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Irish musician, short film “Tabby Daly” writer and co‑director, Conor Kilkelly, announces his dark folk album, “Solip“, set for release on May 2, 2026, whose soundtrack is taking from the 14 original compositions.

Kilkelly, the musical project of Conor Kilkelly, is firmly rooted in dark folk and the Irish storytelling tradition. “Solip” expands the atmospheric and moral landscape explored in his award-winning famine-era short film, “Tabby Daly“, which recently won Best Irish Short at Spook Screen Film Festival in Cork, second best in the audience vote of the shorts at Irish Film Berlin Festival, and will feature at Fastnet Film Fest, Cork. The film was featured in The Irish Independent, who noted how Kilkelly “blends dark folk and experimental tones to heighten the film’s growing sense of dread”. It received a glowing review from UK FIlm Review, highlighting Andrea Kelly’s “spellbinding” performace as Tabby Daly, and Kilkelly’s “evocative musical score that creates a sense of awe and wonder”. Film Ireland cited how director duo Doherty & Kilkelly “examine how tragedy begets tragedy and leaves everyone involved in a vicious cycle of horror.”

_{Stills From ‘Tabby Daly’/ Photography – Colin Judge}

“Solip” draws on similar themes to “Tabby Daly”, such as survival, madness, moral ambiguity, and the shadows of the human condition. Sparse, brooding, and experimental, the album blends traditional Irish instrumentation with unusual textures — bodhrán filled with pennies, bowed banjo, Japanese shamisen — alongside violins, cellos, and choir.

_{Solip Album Artwork / Photography – Oil on Glass, Viktoria Bychkova}

Tabby Daly’s opening piece “Ferry Lights” is taken from ‘Solip’, lamenting the departing “coffin ships” of emigration:

“Ferry lights lead our sailors in… farewell our young men… for wealth, for war, foreign…”

The record carries the lineage of Lankum and Lisa O’Neill, with folk stand-outs like “The Tree & Me”, with a narrative structure, and weaving orchestration, while some songs like “Hanging Tree” embrace more experimental textures reminiscent of later-period Tom Waits.

The album will premiere on vinyl at an intimate Berlin launch event on May 2nd, with worldwide streaming the same day. Kilkelly & band will perform Whelan’s 21st of April alongside Rufus Coates & Jess Smith, and Lifts.

Journalists can stream or pre-save the album below.

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