Coming back with a rollicking new single, local songwriting talent Michael Gallagher continues to go from strength to strength. Designed for the summer season, ‘Out of Time’ builds on Gallagher’s recent successes and pushes it further – supported by the work of uber-producer, Alex Quinn. Damian Robinson caught up with Michael to find out more.
The new song ‘Out of Time’ is great: it’s a really uplifting summer tune with perhaps a layer of melancholy hiding beneath the surface. Tell us a little bit about when it was written and what it’s about…
Thank you very much. The song was written a while ago. I came up with the music first and it was really summery and uplifting so I decided to try and make the subject of the lyrics about something darker, so I decided to write about a breakup. But I tried to still incorporate the fun playful nature of the music in the lyrics.
There’s a real feel-good sound to the song and it’s layered with confidence. How did you build out the sound?
In the original demo in my bedroom I used a drum loop and then started playing the bass line before adding the synth, and it just kind of went from there. The demo wasn’t as confident sounding; I think that came in the studio when me and the band were able to really get stuck in.
How much influence did your producer, Alex Quinn, have on the sound? And where was his biggest influence?
It was great to work with Alex. When I took the tunes to him he really helped me get as much out of them as we possibly could, chopping things up and moving things around. I really feel that together, we managed to capture the songs and their characters as best we could.
One of the last times we saw you was at your sold-out KU show. Do you have any plans for new live shows or a single-release show?
We have just played two release shows, one in Manchester and one in Hartlepool (both dates were sold out). It was so good to be able to play this song live for people upon its release and it seemed to go down really well with the crowds.
In terms of the remainder of 2024, what’s coming up for you and the band? And what should we be excited about?
We have a summer of festivals as well as a lot more music to release. Hopefully, we might look at getting something physical released towards the end of the year along with a little tour.
You can stream ‘Out of Time’ now at michaelgallaghermusic.co.uk.
