Unassuming 25-year-old musician Oisin Mod has rocketed to the forefront of the Irish indie-folk scene, with his debut solo album, Honeycomb, released on August 19. Speaking to Hot Press just days before his musical baby entering the world, Mod was shockingly relaxed and exceedingly modest.

Spending much of his teens and early twenties in different groups, Oisin outgrew the ever-changing band scene, feeling the urge to write his own music, for and by himself. Releasing the first taste of his solo work earlier this year, Mod teased the beginning of his new-found voice with lead album single 'Moments Notice'.

And what a fantastic exploration this venture was, with Honeycomb drawing immediate comparisons of John Lennon, Elliot Smith, and more. Taking his time to write and perfect these tracks, Mod was delighted to finally get this collection out into the world.

"I'm feeling good about the album release to be honest. It's nice to be able to let go of it, but it’s not too much of a relief, or a weight lifted, to be honest with you. It just seems quite natural that now it’s gonna come out and that's fine."

Coming from a music-enthusiastic background, Mod's parents immersed him in the "usual mom or dad stuff" like ABBA and Travelling Wiburys. The Moycullen native always saw music becoming a part of his life in one way or another.

"I started getting into music around the age of eight or nine, listening to my sister's CD collection. Took up playing guitar not long after and dabbled in piano lessons around the age of 12. I started writing songs around 16/17 - when you kind of recognise that maybe you can do it yourself, like all these other folks who you've been listening to have been doing.

"I recognised music was something outside of the day to day, and that element of otherness to it made me want to look at it more closely.

"I always envisioned myself partaking in music in some regard but I couldn't say I've always thought about it as a viable career path, but I don't know how many people view it as that when they get into it. They do it because they enjoy doing it first and foremost."

As his first venture into solo-work, the singer-songwriter noted he found comfort in the lone creation work, but also incredibly enjoys the "community" feel of performing with a band.

"I played my first show with my own group, a five-piece, recently. In a lot of ways there's still that somewhat sense of community that you get from being in a band when you're playing music with other people. However, I recognise that there's a lot more focus on me now.

"There's more comfortability in controlling parts of songs and arrangements when you're doing it on your own. It's more thought out because you're doing all the thinking and putting a bit more thought into the arrangements than you might do in a band.

"I really thoroughly enjoy the process of writing and recording, and the element of discovery that comes with that. But that being said, there's that element of community in there that I definitely feel strongly when playing with the four guys that's really enjoyable to partake in."

Despite launching as a solo artist, the Galway musician teamed up with producer and ex-coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones on this album. Naming him as an inspiration for his music's sound, Mod spoke with glee about the collaboration.

"I took a lot of inspiration from Bill Ryder-Jones' kind of delivery - that somewhat conversational style of song. I like knowing you can have a song that's just how you are - you don't always have to try and dress things up too much.

"It was a wonderful experience getting to work with him. There was a strong mutual understanding with one another as to how we were going to approach things and what we wanted to make."

Honeycomb artwork

Deeming the main themes behind the release both personal but not un-heard of experiences, Mod described the inspirations behind Honeycomb as not "too cryptic."

"I don't know how much I recognised this at the time of writing, but there was a lot of mining going on by myself into my own life. I don't want to use the word reflection, because maybe that's too washy… There's a few themes tying it together, it's not too cryptic for the listener to understand. But it's not things that no one else has ever spoken about in songs, you know what I mean?"

With a writing style that differs on every track, Mod admitted his favourite track on Honeycomb is the one that took him the longest.

"The first song on the record, ‘Luminator’, took a good, long time to write. Then once it was finished, I was very pleased with it. I don't know if it's in spite of, or because it took a good amount of time to write that I feel a bit closer to it than the other numbers on there. It wasn't the first one that I wrote but it opened the door for the ones to come through.

"Sometimes you can have one little part of something and know there’s something there. You have to chip it into shape to even begin to see something you’re happy with. Other times, it kind of appears on its own almost and kind of does the work for you, it can be very obvious. It's not a uniform operation. I don’t find writing necessarily easy for a good chunk of the time - it takes a while to reach a point where you're actually happy."

Ever so humble and reserved, Mod has anything but dreamed for the stardom of solo artistry.

"I’m very appreciative of the fact that people are listening to the songs and writing about them in such a context that they've actually listened to them and they're trying to develop an understanding of them. It's humbling. People have been very generous with their time, you know. But at the same time one doesn’t particularly want that to become the kind of kick you get from making music."

Performing his solo work for the first time with a full band in Galway earlier this month, the singer now moves on to London's Paper Dress Vintage on September 14. As of yet Mod has no further Irish dates scheduled, and at the moment doesn't have plans to.

"It's not to say I wouldn't like to tour, I'd love to play these songs more in front of people. But at the moment there's no other live plans."

In lieu of a tour announcement, you'll have to check out Honeycomb, the incredible debut album from Oisin Mod, below.