Finding equanimity: Kilkenny's Adam Nolan dances with chaos

Somewhere in the middle of a conversation about music, Adam Nolan and I found ourselves discussing whether reality as we know it might be an elaborate simulation.

Quite how we got there, I'm still not entirely sure. But that's Adam Nolan for you.

An intriguing character with a mind that rarely sits still, the Kilkenny musician has always been as unpredictable as his music.

Under his recent Slow Yoyo guise, Adam veers between free jazz, spoken word and experimental sounds. There's also his project Destiny and Fate, yet another outlet for his restless creativity.

“I've taken a bit of a break from jazz recently,” he explains. “I was teaching meditation over the summer but I am now getting back into music, and released a few tunes.”

And what an eclectic selection of tunes they've been.

His track 'The New Cool' comes with a video filmed in Dunmore East and even features his mother, while 'I Know Nothing' ventures into decidedly darker territory.

Adam admits the latter track “might trigger some people” but that he fancied bringing something “completely different” to the table.

Then enter his most recent track 'St Stephen's Green', a curious collision of jazz, poetry and Dublin street life.

Back in 2019, Adam spent a week wandering the capital with his saxophone, improvising to the rhythms of the city.

He recorded the results and released them as an album. Recently, he returned to those recordings, layering a poem about his experiences in St Stephen's Green over the music.

James Joyce was an inspiration for this particular track, particularly his stream-of-consciousness style of writing, and how he coloured the sights and sounds of the city.

Coming soon is 'Equanimity', queued for relase on November 6. The title refers to maintaining composure amid chaos, something Adam knows a thing or two about.

A serious accident in recent years has left him with spinal damage, and he has developed arthritis in his lower back and limbs.

Not one to linger on the negatives, he expressed that he is grateful that he can still play his saxophone, though the experience has given him plenty to reflect on.

He's particularly concerned by the relentless negativity of modern life, and how social media algorithms can so easily manipulate our emotions.

“The message of the track is not to feed into it. To acknowledge it, yes, but then acknowledge how it's manipulating your emotions. And how to maintain your control.

“As well as that, the track is about doing my own thing.”

It will feature a Nigerian gospel singer, bringing what Adam describes as a ‘healing’ quality, something quite different to the tracks he’s recorded previously.

Musical influences include The Streets, whose freedom of expression he admires, and Robert Glasper's ‘Black Radio 2’, particularly the track 'What Are We Doing', featuring Brandy.

'Equanimity' presents itself as something of an unlikely cocktail, but Adam has never been one for following a recipe. Although his body has imposed certain limits on his physical ability, his imagination hasn't followed suit.

He remains ferociously determined to make the most of his time here, whether we're living in base reality or in some cosmic computer programme.

At the same time, he is keen to share his creativity with you and with the world, so check him out on Spotify and his social media channels.