Available July 26, “Luminator” is the second single from upcoming Galway singer-songwriter Oisin Mod, who will release his debut album Honeycomb - produced by Bill Ryder-Jones at his Yawn Studios on The Wirral - on August 19. Following the release, Oisin will make his London gig debut at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney on September 14, tickets available now from Dice. Before then, Oisin is playing a hometown gig at An Taibhdhearc in Galway on August 12.
“Luminator” follows the recent release of album title track ”Honeycomb” described by Hot Press as having “…shades of Elliott Smith, solo Lennon and Mazzy Star in its warm textures.”
Every once in a while, a record comes along seemingly from nowhere that is so perfectly formed it almost beggars belief. Honeycomb by Oisin Mod is precisely one of those records. Over its ten sublime tracks, wistful melodies crash over a warm analogue tumble of music where not a note is misplaced. His hushed, intimate vocals tell tales of melancholy, heartbreak and reflection in a way that feel like he’s sat down to talk to you, and you alone.
Hailing from Moycullen, 25-year-old Oisin Mod has been playing guitar and violin since he was eight. From his teens he played in bands locally, but it was only when his last group fizzled out, that he truly found his own voice as a songwriter. Oisin recorded some tracks which captured the essence of what would grow to become Honeycomb, but his instinct told him that they needed something else, another layer of stardust sprinkled on them.
A longstanding admirer and kindred spirit of Ryder-Jones, Oisin was confident that the former Coral guitarist would be able to see where he was coming from - and crucially, where he should go next – so he sent Bill the demos, asking him if he would be up for producing an album.
“I listened to perhaps one or two songs and just felt it was a good fit. Aside from the sheer quality of the songwriting, musically he's very minimalistic and melody-led, which are things I'm always drawn to,” recalls Ryder-Jones, who has also produced former Shack leader Mick Head’s new album.
“Oisin has a great balance of vision and humility,” he continues. “We had several phone calls where he would explain his musical identity and thoughts on songwriting prior to the sessions so by the time it came to do the album I knew very much what was needed. Oisin has very firm ideas about what he wants. I took a lot from those sessions, he’s a really special guy.”
The album was recorded in just ten days, not a whole lot of time to capture perfection, but – as is so often the case – necessity proved to be the mother of invention, and the fact that they recorded and produced the album in a relatively short space of time is partly what gives Honeycomb such a distinct identity.
“I do have a habit of overthinking things, but as we only had ten days you don’t have time to do that,” says Oisin of the sessions. “I always think about people like Neil Young, they weren’t overthinking stuff, they had a few days in between tours and they went in and said, ‘OK this is how it’s going to be…’ and just captured that moment.”
Listening back to the final version of Honeycomb it’s clear that Oisin Mod really has captured a moment. Though each song moves and hits you in its own unique way, everything here feels like one, organic whole.
