellious, playful, aggressive (moods); boom bap, abstract hip-hop (subgenres)
Shares boom bap, abstract hip-hop (subgenres); dive bar, urban night, basement show (atmosphere)
Shares humor satire, abstract hip-hop, boom bap, nasal (signature)
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