# Electronic Duo Telefis Preview ‘Ballytransnational’ Ahead of Releasing Debut ‘a hAon’ LP

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/electronic-duo-telefis-preview-ballytransnational-ahead-of-releasing-debut-a-haon-lp/
- Published: 2022-02-25T10:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

**Irish electronic duo Telefis (Cathal Coughlan & Jacknife Lee) preview ‘Ballytransnational’
ahead of releasing debut ‘a hAon’ LP.**

![](https://i0.wp.com/redirect.haulix.com/58N6vmzhrfBoDRiQT1vlcWTusrglx31fCtkI68NlOzg%
3D/PromoAccessory_757298.jpg?resize=388%2C218&ssl=1)

**Telefis photo by Telefís**

Following the release of the [**‘Falun Gong Dancer EP’**](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/album/falun-gong-dancer-ep-with-jah-wobble)
with legendary post-punk bass maestro [**Jah Wobble**](http://www.jahwobble.com/)**(
Public Image Limited, Invaders Of The Heart)**, electronic duo [**Telefís**](http://telefis.ie/index.html)
are gearing up for their debut album **[‘a hAon’](https://ffm.to/telefisahaon) (
Number One)**, a highly unique collection of 13 tracks that will be released by 
[**Dimple Discs** ](https://dimpledisc.bandcamp.com/artists)on March 4. Ahead of
this, they present the track[ ](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/track/ballytransnational)
[**‘Ballytransnational’**](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/track/ballytransnational).

Telefís (the Irish Gaelic word for Television, pronounced Tele-feesh) is a collaboration
between two acclaimed ex-pat Irish iconoclasts, in-demand composer/mixer/producer
[**Garret “Jacknife” Lee**](https://www.jacknifelee.com/)** (U2, R.E.M., Modest 
Mouse, The Killers, Snow Patrol, Crystal Castles, Editors) **and singer-lyricist-
composer  [**Cathal Coughlan**](https://www.facebook.com/cathalcoughlan)** (Microdisney,
Fatima Mansions **and many acclaimed solo works). Having known each other vaguely
in Ireland’s early 80s post-punk scene, Jacknife is now based in L.A. and Cathal,
a native of Cork, lives in London. A timely re-introduction by a mutual friend led
to the two spending 2020 trading ideas and musical files during lockdown, hatching
plans for a satirical, mischievous examination of Irish history and the pop culture
of their lifetimes, which the two have labelled ..”a corrosive nostalgia”.

**Cathal Coughlan** comments on** ‘Ballytransnational’**: “A gaunt wooden rollercoaster
overlooks the flatlands leading to a land border which, for many years until now,
used to count for nothing. It used to be the topic of rueful recollections from 
decades past, but the received wisdom was that the bad old days were over, and seamless
moving of fluid identities and capital now ruled the day. Public health concerns
and political ferment have now given way to protectionism of many kinds. As the 
generation who understood the damage caused by that border passes away, the border’s
time has come again. And it says: you’re never going back.’

[**Ballytransnational on Bandcamp**](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/track/ballytransnational)

A series of remarkable singles and remixes, starting with the electro-funk monster
[**‘We Need’ EP**](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/album/we-need-e-p) in mid-2021 and
followed by [**‘Mister Imperator’**](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/album/mister-imperator-ep),
see Coughlan and Lee de-construct the Ireland of their youth through the prism of
politics, technology and religion. Complemented by arcane imagery and 60s/70s video
footage that are both playfully ironic and endearingly melancholic, these singles
have set the table for one of year’s most intriguing and adventurous debut albums.

“Collaborating in this way, with a dynamic and consummate artist, who has access
to a wide range of skills which I don’t have, but with whom I share many common 
interests and cultural/historical reference points, has been one of the highlights
of my creative life. It’s made me so glad that I’ve been able to remain active for
long enough to see something like this happen. Easily as spontaneous and full of
surprises as any in-person collaboration, it’s shaken loose many weird and hopefully
wonderful things in my verbal workshop. And nobody has heard me use my voice in 
some of these ways before now, either,” says **Cathal Coughlan**.

