If an underground scene exists in Ireland, it is where the artists who shun the social media and promotion activity now expected of new musicians, quietly and assuredly are releasing independent music of niche stripes that has found a fervent audience without traditional channels and with support and commercial stocking from shops like All City and international outlets like Boomkat, Bandcamp, Rush Hour and Pitchfork.
Davy Kehoe and his collective cohorts Wah Wah Wino are two such examples of artists who prefer to let the music and the method speak for itself. Releasing only on vinyl in this digital era, staying obscure is core to their ethos it seems, with discombobulating music and sleeves with minimal information the order of the day and popping up to play a DJ set or live show sporadically on NTS, Hang Dai or Unsound Festival.
Wino as a label, released Davy Kehoe’s jazz experimentalist groove music in the form of his debut album Short Passing Game, a singular release that certaainly didn’t go unnoticed.
Now Davy is back with a new release, The Pilot on the label and the lead-track from the 12″ gave me chills of excitement. Live shows from Kehoe have really leaned into the kraut, electronic, noise-making world-building you can hear on ‘The Pilot Part One’ and it’s a thrill-ride for its entire duration with nods to those genres alongside industrial, minimal electro. The band Suicide are the closest comparison to this piece of music, a suspended rolling rhythm that creates its own angles, a void for the music and Kehoe’s howls to exist.
Underneath a buzzed bassline and some reverbed harmonica which adds some mangled rock’n’roll country twang to proceedings. Apparently inspired by a trip to New Orleans, ‘The Pilot Part One’ is among the most expansive and brilliant pieces of music released from this country this year.
Hey, before you go...
Nialler9 has been covering new music, new artists and gigs for the last 19 years. If you like the article you just read, and want us to publish more just like it, please consider supporting us on Patreon.
What you get as thanks in return...
- A weekly Spotify playlist only for patrons.
- Access to our private Nialler9 Discord community.
- Ad-free and bonus podcast episodes.
- Guestlist & discounts to Nialler9 & Lumo Club events.
- Themed playlists only for subscribers.
Your support enables us to continue to publish articles like this one, make podcasts and provide recommendations and news to our readers, and be a key part of the music community in Ireland and abroad.
Related
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the cohost of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, event curator and producer of gigs, parties & events.