KNEECAP LOOK BACK ON HOOD OLD DAYS

BELFAST'S Kneecap will next week release their second album Fenian - which follows their critically acclaimed 2024 debut Fine Art and BAFTA and Sundance award-winning self-titled biopic.

- BY MARK KAVANAGH

It follows a tumultuous 12 months in which the Belfast trio found themselves in the middle of a political maelstrom for vocally advocating for peace and Palestinian freedom at last year's Coachella.

They then performed one of the most talked-about Glastonbury sets in recent years on West Holts stage, and played to one of the biggest crowds ever congregated at the main stage of Electric Picnic in Stadbally.

They also performed headline slots at the Wide Awake, 2000 Trees and Green Man festivals, headlined two sold-out shows at 3Arena in Dublin and filled huge UK venues such as Wembley Arena and OVO Hydro in Glasgow.

Now the stage is set for the release of their new album, an accomplished piece of work produced by Dan Carey and featuring an uncompromising underground sound that fans will love.

MOTIVATION

Mo Chara, Moglai Bap, and DJ Provai said: "They tried to stop us by branding Kneecap 'terrorists', with cancellations, with statements from the Prime Minister himself. We had all the motivation we needed... this isn't a swift reaction, but a considered response to those that tried to silence us. And failed. We haven't gone away. The Paddies are back."

To celebrate the release of the new album, Apple Music today presents the latest episode of a brand-new season of its Origin Stories, an audio series which sees the most exciting music artists revisit their hometown to explore how their musical journeys began.

Hosted by Apple Music 1 team Dotty, Rebecca Judd and Matt Wilkinson, Apple Music headed to west Belfast with Kneecap to return to Hawthorn Street and the surrounding community where their story began.

The Irish language-promoting rap trio reflected on recording their early music in a "hazy attic", the political and cultural landscape of west Belfast, the rise of Irish-language youth culture, and how their breakthrough track 'C.E.A.R.T.A' emerged from protest movements.