![](https://i0.wp.com/redirect.haulix.com/jkkNZCGJNSTgKPMW9q0xx8gwSFD6XZ_y_3srSbWF-
yc%3D/PromoAccessory_686156.jpg?resize=443%2C443&ssl=1)

**Telefis photo by Telefís**

**Jacknife Lee** adds: “I’d just finished mangling a Luke Haines and Peter Buck 
record. Luke knows Cathal and re-introduced us. On the first or second correspondence
we thought we should make some music together. Music is probably the only way I 
can properly communicate with someone. I sent Cathal the backing track that would
become “We Need” and he sent me back the vocal and we went back and forth from there.
Lockdowns and travel restrictions forced us to work remotely, and I think helped
us get to where we got so quickly. Cathal is without doubt one of the finest lyricists
of our time and writes like no one else. Some of the vocals he sent over made me
burst out laughing with giddiness and delight at the novelty of them. Mischievous,
dark, arcane, crispy fresh, and always unexpected. Every song with a backstory that
could be a novel. This is easily the most enjoyable and rewarding music that I’ve
been involved with.”

Part celebration, part satire, Telefís is an exploration of nostalgia as experienced
in the present day, by natives of what was formerly a culturally sealed-off small
country on the very fringes of Europe. It also points a critical finger at today’s
global hierarchies, an inspiration for the strange characters and caricatures that
spring from Coughlan’s fertile imagination. Stark forms of imagery, bizarre to the
modern eye and ear but treated as routine in the pre-globalization world, are pushed
at the listener and viewer. On the musical side, Jacknife Lee uses his extensive
sonic palette to create an irresistible mix of cinematic instrumentals and electro-
funk backdrops full of melodic, squelchy synths and thunderous bass-lines, often
with a cheeky nod to electro-pop history.

On March 4, the **‘a hAon’ **album will be released on CD and Vinyl, both with two-
sided lyric sheet insert, as well as across digital platforms. Physical orders are
available at [**https://ffm.to/telefisahaon**](https://ffm.to/telefisahaon)** **
and the digital album can be pre-ordered at** **[**https://orcd.co/telefisahaon**](https://orcd.co/telefisahaon).
U.S. orders can be placed at [**http://ffm.to/telefisusa**](http://ffm.to/telefisusa)**.**

![](https://i0.wp.com/redirect.haulix.com/rPo4ymjkJQbctQ2Nj3-nq1nxLGGk6oaEE2MlF6lni18%
3D/PromoAccessory_921150.jpg?resize=361%2C361&ssl=1)

**TRACK LIST**
01. Seo É Glór Na Teilifíse02. Mister Imperator03. We Need *04. Falun
Gong Dancer05. The Symphonies Of Danny La Rue06. Archbishop Beardmouth At The ChemOlympics07.
The Imperial Angelus08. Sex Bunting09. Ballytransnational10. There Goes Waterface11.
Picadors12. Stampede13. Stop The Lights**SELECT PRESS FEEDBACK**_“There’s something
about the meeting of Jacknife Lee’s carefully constructed musical arrangements with
Cathal Coughlan’s sonorous vocals that makes for one of the most potent listens 
my ears have heard for some time”_ – **Electronic Sound  **

_“Dense, acerbically observed lyrics are delivered in Coughlan’s distinctive baritone
over Lee’s backdrops, from sparsely atmospheric synths to bass-driven electro-funk”_–**
The Irish Times**

_“…an enthralling, entertaining union of skillful retro-electro and cuttingly cynical,
mischievous surreal declarations” _– **MOJO**

_“Telefís blend cultural celebration, satire, the splintered identity of the Irish
diaspora, and historical introspection to – what else? Electronic dance music!”_–**
Post-Punk**

_“As stunning as the best of Talking Heads and LCD Soundsystem… big sound and vision”_
~** The Spill Magazine**

**FOR FANS OF:** 
Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Kraftwerk, Pet Shop 
Boys, Metronomy, Devo

**Keep up with Telefís**
[Website](http://telefis.ie/index.html) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/telefis1961)
| [Bandcamp](https://telefis.bandcamp.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/telefis1961)
| [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/telefis) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQvW6eYx1JL6wY9XBEelfQ)
| [Spotify](https://spoti.fi/39tH2fk) | [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/telef%C3%ADs/1569593407)

**Keep up with Dimple Discs**
[Bandcamp](https://dimpledisc.bandcamp.com/artists)
| [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Dimple-Discs-110545767176172/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DimpleDiscs)
| [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/label/1443755-Dimple-Discs) | [Proper Music](https://www.propermusic.com/label/d/dimple-discs.html)

**Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR**
[Website ](http://www.shamelesspromotionpr.com/)
| [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/shamelesspromotionpr) | [Twitter](http://twitter.com/shamelesspr_)
| [Soundcloud](http://www.soundcloud.com/shameless-promotion) | [Instagram](http://www.instagram.com/shamelesspromotionpr/)
| [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/user/a8l46vnd7r47057in6tesc31q) | [LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/company/shamelesspromotionpr)

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