“Slí Amach: Way Out” is the debut album of Boston-based Ishna, a contemporary Irish folk band. Ishna explores traditional repertoire within the context of a global setting, bringing the band members’ diverse backgrounds into each of their carefully crafted arrangements. The album starts with a darkly humorous tale of a murderous wife, continuing on through exhilarating instrumentals, heart-tugging ballads, and rousing rebel songs, before finally leaving the listener in the familiar setting of an Irish pub. “Slí Amach” is energetic and uplifting, weaving Ishna’s unexpected twists into the beloved music of Ireland.
Ishna was founded in Dublin Ireland by husband-and-wife team Ciaran Nagle and Tara Novak. After moving to Boston in 2012, they put this group of musicians together in 2015. Oddly enough, they met all of the players separately, and none of them through playing Irish music (jazz, musical theater, classical, and Italian folk music)! Over the past decade, the group has evolved, honing in specifically on the acoustic traditional music of Ireland, while finding ways to allow each band member to bring their unique musical vocabulary into the overall sound.
“Slí Amach” was recorded June 29 -July 2, 2025, at Cold Comfort Farm - an 18th Century barn in Peterborough NH, which is a small town in the rural Monadnock region. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Robert L. Smith at Defy Recordings, an Oscar-and-Grammy-award-winning producer and personal friend of Ciaran and Tara. Robert brought all of the studio equipment up from NYC, the cameras were donated by Ben Davis at Studio Lab in Derry NH, and the band were housed by another friend in a 1700s farmhouse in Jaffrey NH. Ishna spent the week not only making music, but also hiking, cooking elaborate meals, comparing specialty cocktail recipes, staying up late around the fire pit, and enjoying this uniquely immersive recording experience. The result is an album that is infused with the camaraderie of the musicians: an album that invites the listener to step into the fold of this community and to experience Irish music in a new way.
** Slí Amach (the way out/exit) in Irish is pronounced roughly as "shlee a-mokh," with "shlee" sounding like "sleeve" and "amach" having a guttural "kh" at the end, like the 'ch' in Scottish "loch," but pronounced with the tongue further back in the throat, notes
For more information go to https://ishnamusic.com
Introducing Irish Folk Band, ISHNA, with their First Album ‘Sli Amach’: Way Out
