Cathal Coughlan of Microdisney and Fatima Mansions debuts first new music in 10 years

Cathal Coughlan, the Irish singer-songwriter who co-founded Microdisney and went on to lead The Fatima Mansions, returns today with his first new music in a decade, the single “Song of Co-Aklan,” which also is the title track of his forthcoming solo album.

The song, which you can hear below via its George Seminara-directed music video, finds Coughlan working with longtime collaborators Grand Necropolitan Quartet and The Auteurs’ Luke Haines.

The 12-song Song of Co-Aklan is due out March 12 on Dimple Discs is “loosely conceptual, and based around the persona of Co-Aklan,” and features appearances by a pair of Coughlan’s former bandmates: Sean O’Hagan of Microdisney (and High Llamas) and Andrías Ó Gruama of The Fatima Mansions.

The new album is Coughlan’s fifth solo effort and first since 2010’s Rancho Tetrahedron, recorded with the Grand Necropolitan Quartet.

Microdisney’s original lineup — Coughlan, O’Hagan, Jon Fell and Tom Fenner — reunited for the first time in 30 years to play concerts in Dublin, London and Cork in 2018 and 2019.

Here’s Coughlan’s new solo single:

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