With his debut album The Jerk At The End Of The Line about to be released, West London singer/songwriter Niall Galvin aka Only Real spared some time to have a chat with Matt Tarr about his musical influences, being played on Radio 1 and his love of Taylor Swift…
MT: I caught your show at The Macbeth towards the end of 2014 and it really came across that you enjoy performing live. Is that something you love doing?
Only Real: Yeah totally man. It’s a completely different thing than when I’m making and writing music. The way I do that is quite isolated and is generally under calm conditions. Sometimes it’s nice to be a bit more hyperactive with it and see the songs have that life of their own. You get that extra gratification if people know the words or if they seem to be enjoying it in any way.
MT: Having built up a sizeable fan base and reputation over the last 12 or so months, prior to releasing your debut album, it must be great to know that you already have so much support?
Only Real: Yeah it’s amazing and pretty humbling. Now there’s a fan base starting to be there, it gives you that extra platform to get music out there immediately and for people to be able to tell their friends about in and stuff, which helps it grow.
MT: In terms of your sound as an artist, I wondered what sort of musical influences may have shaped how you write songs?
Only Real: One of the main reasons why my songs are quite interestingly structured is because I try not to be too immediately influenced by anything that has been before, so it’s just coming out of my brain and maybe my brain’s a bit weird in the way that I come up with things. But at the same time, my songwriting and my brain in general is being informed by the stuff that I’ve listened to growing up. I’ve always been into nineties Hip Hop like Nas and Big L and people that have amazing flows, but also people that are a bit more trippy with it like The Pharcyde. On the guitar side, all the classics like The Clash and The Cure or even bands like Deerhunter or Yo La Tengo. So that’s probably subconsciously where it comes from, but at the same time I’m just trying to make what I make and that’s why it comes out in a less generically structured way.
MT: Being a singer/songwriter, there are always going to be comparisons made between you and your fellow artists and two that keep springing up are King Krule and Jamie T. What do you make of comparisons like that?
Only Real: I think there are certain similarities, as there are with other artists too. For me personally, I don’t have any problem with people thinking that. If that’s what comes to mind when people listen to it then that’s what comes to mind and it’s completely cool with me. I try not to let it affect me or what I’m making and just get on with what I’m doing. But everyone that is generally mentioned is a really good artist, so I guess that’s a good thing really. There are some that I just don’t see but then there are some that I’m surprised don’t come up more that maybe I could see similarities with.
MT: Have you noticed much of an impact to your career since you were picked up by more mainstream media sources and played on Radio 1?
Only Real: Well Radio 1 does a huge amount and I’ve learnt that there are a few positives. Firstly, it keeps my label happy because they love that sort of stuff, but more importantly it’s just that reach of millions of people. They’re giving you a chance to have your song played to that many people and hopefully, if it’s good, people will like it. I’ve come across kids that have told me they found me through listening to Radio 1 and stuff like that, so it’s great really. It’s just great exposure and there are certain DJs there who seem to be into it and they rep it which is amazing.
MT: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Only Real: I’d be pretty miserable I think. Even before I was doing it as a job, it was my whole life, so I don’t really know what else I’d be able to immerse myself into. Although I think the only other thing I could be good at is joining the circus. I could imagine myself enjoying that and I enjoyed going there as a kid. But I’m quite happy with the music, so I think I’ll stick to that!
MT: Have you got a musical guilty pleasure or a band/artist that people wouldn’t expect you to listen to?
Only Real: I love Taylor Swift! I really, really love Taylor Swift! I think she’s amazing and I think that’s something that people might not think I’d listen to, so some of my fans may be a bit surprised by that. But at the same time I think loads of people do just love her, so it’s by no means a guilty pleasure because I’d tell anyone!
You can grab a copy of The Jerk At The End Of The Line on iTunes here and make sure you’re following Only Real on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with all the latest from the man himself!
Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno
Matt Tarr
Latest posts by Matt Tarr (see all)
- WATCH: Gigslutz Spotlight presents… Jammin - July 21, 2016
- PREMIERE: Drey Cheekz teams up with SNE for ‘New Girl’ - June 24, 2016
- LISTEN: Chase & