Following the wave of success of Lankum‘s last album, Between the Earth & The Sky, which saw them pick up Best Group and Best Original Track (for The Granite Gaze) at the 2018 BBC Folk Awards in Belfast, Rough Trade Records have today announced that the Dublin four-piece will release their new album ‘The Livelong Day’, on October 25th.
Accompanying the news is a video for opening track ‘The Wild Rover’, directed by Ellius Grace. Their version is different from the one most may be familiar with. Lankum explain, “this particular version of The Wild Rover was first heard from the singing of Dónal Maguire, who in turn got it from fellow Drogheda man Pat Usher, and the recording was subsequently released on an album entitledThe Usher Family in 1974.” There are countless renditions of this tune, it is a song very much rooted within the dirt and peat of Ireland, but the revelation of a little known final verse takes it from a jovial pub tale to one of sadness and destitution. The actual crux of the song becomes desperate, a matter of life or death.”
Director Ellius Grace explains the thinking behind the video; “I wanted to visualise the mythical Irish landscape in the video, to respond to the feeling of ancient Ireland that the track conveys so strongly. The video is an ominous journey through a landscape that is coming alive, a dark trip into the mythical unknown. Void of people and living things, the flora begins to take over, morphing and stretching our view as we travel. I took inspiration from folk horror. Rocks and textures stretch and flex at first imperceptibly, and then get out of control and take over. For colour grading, I looked to classic depictions and paintings of the Irish landscape. I wanted to channel these very deliberate visions of the countryside as a place of both beauty and darkly storied unknown, steeped in our nation’s folklore.”
The accompanying press hints at both the strengths and changes on the new album which was recorded and produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy in the Meadow and Guerrilla Sounds studio where the band allowed themselves to experiment further with their music, successfully blending ‘alternative folk and psychedelia.’
The heavy, ancient breath of the Uilleann pipes will be more prominent, seething beneath the tracks. “Drone is a big part of traditional music because the Uilleann pipes are indigenous to Ireland, so we’re ramping up that history and taking it as far as we can.” …expanding and emboldening, that which is already playing out in history.
It’s interesting that while drone plays a big part in traditional music, Lankum have always been recognised for pushing their music beyond those traditional boundaries. This was something that FRUK’s Thomas Blake touched on in his review of their last album ‘Between the Earth and The Sky’ in which he commented that their use of drone would have made the American avant-garde composer LaMonte Young proud. On this new album pride may well turn to ecstasy.
The greatest or most exciting revelation is the suggestion of there being a greater fluidity and experimentation at play “…we wanted more percussive elements, more rhythm, more movement but at the same time we were more confident just going into the studio and seeing what happens, and leaving space open for experimentation.” While there isn’t a theme or concept as such, there is a tone that runs through it: “it’s a combination of being desperately depressing and hopeful at the same time.”
The strongest statement yet to come from Rough Trade on the band is “Lankum are about to fully cement their reputation as one of the most unique and talked about groups to emerge from Ireland in decades” and we completely believe in that.
Alongside the traditional songs on the record, there are two originals – the haunting ‘Young People’ and the tragic beauty of ‘Hunting The Wren’ the latter was composed by Ian as part of a writing challenge with Lisa O’Neill.
Credits on the album include guest Irish musicians Adrian Crowley on mellotron, Katie Kim on vocals and Alex Borwick on trombone who also played on the last album.
Underpinning their modern twist on the tradition they add:
“We don’t want to be fossilising or archiving these songs we want to be pushing and accelerating them further, and the multi-sensational quality that these songs have create a visual atmosphere that you can step into and actually find it very difficult to bring yourself out of.”
‘The Livelong Day’ exists as both a narrative and a soundscape, and the way in which these songs live and ring true in our ‘modern’ lives makes total sense. This indefinable quality is what makes Lankum truly anarchic. Humanity always has, and always will, feel. What could be more relevant than pain, joy, suffering, liberation? All foundations for the human condition can be found within these songs.
..one of the most talented and original bands around, and this album is a vital, bracing piece of work. Thomas Blake, Folk Radio
Tracklisting – The Livelong Day
1.The Wild Rover
2.The Young People
3.Ode To Lullaby
4.Bear Creek
5.Katie Cruel
6.The Dark Eyed Gypsy
7.The Pride Of Petravore
8.Hunting The Wren
PRE ORDER LINK: https://roughtrade.ffm.to/thelivelongday
Forthcoming Lankum Tour Dates:
Oct 18th – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick
Oct 19th – Roisin Dubh, Galway
Oct 24th – Empire Music Hall, Belfast
Oct 25th – Vicar Street, Dublin **SOLD OUT**
Nov 13th – Bullingdon Arms, Oxford
Nov 14th – Brudenell, Leeds
Nov 16th – Stereo, Glasgow
Nov 17th – Band On The Wall, Manchester
Nov 18th – Fiddlers, Bristol
Nov 19th – Komedia, Brighton
Nov 20th – Hare & Hounds, Birminghaam
Nov 21st – Tufnell Park Dome, London
Nov 26th – Merleyn, Nijmegen
Nov 27th – Paradiso, Amsterdam
Nov 29th – Alice, Copenhagen
Nov 30th – Muziekpublique, Brussels
Jan 4th – Vicar Street, Dublin *Announced Today*