Amano is a songwriter and performing artist from Killarney, Co. Kerry. She works bilingually in Irish and English to explore themes of changing identities, cultural fluidity, language(s) and animist ecologies across a range of genres including folk, pop, sean-nós, electronic and spoken word.
Her latest solo singles Burn (February 2025) and The Birthing House (March 2025) are enjoying FM and digital radio time (RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2XM) and online coverage from Hot Press, Nialler9, Joe.ie and Genuine Irish.
THREAD (2024), Amano’s experimental Irish music project with producer Kalabanx was nominated for Album of the Year, with lead single HEART achieving a nomination for Song of the Year at the Gradaim Nós Irish language music awards 2025. Singles from the project including THREAD and SOUTHWIND have achieved airtime on BBC Radio Ulster, RTÉ Radio 1 and Raidió na Gaeltachta.
In 2024 Amano was supported by the Arts Council in developing her practice in the sean-nós singing tradition. She has performed at venues and festivals across Ireland including Electric Picnic, Fuinneamh, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Éigse na hAoine and Cork World Book Fest.
Amano also employs her songwriting and poetry in a range of creative collaborations including An Chailleach street spectacle (Kerry Homecoming Festival, 2024) and The Mantle (Creative Ireland/ Kerry County Council Arts, 2024). She has previously collaborated with other Irish songwriters including Liam Ó Maonlaí, Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Blue Niall.
For this performance, Amano will be accompanied on piano and guitar by Daniel Murphy. Daniel is a Cork based multi-instrumentalist with a background in commercial composition and arranging for popular and classic ensembles.
“Comfortable performing in both English and as Gaeilge, her influences ebb between alt-folk, R&B and traditional sean-nós singing. An idiosyncratic talent, it's refreshingly hard to pinpoint this Japan-born, Killarney-bred songwriter's style.” - Hot Press (August 2024)
“angelic, Goidelic vocals” - Hot Press (August 2024)
“an artist whose healing and return to creativity has taken in the Irish language, reconnection, and openness to collaboration” - Mike McGrath-Bryan, Echo Live (July 2024)
