Galway native Niamh Regan is about to take her music international; she’s all packed for a visit to LA when she meets Hot Press for coffee in Dublin.
“I’ll be working with a guy called Ryan Buren,” she explains. “He’s done a lot of indie records, and having heard my music, he got in touch and said he had a lot of ideas. I’ve just released an EP that was produced by Alex Borwick; he’s a great producer who’s played with The Young Folk and a bunch of other bands.
“That was more mellow, just what I sound like by myself. But now we’re gonna try some new angles, and bring out a single that’s a little more developed. It’ll be less folky, but I’m still a folk-based singer.”
As for her biggest influences, Regan credits a lot to her family. “My mom was a fantastic traditional singer,” she notes. “I wanted to sing so effortlessly and beautifully like her. When I was 11 or 12, my parents went to a Josh Ritter concert and came back with Hello Starling, and I played it countless times. From there I found the likes of Laura Marling and Lisa Hannigan, and I was just obsessed.”
While others have noted the influence of Londoner Laura Marling, Regan is still grounded in her traditional Irish roots, which are reflected in her personality as much as her music.
“I think because I was a traditional Irish musician from the beginning, I had a different kind of relationship with music,” she muses. “The ego isn’t there, it’s more about sharing something with your community. It’s not like, I want to be out front, it’s that I want to be a part of something. I don’t want to be a rock star, I was never that. I just want to make music that I feel is good enough.”
See: Follow @niamhreganmusic for more about upcoming gigs.
Hear: Her self-titled EP is available now.