Shammen Delly

Shammen Delly in the Electronica/Ambient alias of Aengus Friel, who hails from the far north of Co. Donegal in Ireland. 'Shammen Delly' formed when two friends decided to make music together back in their early teens in 2005 when they found a copy of FL Studio on one of their mates PC. The group consisted of Aengus Friel and Josh O'Hagan, both from the town of Buncrana in Co. Donegal. It began as more of a joke, not taking the process of creating music together serious, until the boys got more into Electronic Music, and the possibilities of eventually being able to be influenced by the music they listened to, to be able to eventually release music as a group. It was until one of their tracks 'NTM' was played and broadcast on 'BBC Radio Foyle's Electric Mainline' show presented by Stephen McCauley, it gave the group that spur to eventually have the thirst to be able to get out there, release music and perform live. Due to their surroundings and lack of distractions was one of their biggest reasons to produce haunting ethereal and surreal electronic music, with gritty and saturated distorted breakbeats, which are slowed down, mixed in with soft warm piano pieces and ambient soundscapes based from the landscape they grew up in. In 2013 as a group, Shammen Delly released the 'Self Titled LP' on now debunked Dublin based label Psychonavigation Records on CD and Digital format, followed by the release of their first EP 'Midnight Sessions' which featured a remix from Anodyne. From this release, it was a wake up call on how even an underground electronica/ambient based label could even take the hand out of artists and shaft them, to which many artists never seen a penny from releasing on Psychonavigation Records, but it spoilt the idea of releasing music, and put off by the inner workings of the music industry and dealing with the business side of things. Shammen Delly only consists of one member now with the project still continued by Aengus Friel and since then, Shammen Delly has started to self release on Bandcamp, and has gone on to release 'Tapemix 1 - An Evocation to Tonduff' in 2019, which is a mixtape recorded onto and over a homemade 'Michael Jackson Thriller Tape' from the charity shop using a Tascam Portastudio. The mixtape represents an evocation of memories and dreams based on the home place of Aengus Friel. Heavily influenced by the steeped history within the area of Tonduff and Dunree situated within the peninsula of Inishowen. Friel was inspired to make music from hearing these tales by hearing folklore stories and other stories overheard as a kid when the auwl folks were sitting chatting at the kitchen table when the tea would be scalding. In 2020, 'Shammen Delly' released a follow up E.P titled 'The Peoples Temple OV Big Tom', as the Thin Air described "without a doubt our favourite hauntological, psychogeography peddler around, Donegal experimental electronic auteur Aengus Friel, AKA Shammen Delly has released his mythological magnum opus, created in the midst of lockdown". The EP was a vivid reimagined vision of a time when Irish Country legend 'Big Tom McBride' and his Mainliners were leaders of 'The Peoples Temple' in Monaghan back in the late 70's and would travel around the country summoning new followers for the sacred dances around stone circles and beaches. His followers would come down the Four Country Roads in droves, the Smithwicks would be flowing and be tainted with thee auwl Magick Mushroomz, the masses would be waltzing and jiving around large fires howling to the skies as the sun rises as the big beat keeps on thumping. The music in this E.P is a mixture of old and new music Shammen Delly produced in his Dunge up north in Donegal, which sounds like a surreal noise fest of oneric distorted whirling warbly synth chords and thoughts of 70's German Krautrock emotional mellotrons, blending in hidden country bass lines, and a wash of psychedelic industrialistic rhythms and downtempo decrepit trip-hop big beats, and organic recordings of piano, harmonium, and personal recordings from Friel's family members throughout the past. You can even grab the 'Self Titled LP' on the Shammen Delly Bandcamp page. https://shammendelly.bandcamp.com/