What do you get when you combine raw post-funk from Detroit with traditional Irish music? A *delicious* whole with a triple L: The Olllam. The collective formed in 2012 around bagpiper John McSherry from Belfast and Joe Dart, the fantastic funk bassist known from Vulfpeck and Fearless Flyers. The name The Olllam comes, quite fittingly, from the Old Irish word for being a master of a craft. For the members of The Olllam are master musicians, every single one of them.
The current lineup also consists of drummer Michael Shimmin, Scottish whistle player Ross Ainslie, guitarist Seán O'Meara, and keyboardist Joe Hettinga. With the album elllegy, The Olllam won the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award for Best Group in 2022. And last year, they performed during DJ Zedd's set at Coachella. Yet another collaboration that proves the power of music can lie in precisely these kinds of unconventional collaborations between master craftsmen.
