A.S. Fanning

Berlin-based Irish gothic-folk singer-songwriter A.S. Fanning’s songs are often lyrically driven, taking inspiration from Irish literary tradition and folk music as well as from 60s psychedelia and rock n roll.
Since his debut single ‘Carmelita’, released on 7-inch vinyl in 2015, he has been touring throughout Europe and further afield, showcasing at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and playing other renowned festivals such as Ireland Music Week, Endless Daze (South Africa), Left of the Dial (Netherlands), Viva Sounds (Sweden) and Orange Blossom Special or Traumzeit Festival (Germany).

His debut album, the self-produced ‘Second Life’, was released in 2017 on Proper Octopus Records, with The 405 calling it ‘an emotional joy ride with songs of devotion and endured heartache...8/10’

His sophomore album ‘You Should Go Mad’ was released in November 2020. Clash Magazine called it ‘The sound of an artist pushing himself to the brink’.

His third album, ‘Mushroom Cloud, was released in May 2023 on K&F Records/Proper Octopus
The first single and title track of the album was released in March, with Backseat Mafia calling it ‘a theatrical tour de force’. The album received considerable critical acclaim, with
Far Out Magazine naming him their Songwriter of the Year for 2023 and calling the album "...a superb effort from a songwriter following his muse to unfamiliar territory and reaping rewards."

He was also invited to perform on German national television on WDR’s legendary programme
Rockpalast which was broadcast in June 2024. There was also a full-length concert recorded for the programme “On Stage” by the German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, which aired in August 2024.
A new album has been recorded with plans for release in Autumn 2025.

His fourth album, “Take Me Back To Nowhere” will be out on the 6th of February 2026 on K&F Records/Proper Octopus. The album was shaped by disorientation, fracture, and a fascination with the unstable nature of reality. Written while housebound with a broken wrist, the album reflects both physical limitation and creative paralysis, where endless words became overwhelming chaos. Inspired by sci-fi authors like Ursula K. Le Guin and J.G. Ballard, the songs explore how imagination bends reality, how anxiety reshapes the world into surreal, isolating landscapes. Alongside this inner turbulence came the constant noise of global conflict, viewed through the prism of social media, and the sense of a collapsing moral center. The surreal spectacle of war reduced to “content” deepened a feeling of unreality, of civilization as mere facade. His vision of confusion as a valid form of entertainment became a guiding force: instead of resisting disorder, the album embraces it. The result is a work that oscillates between intimacy and disorientation, rooted in the belief that there is no singular reality, only fractured personal perspectives. “Take me back to nowhere” becomes both a plea for escape and an embrace of disorientation - a return to the void that precedes and outlasts us. Conceptual, atmospheric, and unsettling, the album invites listeners into the depths of confusion.

‘A 21ST CENTURY FRANZ KAFKA TURNS INDIE ALBUM, IF ONLY HE WAS A LITTLE BIT FUNNIER AND HAD A SOOTHING BARITONE’ - FAR OUT MAGAZINE
‘RICH AND EXPRESSIVE’ - THE SUNDAY TIMES

‘THE SOUND OF AN ARTIST PUSHING HIMSELF TO THE BRINK’ - CLASH MAGAZINE

‘STATES OF ANXIETY SET TO MUSIC’ - ROLLING STONE

‘A THEATRICAL TOUR DE FORCE’ - BACKSEAT MAFIA