‘Somehow you get the feeling Kíla lit the fuse for the big bang’– Bono

‘Softly spoken off stage and complete lunatics on it, Kila have torn up the rulebook with their wantonly eclectic mix of styles, Brilliant!’- Hot Press Music Magazine..

Playing together for nearly 20 years, Kíla are one of Ireland’s most innovative and exciting bands. The seven members come from different musical backgrounds and share a passion for creating great music with an ability to absorb influences from across the globe. Kíla’s music features strong percussive like singing, gorgeous melodies and daring harmonies which are driven by a serious rhythmical undercurrent. Kíla have created their own distinctive style of contemporary Irish music. They have performed on stage with U2, having recorded the song A Tribute to Ronny Drew with them, Sinead O Connor, Shane McGowan, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Paddy Casey, The Dubliners, members of the Chieftans, The Horslips, Zakir Hussain, Baaba Maal and Japanese/ Ainu musician OKI with whom they recorded the critically acclaimed album Kíla and Oki.

The Band:
All members of Kíla are multi instrumentalists and composers of music. The line up for the past 13 years consists of; Rónán Ó Snodaigh on bodhrán, djembe, congas, bongos, guitar and vocals; Rossa Ó Snodaigh on tin whistle, low whistle, clarinet, bouzouki, mandolin, bones and vocals; Colm Ó Snodaigh on flute, tin whistle, guitar, saxophone, percussion and vocals; Lance Hogan on guitar, drums, and vocals; Brian Hogan on bass, double bass and vocals; Dee Armstrong on fiddle, viola, hammered dulcimer, accordion and bodhrán. Eoin Dillon on uileann pipes, tin whistle, low whistle, shakers and vocals.

Live:

Being at the forefront of rock, traditional and world music in Ireland, Kíla are renowned for their exhilarating live performances, gaining them a reputation for musicians with a flair for carnival. Stunning sets and unusual guest performers, including trapeze artists, fire jugglers, opera singers and belly dancers have all been a feature of their live shows. They have produced performance shows incorporating the talents of designers, pyro-technicians, circus performers and dancers for events such as The Electric Picnic festival, The Special Olympics 2003. They are one of the few bands in Ireland to work at this multi-performance level, with traditional music at their core. They have been called upon to provide music for events as diverse as: The Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics 2003, GAA All Ireland Hurling Final in Croke Park 2004 and the Freedom of the City Ceremony for Ronnie Delaney and Bob Geldof (2007). 2008 saw Kíla perform at the closing ceremony of the Turas World Endurance Race Killarney and the inaugural Africa Day celebrations in Dublin Castle.

Outside of Ireland, Kíla have played in over 20 countries throughout the world. Most notable festivals in recent years include Womadelaide Australia, Womad Reading, Spain and Sicily, Glastonbury Festival, Witness Festival, Sigzet Festival Budapest, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Stockholm Water Festival. They regularly tour in Spain with El Cohete, Japan with The Plankton Agency, North America with Columbia Arts Management, as well as Australia, UK, and the rest of Europe.

Film, Television and Theatre:

Kíla have supplied and composed music for a number of films, TV and Theatre including Feature Films Oscar Nominated ’The Secret of Kells’ (cartoon salon 2009) Film soundtrack with Bruno Coulais- Kila Records. ‘Beyound The Fire (Maeve Murphy), 'Silent Grace' (Maeve Murphy - Follower Productions) 'Capital Letters' Ciarán Ó Connor, Gold on The Streets – (Noel Pearson, Liz Gill) and the documentaries: 'Seven Days' about writer Paulo Coehlo (Little Bird Productions) and 'Hidden Treasures' series (Loopline Productions). In 2001 they composed the sound track for the London West End play ‘Monkey!’ and subsequently released an album of the same music. Kíla composed music ‘Celtic Monsters’ a co-production between TG4, and SC4 (2005). Rónán Ó Snodaigh (Vocals and Bodhrán) produced soundtrack for RTE commissioned ‘Wild Journeys’ 3 part series March 2010 Kíla’s music has also been used in a number of BBC Timewatch documentaries: ‘The Battle of The River Plate (2005), Hadrian’s Wall (2006) and Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail (2006) and in the RTE productions: Primetime Special on Islam In Ireland (2006), and drama The Big Bow Wow (2005)

Kíla run their own label Kíla Records and own a recording studio, they also look after their own publishing through Kíla Music.