Nymphs & Thugs are thrilled to announce that we’re working with our first-ever Irish poet. Stephen James Smith is highly-acclaimed on both sides of the water, and we’ve teamed up with Reckless Records in Ireland to co-release his debut album ‘See No Evil‘.

The album will be released digitally on 1 April, with the single ‘I’ve Had Lovers’ released on 11 March. There’ll also be a vinyl release later in the year – provisionally planned for autumn 2022. Stephen’s album release is being supported by a tour of the UK & Ireland over the coming months.

The 9 track album was recorded during lockdown in County Wexford, after Stephen found himself moving down from Dublin during the pandemic. This presented the opportunity to work with Gavin Glass in Orphan Recording Studios. Stephen was awarded the Music Industry Stimulus Package under the Recording Stimulus fund to help with the making of the album, which is produced and composed by Gareth Quinn Redmond.

This album is a culmination of years of work and a chance meeting. I was never really sure what ‘sound’ I wanted to have underscore my poetry. I’ve so many influences from trad, folk and hip-hop – and then I met Gareth, and instantly we had a bond and he ‘got’ what I was trying to do. I’m a bit more restrained in my performance than I ordinarily would be on this album, but Gareth’s music helps to bring the emotional intensity I would aim for as a solo performer. So, the opportunity to collaborate on a longer-form project like this was just brilliant. I learned so much and I’m happy with what we created. In some ways I care how this is received – what we’ve done means a lot to me – but in others, I couldn’t care less. We did what we set out to do and now it’s up to the album to find its way in the world.

Stephen James Smith

We’re really excited to add Stephen to our roster of artists and expand our work into Ireland and Northern Ireland over the next few years as a result.