Fontaines D.C. drummer Tom Coll has launched a new independent label and record store dedicated exclusively to Irish music.
Inis Records has been founded by Coll alongside Michael Roe, drummer of Irish math-rock band Adebisi Shank and co-founder of the influential Richter Collective label, and Ken Allen of Faction Records.
The company will release new music from emerging and established Irish artists, as well as landmark reissues and overlooked records that are currently out of print.
Its accompanying online store will exclusively stock Irish music from across different eras and genres, while Inis will also provide distribution and behind-the-scenes services for selected independent labels. Check out their website here.
“Inis Records is about providing an independent label infrastructure in Ireland, giving Irish music a platform to grow and create unique physical music for Irish artists,” Coll has said.
“We want to create truly special vinyl runs, reissue some older gems and support the next wave of Irish music. Ireland needs a stronger independent music infrastructure and our goal with Inis is to achieve that.”
Inis will launch with a new edition of ‘Against Nature’, the currently out-of-print 1989 debut album by cult Cork art-rock band The Fatima Mansions.
Further releases planned for later this year include a traditional Irish music compilation assembled by Coll and a collection of showband recordings curated by The Mary Wallopers’ Charles Hendy.
The label has also invited independent and rising artists without their own distribution arrangements to submit physical releases for consideration by its store.
“Ireland has such a rich history of amazing artists and labels,” Roe said. “Over the last 30 years though, we have relied heavily on infrastructure from outside the country.
“We hope Inis Records can help build a stronger independent music infrastructure here, giving a generation of new artists and labels the support they need to grow their businesses in Ireland, while reaching audiences internationally.”
Roe was a member of Adebisi Shank until the instrumental trio split in 2014. He also co-founded Richter Collective, the independent label that released music by acts including And So I Watch You From Afar, The Redneck Manifesto and Enemies before closing in 2012.
Allen’s Faction Records roster has included James Vincent McMorrow, Sorcha Richardson and Niamh Regan.
The Inis store is already stocking records by Fontaines D.C., Gilla Band, Just Mustard, Gurriers, Enya, John Francis Flynn and Bicep, among many others.
Elsewhere, Coll and Fontaines bandmate Carlos O’Connell have worked on the upcoming second album by French indie group Film Noir. The record has so far been previewed by the double single ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ and ‘VEGITA’.
Coll and O’Connell also contributed original music to the soundtrack for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, alongside their Fontaines bandmate Grian Chatten.
Elsewhere, Fontaines D.C. have been working on the follow-up to their acclaimed 2024 album ‘Romance’. Speaking to NME earlier this year, O’Connell said: “We’ve been writing, it’s been fun.”
He suggested the band could perform some new material during their summer festival dates, adding: “That’s what we used to do all the time, play the new stuff live – songs that weren’t even finished. It’s a good way to test the songs.”
Fontaines D.C. are due to make their live return this summer ahead of headline appearances at Reading & Leeds and Electric Picnic, as well as further European and US festival dates.
The band also recently paid tribute following the death of their longtime manager Trevor Dietz at the age of 47.
