Killian Walsh Releases Ise Featuring Daughter Elise SW

Irish experimental electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist Killian Walsh returns with Ise, an eleven-track album that transforms deeply personal experiences into a rich and varied electronic work. Released on 26th June through Ardchumhacht, the album follows the earlier singles Let's Float and Let's Play Bongos, bringing together Electronica, Melodic House & Techno, Progressive House, Ambient, Techno and Trance across a cohesive collection that rewards uninterrupted listening.

Named after the Irish word for "she", Ise stands as a tribute to the women who have shaped Walsh's life. Created following the deaths of his wife Catherine and his father, the project grew gradually from individual compositions into a complete album exploring grief, remembrance, acceptance and hope without ever losing sight of its musical identity.

Speaking about the project, Walsh explained:

"Music has been part of my life from a very young age, and I had what I can only describe as a pull to do something. This album is effectively the story of the journey of my grief, realising that grief is a form of madness and all the emotions attached to that."

Rather than presenting grief as a destination, Ise explores the many stages surrounding it. The result is neither an overly sombre record nor a conventional dance music album. Instead, Walsh allows each composition to evolve naturally, with the music shifting between reflective listening pieces and more rhythmically focused electronic productions as the emotional narrative unfolds.

Months before the album's release, Walsh and his daughter Elise SW spoke candidly with Oliver Callan during an interview on RTÉ Radio 1 about the experiences that shaped the project. Their conversation offered valuable insight into the emotional foundation behind Ise, revealing how music became a way of processing loss while gradually rebuilding everyday life.

Elise described grief as "a very isolating thing", explaining that every relationship with the person who has died is different and that no two people experience loss in the same way. Walsh reflected on periods of anger, emotional numbness and disconnection, describing grief as something that "has a life of its own" that ultimately demands patience rather than resistance. Together, their reflections provide important context for an album that never attempts to offer simple answers, instead embracing honesty through both words and sound.

Having listened to the complete album, it becomes clear that Walsh avoids remaining within a single genre. Instead, each piece serves the wider emotional arc, allowing the music to determine its own direction rather than following stylistic expectations.

Opening the album, Let's Dance immediately introduces one of the record's defining strengths through Walsh's collaboration with Elise SW. While Beatport classifies the track as Progressive House, its warm melodic progression, expressive synth work and uplifting atmosphere lean naturally towards Melodic House & Techno, establishing a hopeful tone from the outset.

That energy gives way to Let's Float, perhaps the album's most spacious composition. Inspired by a shared moment in the Irish Sea following the death of Walsh's wife, the track unfolds through spacious Electronica, gentle melodic development and understated production. Rather than chasing momentum, it allows silence and atmosphere to become equal partners within the arrangement.

The title track Ardchumhacht returns the listener towards Progressive House territory through carefully layered melodies and gradual progression before Squirrel strips everything back once more. Piano motifs, ambient textures and restrained electronics create one of the album's most introspective moments, highlighting Walsh's ability to communicate emotion without relying on lyrical content.

Ross McDonald joins Walsh on I See It, opening with electronically processed spoken vocals delivered in his distinctive Scottish accent. What follows is less a traditional song than an evolving electronic composition, combining cinematic textures with a slow melodic build that rewards patient listening.

The album shifts decisively towards the dancefloor with Away With The Fairies. Opening around a repeated vocal sample before introducing tribal percussion, the track develops into deep hypnotic Techno built around repetition, subtle tension and carefully controlled momentum. It provides one of the album's strongest club moments while maintaining the emotional restraint found throughout the wider project.

Elise SW returns on Robin, delivering one of the album's emotional highlights. Opening with the line "It's now or never", her voice immediately draws the listener into an intimate melodic sound where gentle vocal harmonies become another instrument within the arrangement. Rather than dominating the production, her performance blends seamlessly with the evolving melodies, reinforcing the father-daughter partnership that forms one of the album's defining characteristics.

Harvest Moon begins as one of the album's most reflective pieces before slowly introducing rhythmic movement around the halfway point. Choral textures and carefully layered instrumentation gradually transform the composition into something larger without sacrificing its quiet emotional core.

Momentum builds further through The Build, where Walsh edges towards Raw and Hypnotic Trance with greater intensity than anywhere else on the album. The production remains controlled throughout, but its driving rhythm and evolving energy create one of the record's most powerful moments.

The previously released single "Let's Play Bongos" remains one of the album's most distinctive compositions. Built around tribal percussion, environmental sounds and leftfield electronic production, the track combines hypnotic repetition with subtle psychedelic touches that recall elements of classic underground electronic music while retaining Walsh's own identity.

The closing Squirrel (Club Mix) revisits earlier themes through a stronger club interpretation. Opening with assertive percussion before introducing piano textures around the two-minute mark, the arrangement gradually expands into a melodic and atmospheric passage before the drums return with renewed purpose, providing a satisfying conclusion that unites the album's listening and dancefloor identities.

Throughout Ise, Walsh demonstrates an impressive ability to move between genres without making those transitions feel forced. Electronica, Progressive House, Melodic House & Techno, Ambient, Techno and Trance all contribute to the album's wider narrative, yet none overshadow the emotional honesty at its centre.

The project ultimately succeeds because it never treats grief as spectacle. Instead, Walsh allows memory, family and personal experience to shape the music organically, with Elise SW's contributions adding another deeply human dimension. Together they have created an album that documents loss while remaining firmly focused on hope, reconnection and the quiet resilience that follows life's most difficult moments.

Killian Walsh Ise Release Information

Artist: Killian Walsh

Album: Ise

Label: Ardchumhacht

Release Date: 26th June 2026

Genres: Electronica, Melodic House & Techno, Progressive House, Ambient, Techno, Trance

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Killian Walsh: Instagram | Spotify | Beatport | Traxsource

Ardchumhacht: Beatport | Traxsource