In an exceedingly rare west coast appearance, Irish dirge-folk four piece Lankum will be doing a single United States show at Seattle's The Neptune Theatre as the conclusion of a larger Canadian tour the month of October. This multi-instrumentalists outfit comprising Ian Lynch, Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat, had their beginnings in Irish traditional music sessions in Dublin's pubs, with Ian Lynch noting; "this was one of the most inspiring and influential things for Lankum, there would be no Lankum if it was not for the sessions". At these sessions the pair met singer and multi-instrumentalist Radie Peat and violinist Cormac MacDiarmada, stating further; "that’s the circumstances that brought about us in the band… Grim, but having quite a good time”. Their live incarnation during this period has been described by The Guardian as, “Lankum: More Like an Exorcism than a Gig”. From these meetings and a honing of their sound which included a doubling-down on the the drone qualities of traditional Irish folk music, they then by combining them with the edge of their early years playing self-described "crusty punk festivals", and moving beyond a sound of "Dark, Raucous Poetry from Irish Folk Miscreants", to then reconfigure their music with notes of hardcore, the weight of metal and doom, and the hypnotic, repetitive focus of trance music. In doing so, Lankum produced their own strain of "Brilliant, Raw, Detonating Folk", which was further refined into the underground folk breakout of "False Lankum" released on Rough Trade in 2023. Voted Best Album of the Year by The Guardian, Lankum’s Daragh Lynch spoke with the paper on making the album, "Lankum: ‘We Finally Nailed What We Wanted to Be’”. In an interview about their fourth album, Ian and Daragh Lynch, Radie Peat and Cormac Mac Diarmada spoke with The Quietus about Lankum's ever-intensifying extremities, transcendence through music, and their relationship to folk tradition, "The Sea, The Sea: An Interview With Lankum". In related coverage the band's side-project, ØXN are the first Irish band to be signed to esteemed national folk label Claddagh in 18 years, in "Beers, Steers & Fears", they speak about their stormy rise and announce their debut album "CYRM". An album rated five stars by The Guardian in their "Irish Folk Debut Full of Unsettling Dark Magic", review. Update: In a cryptically inspecific statement from the band, the tour has been cancelled, citing possible health or safety concerns.
