TPOE 261: The Bonk

What this episode covers

The Bonk release their second album, Greater Than or Equal To, on Friday, May 12. Band leader Phil Christie joins to talk about making the record. Mainly comprised of tracks recorded at Big Skin in Cork City in 2017 and Ailfionn Studios in Drumcondra in late 2018, Christie teamed up with a slew of fellow musicians on this album, including Niamh Dalton on fiddle, Andrew Grant on clarinet, Ultran Lavery on organ, Brendan Fennessy on percussion and guitarist Alan Comerford. That's alongside regular The Bonk members Jim Christie, Patrick Freeman, Philip O'Gorman, Dan Walsh, and Robert Grant. We start off by talking about his former band O Emperor and their Choice Prize win before discussing some of the ideas, such as experimentation and improvisation, that underpin the Bonk, and then go through the new album track by track. Along the way you'll hear music from some in-between-album EPs the Bonk put out as well as the first song Christie has released under his own name. Buy Greater Than or Equal To on Bandcamp: https://thebonk.bandcamp.com/album/greater-than-or-equal-to-the-bonk The Bonk tour dates: May 10: Fulacht Fiadh, Manorhamilton May 12: Roisin Dubh, Galway May 13: Phil Grimes Pub, Waterford May 14: Levis' of Ballydehob May 18: Prim's Bookshop, Kinsale May 19: Crane Lane, Cork May 20: Cleere's, Kilkenny May 25: The Whale Theatre, Greystones May 26: Spirit Store, Dundalk May 27: Sugar Club, Dublin

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