ØXN: "Why do people do the worst things to each other? It’s that fascination that makes murder ballads perpetually relevant"

Escapism comes in many forms, from the light and nostalgic, to the deranged and surreal. For four friends holed away in the aptly titled Hellfire Studio, in the rural foothills of the Dublin Mountains, leaning into the doom and drama proved the most effective approach, even against the heavy backdrop of lockdown.

ØXN released their first single from those sessions earlier this year, but the roots of the group stretch back to 2018, as a special collaboration between Dublin singer and multi-instrumentalist Radie Peat – famed for her work as a member of the Mercury Prize-nominated act Lankum – and Katie Kim, another genre-defying boundary-pusher on the Irish scene. With the addition of two members of experimental rock band Percolator, John ‘Spud’ Murphy (who’s also Lankum’s engineer and producer) and Eleanor Myler, ØXN have emerged as a captivating convergence of styles and ideas, who embrace tradition and innovation in equal measure.

They also have the honour of being the first act signed to Claddagh Records in 18 years, through which they’ve just released their debut album, CYRM. The recently relaunched label reached out after the four-piece appeared together on Radie and Katie’s lauded Nollaig na mBan livestream event back in 2021.

“Obviously all of that was unreleased material, so they approached us about putting out the album,” Radie explains. “It was cool to get approached by them, because they’ve released some of my favourite albums of all time.

“And it was interesting they wanted to go with us, as their first new release in 18 years,” she adds. “That’s a bit of a statement in itself.”

Credit: Megan Doherty

While Radie’s history with Irish traditional music runs deep, not all of the members of ØXN would have had the same connection to that world.

“They probably thought it was really uncool,” Radie laughs. “They were cooler than me as teenagers…”

“I was listening to Queen and Mariah Carey growing up!” Katie shrugs. “Obviously I was very aware of the tradition – there would be sessions in pubs that I’d go to, or it would just be playing in the background. But there was a lot of commercial stuff on the radio that I would’ve shut off. I’ve definitely come to appreciate it a whole lot more, the older I get – as with a lot of musical genres.”

Radie, meanwhile, surprises the rest of the group by revealing Spud’s secret history with the bodhrán.

“Leinster champion,” he nods. “I used to play tin whistle and do Irish dancing and all that in primary school. But I kind of ran away from it then, as soon as I was allowed.”

CYRM contains several traditional songs, but Eleanor stresses that the group didn’t try to be “precious” with the material, given the members’ diverse musical backgrounds.

“I’ve never played a bodhrán, unlike Spud – and I don’t think I’ll ever try!” she remarks. “Even though Katie and Radie were the ones to find the songs, they weren’t trying to be extremely true to the traditions of any of them. They knew we were going to go in our own musical directions, and everyone was just so open that it made the experience really exciting.”

The album also includes a cover of Irish singer-songwriter Maija Sofia’s ‘The Wife Of Michael Cleary’ – an “amazingly written” 2019 track that, as Katie notes, could easily pass for a traditional song. It explores the 1895 murder of Bridget Cleary in Co. Tipperary, by her husband, who claimed she was a changeling.

Though it seems like there’s a reclaiming of murder ballads currently underway by contemporary artists, possibly tying in with growing conversations about violence against women, Radie points out that the period in which “a song is sung is always going to colour how people absorb it, and how they interpret and feel it.”

“If you sang ‘Cruel Mother’ [which also features on CYRM] 100 years ago, I’m sure people had a very different reading of what the intentions and the realities in the song were,” she states. “It may have been more of a warning to women then, whereas now you can see it in the context of our society today. I’d see the woman in that song much more as a victim than anything else.”

Radie has done extensive research into murder ballads over the years.

“Unfortunately, yes, it’s pretty much always men murdering women in them,” she resumes. “That’s why, specifically for this project, we chose to do ‘Love Henry’ – which is the only one I’ve ever found which is the other way around.

“But murder ballads are a fascinating aspect of traditional song,” she continues. “It’s not that it’s condoning murder – it’s more this horror factor. Why do people do the worst things to each other? It’s that fascination that makes murder ballads perpetually relevant. We’re fascinated by the worst aspects of human nature sometimes.”

Drawing from pagan imagery, and elements of Irish folklore, ØXN aren’t afraid to lean into the darkness – inspired in part by a mutual passion for horror films and their soundtracks. Katie lists off a few notable influences, including John Carpenter, David Lynch, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jonny Greenwood and Mica Levi.

“All of those have subtle, minimal, terrifying elements to them, but bring it all together, and it comes to this big crescendo,” she explains. “We do have our tongues in our cheeks sometimes – we know that it sounds a bit ridiculous when it gets to certain points. It’s very dramatic, but we totally leaned into the drama. We were like, ‘Who cares? Let’s just go for it.’”

ØXN also featured one of Ireland’s most renowned horror stars, and all-round acting icon, Olwen Fouéré, in the video for ‘Cruel Mother’. They convinced Olwen – an admired artist in her right as a member of Operating Theatre – to get involved after Spud worked with her during the recording of Ian Lynch’s soundtrack for the new Paul Duane feature film, All You Need Is Death.

“It was a big favour,” Radie says. “She’s so talented, so it was great to have her on board. When Olwen looks at the camera at the end, I was like, ‘Fuck!’ It’s genuinely really frightening.”

“It was supposed to be the most uplifting part of it, actually…” Eleanor points out.

“Well, it scared the shit out of me!”

ØXN feels like a natural extension of all of the members’ individual interests and artistry – and as such, balancing their work with the group alongside their other projects hasn’t been as draining as you’d expect, they tell me.

“It sounds like it should be tiring to do more music, as a break from music,” Radie reflects. “But it’s not, actually. Having a variety of different projects that you’re doing makes everything feel fresher. You gain knowledge, and bring it back to your other projects.

“We’re all getting to use different areas of our musical brain that don’t have a place on our other projects,” she adds. “It’s lovely to let all of that out.”

“And speaking from a Katie Kim standpoint, I have a very low threshold for listening to myself, and my own voice, for a long period of time!” Katie laughs. “So it’s actually been a really nice break from my own mind, to do something else. It’s nice just to step outside that zone.”

• CYRM is out now. ØXN play the last show of their two-night run at the Sugar Club in Dublin tonight, November 1.