holding ur hand gently as i say this. kneecap isnt the only focain irish language band out there <3. expand ur horizons a chairde there is so much good music as gaeilge around rn
some recommendations:
Súil Amháin is a poet and rapper from Listowel (hon the kingdom!) and I fucking love his music for how it effortlessly positions gaelainn not as a relic of a slowly suffocating culture, but as a language belonging totally to the modern world and to modern Ireland in particular, and at the same time staying true to aspects of traditional Gaelic songs, such as a propensity towards place names lol. the áit dhúchais is as important in Súil Amháin's 'Lá Breá', as it is in any sean-nós song and the leanúnachas between tradition and a bold plunge to the future is inspiring
Róis is an artist from Fermanagh whos album Mo Léan is a beautiful exploration of the tradition of death songs and keening in ireland. its like a mix of sean-nós and electronic music and a bunch else mixed in. personlly i prefer her 2023 album Uisce agus Bean but Mo Léan is the better album without a doubt lol. the attempt to reconcile death in the modern world with irish grieving traditions that span centuries is very affecting and also the songs themselves are absolute tunes 🎶
their website says it best. "Through bold reinterpretations of at-risk Irish language songs, Huartan’s mission is to connect contemporary audiences with the oral singing tradition and native language of Ulster." they call their genre 'tradtronica' and I desperately want to see them live ive heard they're incredible. their music is so fun and energizing and the blend of electronica and trad instrumentation is sublime. also they're very firmly and demonstrably pro-Palestine (éist le Fiáin nó Dorn San Aer / listen to Fiáin or Dorn San Aer!)
IMLÉ is a pretty prominent collective in the Irish language music scene, their stuff is like pop / hip hop / indie and for the most part their singers have Connemara Irish i think. some of their songs annoy the shit out of me lol and im not a huge fan of what James Shannon brings to the table but i LOVE Róisín Seoighe and overall theyre fun!
Róisín Seoighe's individual stuff is brilliant as well, i really love this song of hers.
Amano is a Japanese-Irish singer songwriter from Kerry who released an EP last year, Thread, comprised of 4 incredible songs in Irish. her voice is beautiful and her music energizing and the EP weaves together so many disparate threads 😉 its such a joy to listen to!
Síomha's stuff isn't on spotify anymore but her tunes are so effortlessly stunning and graceful. her website describes her genre as 'cosmic, folk-informed, jazz-tinged, post-pop' lol and her debut album Infinite space is so dreamy. And ofc you only have to listen to Spéir Rua to fall in love with it.
i just love Kíla. theyve been around for a few decades, theyve a wealth of albums and their newest one, Raise the Road, is a collaboration with an 8-piece brass brand ‼️ They're described as 'Contemporary Irish World Music' and their sound is sublime, theyve such palpable energy. ngl tho Rónán Ó Snodaigh is a phenomenal bodhrán player but i find it very hard to understand his irish, idk if its just the dublinness or what lol
and ofc the ogs of using irish to make (not so) contemporary music, Na Fíréin! founded in 1984, they were an attempt at a rock band whose songs were entirely through Irish. Their song Tír na nÓg is genuinely one of my favourite songs ever, i love it so much. Sin Mar a Bhíonn is also great. give them a go! they are very 80s but its nice to know that something like them existed and that the Irish language was a part of the rock scene in Ireland back then.
That's all I have room for lol but please it ye have recommendations for music in Irish feel free to give them! <3
THEY HAVE SOME OF THE BEST MUSIC AS GAEILGE IVE EVER HEARD
These are some of my favourites
^a classic, mythology x 80s music what more could you want? also here has the lyrics with English translation
^gorgeous love song, and he sings relatively slowly so the Irish is a bit easier to make out than their other songs. also I do love the way "thousand" and "mile" have the same word in Irish, so a thousand miles = míle míle
^SO much fun and so catchy. Tá mé dúnta i ngrá leat ❗🗣️
^relatable I cannot get "ach níl aon post agam, tá mé dífhostaithe" out of my head, it's such an earworm
^really good. I love the smiths and this honestly sounds like it could be a smiths song translated into Irish
Managed to get my 1992 Fisher Price to play the Camlann cassette! Sooooo delighted with this purchase and the fact that I could revive an old friend to play it 🙈
This cassette player originally belonged to my sister, and has been in my family since about 1994, and sitting unused since about 2010. In case you’re curious, the last cassette played (still in the compartment) was a Doctor Who audiobook.
