SAM COMERFORD

QUARTET

Following his 2020 debut album Stillorgan with the trio Thunderblender, composer and saxophonist Sam Comerford is heading back to his roots in traditional Irish music. March 2027 will see the release of heaven, his first album in seven years.

Drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking and maverick Dublin fiddler Tommie Potts (1912–1988), Comerford has teamed up with three of his closest musical partners to create a radical hybrid. Together, they fuse the wild energy and soulful madness of the music of his homeland with the conventions of contemporary improvised music and jazz.

Hailing from Ennis and deeply steeped in the Irish musical tradition, fiddle and viola player Ultan O’Brien brings a wide-open ear and a wealth of experience to the project. Having previously worked with the likes of Skipper’s Alley, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Cuar, John Francis Flynn, Jessie Buckley, and Nic Gareiss, he joins Thunderblender’s Hendrik Lasure and Jens Bouttery to shape a brand-new collective sound. Bouttery swaps his drum kit and bass synth for a live-sampling rig—manipulating and playing back the ensemble's sound in real-time, which subverts and enriches the intimacy of the acoustic performance with an otherworldly edge.

Comerford has previously put out two records with Thunderblender: the album Stillorgan (2020) and the EP Last Minute Panic (2017). Alongside Ultan O’Brien, he also recorded two albums as part of Neil O’Lochlainn’s Cuar: Tairseach (2024) and Umhaill (2022). On top of that, he has collaborated with Neil O'Lochlainn's Cuar, Camille-Alban Spreng’s ODIL and Mobilhome, Kris Defoort, Utsav Lal, Lander Gyselinck & Zwangere Guy, Le Grand Partir, Nicolas Thys, and many others.

sax: Sam Comerford • fiddle/viola: Ultan O’Brien • piano: Hendrik Lasure • live sampling, percussion: Jens Bouttery