Eugene McGuinness’s head is in a spin. The 21-year-old Londoner (whose parents are from Derry) is recounting the story of the last year of his life to Hot Press while sitting in the back of a car bound for Manchester, on his way to a gig at which he'll support American indie stalwarts, Rilo Kiley.

It has, after all, been a pretty big year. Twelve months ago, the singer-songwriter (who recently became labelmates with Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, after signing with Domino Records) was nursing a post-graduation hangover and contemplating the magnitude of his student loan when, out of the blue, the bedroom obsession he’d been fostering since he was a teenager who “listened to too much Radiohead” suddenly took over his life.
“Honestly, I think it was the internet or something like that!” he exclaims, as he recounts the events leading to his getting signed. “I was gigging in Liverpool a lot at the time, while I was at university, but I think somebody just heard something on the MySpace, and that was it! It was really weird when I found out about that. I didn’t really think about how it came about though, I was more concerned with how sudden it was! I’d literally just graduated. Everybody tells me how jammy I am, because I stepped out of one comfort blanket of student life and student loans into another one.”
Though some would surely testify that the comfort blanket of the music industry can be pretty prickly at times, especially when compared to the comparatively cushy life of a professional learner who spends his days propping up a bar at pound-a-pint nights or finding intriguing new uses for pre-made pasta sauce.
“I did London last night with Rilo Kiley, then Manchester tonight and Nottingham as well,” he resumes. “London was terrifying, really. It was an audience I’m not used to playing to, and there were lots of people there. It was really cool, though, I got quite a kick out of it after I played, when I realised I hadn’t messed up! I’m supporting The Shins as well this Thursday in Edinburgh, which is incredible — it’s in front of 3,000 people or something stupid like that. That's going to be incredible. Then I’m supporting Tunng for a few dates too. I’m doing a few gigs with Regina Spektor as well. I’m trying to nail the indie-folk circuit!”

The Early Learnings Of Eugene McGuinness is out now on Domino