Lankum

About

Lankum take the bones of old Irish folk songs, murder ballads, rebel songs, shanties, and push them somewhere far darker and stranger, layering in drones, krautrock textures and psychedelic intensity until the results feel genuinely unlike anything else. The Dublin four piece of Ian Lynch, Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat came together through Dublin's traditional music session scene, and their sound reflects that collision of backgrounds: punk energy meeting deep folk roots. They released records as Lynched before changing the name in 2016, specifically to avoid associations with racial violence in the US. The new name comes from a folk ballad, "False Lankum", sung by Irish traveller and folk singer John Reilly. Their 2023 album False Lankum was the moment everything clicked into place. It landed Mercury Prize nomination, topped year end lists at publications including The Guardian, and won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize in 2024. Producer John "Spud" Murphy, who the band consider a fifth member, has been central to shaping that dense, immersive sound. A live album, Live in Dublin, followed in 2024, capturing three sold out nights at Dublin's Vicar Street.