the olllam

With a name aptly deriving from the old Irish for a grand master of a skill or profession, the olllam is a transatlantic collective of formidable talent, marrying stunning instrumental virtuosity, Irish tradition, and Detroit’s post-rock psych-sensibility.

Their genre-defying compositions are lush with cyclical trance-like melodies, co-written by Belfast uilleann piper/whistle player John McSherry, his US protégé Tyler Duncan, and master-drummer Michael Shimmin, whose intricate, often complex, rhythms are then underpinned in recording by the phenomenal bass-playing genius of Joe Dart. Their 2012 eponymous debut album is now considered something of a cult classic, winning the 2012 Indie Acoustic Music Award for Best Instrumental Album.

Over the years the olllam has toured as a live collective augmented by additional master musicians and collaborators, including Dart’s Vulfpeck bandmates Theo Katzman and Woody Goss. Since the recording and release of 2022’s long-awaited follow-up album elllegy, which saw the olllam named as RTE Radio Best Group at that year’s Folk Awards, the band has featured Seán O'Meara on guitar and Joe Hettinga on keys. A hugely successful summer 2023 UK & Ireland festival tour saw the olllam debut at WOMAD, and early 2024 saw the band return for a sell-out shows at Barrowlands Glasgow (1900) in Celtic Connections and at London's Jazz Cafe, and Dublin Vicar Street. For this tour, Tyler stood down to focus on his work as an in-demand producer, and Scottish whistle ace Ross Ainslie joined as a permanent member. Tyler featured with the band in their collaboration with multi-platinum EDM producer Zedd on his 2024 album Telos, and joined the live shows for that project.