Local favourites and BIMM graduates Sky Atlas have announced that their much-anticipated upcoming EP Stone will be released on Friday, November 5th.

The ambitious quartet is made up of Louis Younge, a wildly versatile multi-instrumentalist as adept with a violin as he is with a wind organ, Deftones-loving drummer Ryan McClelland – an “absolute monster behind the kit who can play anything”, bassist Danilo Ward; a “mystery man” who grew up in a French commune, and who, in his own words, grew tired of playing in the church band all his life, moved to Ireland and wound up pursuing music full-time in BIMM Dublin alongside his future bandmates, and lead vocalist and guitarist Lughaidh Armstrong-Maycock, who cut his performing teeth as a teenager in a Leitrim rock school.

Having already released the title track of the EP earlier this summer, the band will release their second single 'Threads' in just one week's time on August 20. The upcoming track features strings from Laura McCabe and Louis Younge and is one of the heaviest tracks on the EP.

While 'Threads' remains a group favourite for the band to play, Sky Atlas are more excited to share their first collection of tracks with the world.

"We can't wait to get this EP out! It feels like our first step forwards as a group and it’s great to finally capture the songs on record. Most of the tracks haven't been played live yet, so the opportunity to showcase this music in a venue like the Grand Social is very exciting for us. That feeling you get from a good crowd is hard to beat & we really want to give people as much energy as we can on November 11th," they hint.

While the group has garnered sonic comparisons to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, and Jack White, Sky Atlas only have two releases to date - including the most recent 'Stone'.

“It seems so bizarre to me that the only music we have released is one song that we don’t play anymore,” says frontman Lughaidh Armstrong-Maycock.

Heading up an act as musically diverse as Sky Atlas is in Armstrong-Maycock’s blood, given his mother Dee Armstrong’s storied career as a member of revered Irish folk group Kíla.

“Our music has changed quite a lot since we first formed. We have moved on quite a bit. In a music college, you’re surrounded by loads of different inspirations everywhere, taking from different things – we’re finally now coming to a point where we’re really excited because we’re putting out a body of work that represents a step forward into the music that we want to be making."

The Dublin four-piece have been playing the gig circuit since 2019 and played their first show since March 2020 this week at The Sound House.

Their EP will be supported by a gig at The Grand Social on November 11th. Tickets from €10 are on sale now.

 

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