Following the release of their acclaimed self-titled album last year, Tau & The Drones of Praise have returned with their highly anticipated follow-up – Seanóirí Naofa. A captivatingly personal project, the EP finds frontman Seán Mulrooney reconnecting with his roots, after years spent living in Berlin.

"I've moved back to Ireland, and now I'm living in the North West, on the border of Leitrim and Sligo," he explains. "When I went there, I saw there was a garage called Mulrooney’s. I was like, ‘Jaysus – that’s funny!’ I asked around, and I was told there were loads of Mulrooneys in the area. I told my sister, and she said, ‘Sure, we come from Sligo!’ That was a clarification that you’re on the right path – going back to the place where your ancestors’ name came from. Apparently we were ancient scribes."

Seán's return to these shores has also found him "reconnecting to the magic, the mystery and the myth of Ireland", guiding the new EP into a more traditional Irish sound than its predecessor.

"It's not something that we even did intentionally," he reveals. "Our guitarist Rory Mac Néill Aodha is deeply into Irish music, but I’m only getting back into it. I’m learning to play the fiddle. Trad and our all old customs are new to me – but I feel an ancient recognition of them. For me, the great thing about traditional music is that it has to evolve. It's constantly evolving with respect the authenticity of the origins, in a very natural way."

Despite drawing from these ancient Irish traditions, Tau & The Drones of Praise's sound continues to be shaped by outside influences, with one of the standout tracks, 'Mongolia', serving as an moving ode to Mongolian and Tuareg folk music. Undoubtedly, Seán time spent immersed in Berlin's thrillingly diverse music scene has defined the group's approach – but he admits that he was ready to leave the city.

"I kind of did everything I could there," he reflects. "Even when I went back there recently, I felt like, 'Okay, I've moved on from this part of my life'. It was time for other things."

While in Berlin, Seán was one of several Irish artists behind the 2018 arts and performance festival, Craw.

"That was really the pinnacle of all the Irish in Berlin getting together," he recalls. "Once we did a call out for that festival, we realised how many really talented Irish people there were in Berlin. They all came out of woodwork. Damo Dempsey came over to play, and John Connors came over and did a talk. We also gave Fontaines D.C. their first gig in Berlin! It was almost like a shamanic celebration of all that we love about our culture – but also all of the things that we want to transmute.

"The theme was 'What's stuck in your craw?'" he adds. "That's an old Irish saying, meaning, 'What is it that you want to get out?'"

His sister, artist Dee Mulrooney, was also one of the organisers behind Craw – as well as the the creative force behind Seanóirí Naofa's closing track, 'All That Is', a prayer song about transforming collective pain and suffering into power.

"We're very close," Seán says. "We encourage each other, and when we have moments of doubt, we lift each other up. She comes out with these beautiful tunes, and records them on her phone. Songs just seem to come out of her, unfiltered and raw. She has this way of speaking from the heart – it's a very feminine thing."

Undoubtedly, the family collaboration is a fitting way of closing a project that's so deeply involved with ancestry.

"We have so much knowledge here, and it's good to honour that, as well as the landscape and our sacred sites," he enthuses. "Not a lot of the countries in Europe still have these sites – they're energy spots of our land. With the wisdom of our ancestors at our back we can move forward. As John O'Donohue said, the ancestors are pulling boulders out of your way on your path – and you don't even realise it. They're always around."
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