Tom Coll Unveils New Irish Music Label Inis Records Alongside Industry Veterans

Tom Coll, drummer of Fontaines D.C., has announced the launch of a new independent label and record store focused solely on Irish music.

The new venture, Inis Records, was co-founded by Coll alongside Michael Roe—drummer of Irish math-rock outfit Adebisi Shank and co-founder of the influential Richter Collective label—and Ken Allen of Faction Records.

The label will release new music from emerging and established Irish artists, alongside landmark reissues and overlooked records currently out of print.

Its accompanying online store will exclusively stock Irish music spanning various eras and genres, while Inis will also offer distribution and back-end services to selected independent labels.

“Inis Records exists to provide an independent label infrastructure in Ireland, giving Irish music a platform to grow while creating unique physical releases for local artists,” Coll stated.

“We want to create truly special vinyl pressings, reissue forgotten classics, and support the next wave of Irish music. Ireland needs a stronger independent music infrastructure, and this is exactly what we aim to achieve with Inis.”

Inis will launch with a new edition of ‘Against Nature’, the currently out-of-print 1989 debut album by cult Cork art-rock pioneers The Fatima Mansions.

Additional releases planned for later this year include a traditional Irish music compilation curated by Coll, as well as a collection of showband recordings put together by The Mary Wallopers’ Charles Hendy.

The label has also invited independent and emerging artists without existing distribution arrangements to submit physical releases for consideration by the store.

“Ireland has an incredible history of incredible artists and labels,” Roe said. “However, over the last three decades, the country has relied heavily on infrastructure from outside its borders.

“We hope Inis Records can help build a stronger independent music infrastructure here, providing a generation of new artists and labels with the support needed to grow their businesses in Ireland while reaching international audiences.”

Roe was a member of Adebisi Shank until the instrumental trio disbanded in 2014. He also co-founded Richter Collective, the independent label that released music by acts including And So I Watch You From Afar, The Redneck Manifesto, and Enemies before shutting down in 2012.

Allen’s Faction Records roster has previously included James Vincent McMorrow, Sorcha Richardson, and Niamh Regan.

The Inis store is already stocking records by Fontaines D.C., Gilla Band, Just Mustard, Gurriers, Enya, John Francis Flynn, and Bicep, among numerous other artists.

Elsewhere, Coll and Fontaines bandmate Carlos O’Connell have worked on the upcoming second album by French indie group Film Noir. The record has so far been previewed with the double single ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ and ‘VEGITA’.

Coll and O’Connell also contributed original music to the soundtrack for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man alongside their Fontaines bandmate Grian Chatten.

Elsewhere, Fontaines D.C. have been working on the follow-up to their acclaimed 2024 album Romance. Speaking to NME earlier this year, O’Connell remarked, “We’ve been writing, and it’s been fun.”

He suggested the band could perform new material during their upcoming summer festival dates, adding, “That’s what we used to do all the time—play the new stuff live. Songs that weren’t even finished. It’s a great way to test the tracks.”

Fontaines D.C. are due to make their live return this summer, with headline appearances at Reading & Leeds and Electric Picnic on the horizon, alongside further European and US festival dates.

The band also recently paid tribute following the death of their longtime manager Trevor Dietz at the age of 47.

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