NIYL

NIYL is an Irish indie-pop artist whose work fuses cinematic electronica, orchestral ambition, and the emotional pulse of poetic storytelling. Born in Limerick and shaped by the wild romanticism of the West, his music inhabits a unique space where intimate confession meets widescreen production — a style that has drawn swift critical acclaim.

His debut album Parish Is Burning (November 2025) has been hailed as an “epic” and “an enchanting alloy of electronic and orchestral sounds” by Hot Press, who awarded it 9/10, praising its “24-carat sonic production” and symphonic emotional scope. The Irish Times described the record as “smart, inspiring and defiant,” spotlighting NIYL as one of the most intriguing new voices in Ireland’s burgeoning musical renaissance.

Crafted over two years with producer Chris Bubenzer (Diffusion Lab) and mixed by Takahide George and Marcin Ciszczon, Parish Is Burning unfolds in two movements — Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer — tracing a journey from heartbreak and identity struggle toward renewal and self-acceptance. The ten-track LP plays like a memoir written in weather: storm-lit synths, spectral choral lines, orchestral surges, and NIYL’s unmistakable, emotionally charged vocals. It moves from the brooding intensity of The Fire & The Fuel, through the elemental power of Wind’s Call and the spectral tension of The Hunt, to the soul-drenched thaw of Won’t Let My Lover Down and the digital plainchant of Growth.

The sound he creates — often described as Irish romanticism refracted through an orchestral-pop lens — is both deeply personal and cinematic in scale. It is music built from contradictions: soft-spoken yet towering, grounded in rural introspection yet engineered for international stages. His self-coined genre of poetic pop has already earned him comparisons to London Grammar, Woodkid, and Yebba, while remaining unmistakably his own.

A commanding live performer, NIYL fronts a seven-piece ensemble capable of moving from whispered intimacy to near-symphonic power. He has performed with Cynthia Erivo, Rufus Wainwright, Dermot Kennedy, and appeared on The Late Late Show during Eurosong 2025. With the release of Parish Is Burning, he cements himself as a singular new force in Irish music — part of the country’s global cultural resurgence, yet carving out a lane entirely his own.

Rooted in feeling, elevated by craft, and carried by voice, NIYL creates sad bangers for the soul — songs that burn, heal, and rise.