Compilation album in aid of Irish Refugee Council announced – featuring Arvo Party, The Bonk, Fixity & more

A unique new compilation album, European Endless: 12, has been announced – featuring Irish artists Arvo Party, The Bonk, Whozyerman?, Fixity and more – with all proceeds going directly to the Irish Refugee Council. The project (out on Friday, April 30) is made up of 12-minute songs from different Irish acts – representing one minute for every month of the year that we've been in lockdown.

Although the compilation spans various genres, each track is driven by the same motorik beat – described by its creator, by Neu!'s Klaus Dinger, as being "essentially about life, how you have to keep moving, get on and stay in motion." According to a statement about the release, the use of the beat represents the fact that, although "we've all decided to go different routes musically, we're all chained to the same rhythm. All of our stories are unique, but they’re all structurally the same."

Blank Screen TVs' Will Cagney Murphy is the mastermind behind the album. Attempting to spin something positive from the darkness of lockdown, he drew up a list of local musicians, and presented them with his plan for the project.

Will Cagney Murphy

Those who answered Will's call include prolific producer Arvo Party; Phil Christie, leader of experimental project The Bonk; his former O Emperor bandmate Paul Savage, aka Whozyerman?; Danny Carroll of Shrug Life’s latest project Cynthia Access Point; Dan Walsh's psychedelic free jazz outfit Fixity; and Belfast composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Aileen McKenna, aka This Ship Argo.

Kopfkino, meanwhile, is a new collaboration between members of Junk Drawer, Electric Octopus, Space Shepherds, Nomadic Rituals and more. There's also a selection of newer faces, like the experimental hip-hop of Roly, dream-pop act L.C.F., the wild electronic fury of homoterribilis, and Julia McConway’s powerful spoken word.

The project also features artwork by Booker Prize-nominated translator, Frank Wynne.

European Endless: 12 is out on Friday, and is available to pre-order now here – with all proceeds going to the Irish Refugee Council.

See the full tracklist below:

1. Arvo Party - Kraftfahrzeug
2. The Bonk - Ten Thousand Steps
3. Whozyerman? - Months On End
4. L.C.F. - Pat McDonagh t/a Supermacs vs McDonald’s International
5. Roly - Holy Motorik
6. Homoterribilis. - all theft is art
7. Julia McConway - Four Walls
8. Cynthia Access Point - February
9. Blank Screen TVs - Apple Tree
10. Kopfkino - Kopfkino
11. Fixity - Ask Yourself
12. This Ship Argo - East to the North Coast