Lankum, previously known as Lynched, are a contemporary Irish folk music group from Dublin, consisting of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat. In 2018 they were named Best Folk Group at the RTÉ Folk Music Awards, while Radie Peat was named Best Folk Singer.[1]
The group were originally known as Lynched, after the brothers' surname, and released their debut album Cold Old Fire (2014) under that name. In October 2016 they announced in a statement that they were changing their name to Lankum to avoid associations with the practice of lynching. The statement read: "We will not continue to work under our current name while the systemic persecution and murder of black people in the USA continues."[2] The name Lankum comes from the folk ballad "False Lankum", as sung by the Irish traveller and folk singer John Reilly.[2]
In 2017, the band signed to Rough Trade Records and recorded their album Between The Earth and Sky, to analogue tape with producer/ engineer Julie McLarnon. It was released on 27 October 2017 and subsequently nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Mojo named it folk 'album of the year' 2017.[citation needed]
In 2019, Lankum’s video for The Young People, directed by filmmaker ,[3] won Best Irish Music Video Award at the Irish Film Festival in London, England.
Artistry[]
Their music has been characterised as "a younger, darker Pogues with more astonishing power".[4] Reviewing their third album The Livelong Day (2019) for The Guardian, Jude Rogers described it as "a folk album influenced by the ambient textures of Sunn O))) and Swans, plus the sonic intensity of Xylouris White and My Bloody Valentine".[5]
Members[]
Ian Lynch – vocals, uilleann pipes, concertina, tin whistle, percussion
NB Ian and Darragh Lynch released Where Did We Do Wrong?! in 2003 as Lynched. However, it seems that this incarnation of Lynched is not the same musical project as that of the same name which would go on to become Lankum, as Cold Old Fire, released in 2014 with Cormac Mac Diarmada and Radie Peat, is often described as the group's "debut album".