Fionn O Lochlainn

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Fionn O Lochlainn was born and brought up in London, England. His father, Ruan, was a multi-instrumentalist, jazz, rock and traditional musician who played with Ronnie Lane, Link Wray, Bees Make Honey, Bryan Ferry, and Ringo Starr, among others. Fionn grew up listening to his father write songs, transcribe Charlie Parker and play an array of instruments with an unusual flare and level of dexterity. Throughout his childhood every 'big person' played an instrument and this influenced Fionn in a profound way. Fionn's Grandfather Colm O Lochlainn was a traditional Irish musician, who in collaboration with Seamus Ennis authored and published the seminal collections 'Irish Street Ballads' and 'More Irish Street Ballads'.

Fionn’s abilities took him on the road as an instrumentalist from the age of sixteen. He toured, recorded and performed with a variety of artists such as the traditional Irish music legend Dónal Lunny, Irish singing provocateur and icon Sinead O'Conner, classical virtuoso Andreas Bocelli, Soul/Pop sensations Seal, Des'ree and Oleta Adams, the rock legend Joe Cocker and Jazz superstars such as Jason Rebello and Cindy Blackman.

O Lochlainn released his debut record as solo artist in March 2008 satirically titled 'Spawn of the Beast'. The record has received high praise from both sides of the Atlantic. However categorizing his music as a solo artist proves challenging as Fionn's spectrum of influence is broad. His music has been coined as 'acoustic rock 'n’ roll,' 'trad-rock,' 'Celtic soul,' 'acoustic Brit-rock,' etc. However, all of these categories miss something, as Fionn is not restricted to any given genre but maintains enough conceptual consistency to deliver music that has been described as:

"A big rock-influenced sound and an equally substantial artistic statement using only traditional, acoustic instruments and keening, crystalline vocals." ~ Jon Sobel, Blogcritics

“Lovely, lyrical, spiritual, a joy to listen to.” ~ Howard Zinn

"It is a great example of using acoustic instruments in a very energetic context. Very refreshing and exciting." ~ Andy Wallace, Legendary Producer/Engineer (Jeff Buckley, Nirvana, RATM)

The above information was referenced from Fionn O Lochlainn's official biography.