Joy Crookes on Irish music: "Lankum are like the best thing to come out of Ireland in the last 20 years”

Speaking to Hot Press, Joy Crookes has shared her thoughts on Irish music – describing Lankum as "the best thing to come out of Ireland in the last 20 years."

The South London star – whose father is Irish, and mother is Bangladeshi – made the comments in a new interview with Hot Press, published in full in our current issue.

Reflecting on her strong Irish roots, Joy gave shout-outs to some of her favourites on the homegrown music scene.

"I love Bricknasty and Aby Coulibaly at the moment,” she told Caroline Kelly. “Lankum are like the best thing to come out of Ireland in the last 20 years. ‘Óró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile’ by Sinéad is one of my favourite songs ever – it’s a real fucked up reggae version. I love it, but trying to explain or play that song to anyone in my life is very fucking confusing. Van’s version of ‘Raglan Road’ is also one of my favourites. I want it played at my funeral.”

Lankum opening Lovely Days Live Day 3 at St James's Gate. Copyright by Curtis DeSmith.

Joy – who releases her eagerly awaited second album, Juniper, on September 26, and plays Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on November 3 – also shared her views on other aspects of Irish culture in the interview.

"I think chicken fillet rolls are disgusting...” she deadpanned. “Although I love Manhattan cheese popcorn. But seriously, I love Ireland and I’ve always felt Irish. Growing up, it was like I had three homes: London, Bangladesh and Ireland. I feel blessed every time I go to Dublin.

“My dad is very Irish, and he didn’t sugarcoat the Irish experience, or become English when he moved to England in the ‘80s – and that was not an easy time to do so as an Irish person," she continued. "But he had a choice about whether to uphold his Irish values, culture and traditions. I think it was a hard one for him, because how do you keep your own culture when you have a child with another culture?

“But childhood is really about growing up with multiple cultures in tandem with one another. That’s what my dad did. And I guess I felt very stable in my Irishness, because there was this whole fucking Irish man standing there, telling me ‘XYZ’.”

The full interview is available to read in the current issue of Hot Press – in shops now, and available to order online below: