Acclaimed Irish multi-instrumentalist and experimental electronic artist Killian Walsh has returned with a transformative track, ‘Let’s Play Bongos’. Serving as the second glimpse into his highly anticipated upcoming album Ise, this energetic output contrasts sharply with the ambient, introspective nature of his previous release, ‘Let’s Float’. Instead, it signals a powerful shift toward rhythm, physical movement, and raw, communal liberation.
For electronic music heads who value deep emotional storytelling over standard club bangers, this release represents something incredibly rare: a genuine document of a human being pulling themselves out of the dark.
The Sonic Identity of Ise: A Journey Back to Colour
To truly understand ‘Let’s Play Bongos’, one must understand the heavy emotional backdrop of the parent album, Ise (due out June 26, 2026, via Ardchumhacht). The entire body of work was forged during a devastatingly disruptive period for the artist following the tragic loss of both his wife and his father. What started as an unplanned coping mechanism eventually morphed into a rich audio-diary of survival, renewal, and catharsis.
While the album deals heavily with grief, the Killian Walsh new single marks the exact moment the fog begins to clear. Blending traditional Irish music undertones with hypnotic analogue textures, ambient house rhythms, and trance progression, the track serves as a love letter to the healing power of outdoor rave culture.
“There was a point where I started to realise my world was going from black and white back into colour a little bit, and I just wanted to dance,” Walsh reflects on the track’s origin. “‘Let’s Play Bongos’ is about those times going to raves with bonfires, people juggling and dancing around the fire. That’s what this song is about.”
A Global Collaboration Born in Dublin
To execute this complex sonic vision, Walsh didn’t lock himself away in a vacuum. The upcoming project features production and creative input from key figures across major global electronic hubs, including Tobias Neumann and Johannes Manuel, spanning studios from Dublin and Berlin all the way to Australia. The result is a fluid, cross-genre electronic masterclass that positions Killian Walsh as one of the most compelling voices in modern underground electronic music.