Inni-K collaborates with UCC Javanese Gamelan ensemble on new release

17 Dec 2025

• Acclaimed singer, multi-instrumentalist and 2025 Arts Council Traditional Artist in Residence at UCC collaborates with UCC Gamelan ensemble.
• UCC’s Javanese gamelan, which marks its 30^th anniversary, is an orchestra of over 60 instruments, from bronze gongs and metallophones to drums, flute and fiddle, combining to produce a distinctive sound.

Singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter Inni-K (Eithne Ní Chatháin) has collaborated with University College Cork’s Javanese Gamelan ensemble on a unique new arrangement of ‘Still A Day,’ the title track from her latest album.

The project sees Inni-K, the 2025 Arts Council Traditional Artist in Residence at University College Cork, collaborate with undergraduate and postgraduate Music students at UCC. Led by UCC Music lecturers Kevin McNally and Kelly Boyle, the student ensemble spent the semester preparing the new arrangement of ‘Still A Day,’ a process which has culminated in the making of a new music video.

Shot and recorded in the Seomra Gamelan, the filming and recording were supported by the Department of Music in UCC’s School of Film, Music and Theatre.

Inni-K was the Arts Council Traditional Artist in Residence at UCC for 2025, which celebrated both her deep roots in Ireland’s living musical traditions and her dedication to developing her artistic practice in dialogue with a university community. Through the residency, undergraduate and postgraduate students were able to engage closely with her creative practice, gaining direct insight into her process as part of their studies.

Kelly Boyle, Lecturer in Music at UCC, said: “It has been wonderful to work directly with the 2025 Arts Council Traditional Artist in Residence, Eithne Ní Chatháin, and to be able to give our students hands-on experience of the collaborative process, from the early stages of the arrangement and rehearsal through to the sound and video recording. This release date feels like very fitting timing as well, marking the end of Inni-K’s residency and celebrating what has been a genuinely inspiring period of work with our students.”

The gamelan is a traditional Javanese ensemble made up of bronze gongs, metallophones, drums and other instruments, played collectively to create a rich, layered sound. Ireland’s first set of Javanese gamelan instruments was brought to UCC by Professor Mel Mercier in 1995 and, over the course of its 30 years in Cork, has shaped the music education of generations of UCC students and opened up a new and distinctive world of music to the wider community as well.

“What sets the gamelan apart is its collective spirit. Without a conductor or soloists, the music relies on deep listening and a shared responsibility across the ensemble, which our students really connect with. It was wonderful for Kevin and me to work with them and with Inni-K on the beautiful ‘Still A Day,’ to develop something new together and to find a shared space between different musical worlds.”

Inni-K is widely celebrated for her distinctive artistry and powerful live performances. Her music is deeply rooted in sean-nós and traditional Irish music, moving into contemporary and experimental spaces. Her album, Still A Day, released in October, is a fully original collection of songs and represents Inni-K’s most expansive creative work to date.