From The Forthcoming Album “Between the Earth and Sky”
Release Date: 27 October 2017
“Lankum are the darlings of Dublin’s 300 year-old folk scene.” Colin Irwin – The Guardian
Although an acoustic group whose repertoire is fundamentally based on traditional song, influenced by legends such as Frank Harte, Planxty, The Dubliners and the Watersons, subtle traces of the group’s collective influences can be detected, ranging from American old-timey music to krautrock and drone. Check it out! Fantastic!!
‘Satire in times of unrest is a potent a weapon as any, and this fact was not lost upon the ballad makers of Ireland’s past. Songs poking fun at the British Army recruiting sergeant were common in the Irish tradition and represent a class of anti-war song unto themselves. This one is particularly special in that the site of William Bailey’s recruiting attempts is Dunphy’s Corner, just down the road from where the members of Lankum live on Dublin’s northside. In our present era of social and political unrest songs that seek to lampoon and make fun of figures of authority, military or otherwise, are as relevant as ever.’ Ian Lynch, Lankum
Check out ‘Sergeant William Bailey’ from the forthcoming album now, here: http://rtrecs.co/sgtwilliambailey
Lankum are one of the most talked about bands to come out of Ireland in decades. They are a Dublin four-piece who combine distinctive four-part vocal harmonies with arrangements of uilleann pipes, concertina, accordion, fiddle and guitar. Their repertoire spans humorous Dublin music-hall ditties and street-songs, classic ballads from the Traveller tradition, traditional Irish and American dance tunes, and their own original material. The band comprises of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch along with Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat. When not on tour Ian lectures in Irish Folklore and musical traditions in University College Dublin, while Cormac and Radie grew up as champion traditional players, on the fiddle and concertina, respectively. Yet Lankum are not purely trad themselves, in the same way The Pogues were more urban music. Rough-hewn and raw, they’re the edgiest thing in Dublin right now.
Having spent the last number of years performing as ‘Lynched’ a play on Ian and Daragh’s family name Lynch, the band decided that they would no longer continue with the name due to the unavoidable implications that it has in regards to acts of racist violence. Their new name comes from the ballad ‘False Lankum’, as sung by the Irish Traveller John Reilly Jr.
The band was originally formed by brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch in the early 2000’s, and has since progressed through a number of incarnations, culminating in the four-piece group playing today. The release of their album ‘Cold Old Fire’ and a subsequent appearance on the BBC television programme, ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ cemented their reputation as a band that successfully crosses genres. Lankum are busy breathing new life into old music.
27 October 2017 sees the release of the bands second album, and their first on the Rough Trade label.
