belladonna

belladonna is the project of Irish multi instrumentalist producer Ciaran Keenan. Devised in 2023, amid a growing sense of disillusionment with the traditional 4 piece band, the artist decided to take matters into his own hands in the form of a Roland TR707 drum machine. Drawing influence from acts such as Suicide, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Einstürzende Neubauten and New Order, the machine served as the ideal repetitive, motorik bedrock to infectious pulses of viola bass lines and layers of wailing noise guitar. And thus - taken from the title of a John Cooper Clarke poem - ‘belladonna’ was born.

For belladonna’s debut release EVIL EYE, the artist teamed up with producer Chris W. Ryan (Just Mustard, NewDad, Chalk, Enola Gay) to craft a hypnotic, industrial charged record driven by the inertia of excess. The single led to multiple plays on BBC Radio 6 and a support slot with Chalk for Jameson Ireland’s black barrel series.