Spotlight: Nathan O’Regan

Nathan, your debut studio EP ‘Uncovered Vol. 1’ features a collection of covers that pay homage to Northern Irish songwriting. What drew you to focus on reinterpretations rather than original compositions for this debut?
  

I ran a night in Belfast called Songbook for 6 years that showcased local songwriters with the backing of an incredible house band. It was an amazing experience, and I was always blown away by the talent on show. Songbook was a big part of my life for a long time, and the Cover EP felt like a fitting way to celebrate that chapter before I fully focus on my own music. I’m really excited about my debut album, which is in the final stages of mixing and will be out next year.  

‘Follow You Down’ from Ciaran Lavery’s album ‘Not Nearly Dark’ seems to hold a special place in your heart. What was your approach to transforming this slow acoustic folk track into a soulful single?

‘Not Nearly Dark’ had just come out around the same time I first came to Northern Ireland and it was a hot topic of conversation with everyone on the Northern Irish music scene – for good reason. It was incredible to witness the success that the record had for Ciaran. There are so many tracks that stand out on that album, but I always loved ‘Follow You Down’ – it’s just great writing, plain and simple. I’ve always loved a song that has a catchy chorus but has a darker undertone – Ciaran does that really well. Turning it on its head happened quite organically in the studio with the boys. It’s a sign of a great song that it can be interpreted so many ways and I think ‘Follow You Down’ is a great example of that.  

You’ve described ‘Is That What You Wanted?’ as an earworm with meticulously crafted lyrics. How did your experience of seeing MCVEIGH perform this song live influence your decision to cover it?

It’s funny – when you’re friends with so many people in music, and especially when you’re all sort of starting from the ground up together – you can forget that some folks just have ‘it’. Whatever ‘it’ is, MCVEIGH has it in spades. Socially, he’s just a normal, down-to-earth, lovely fella but I remember seeing him up on stage at Songbook years ago, singing ‘Is That What You Wanted?’ and he completely blew me away. The swagger and the effortless and flawless vocal. It’s one of those tunes I remember hearing and thinking I’ll be telling people in years to come that I heard him sing that to 100 people upstairs in a bar in Belfast and they’ll never believe me. I’ve been a huge fan of him since I became aware of him and I think his star will only continue to rise.

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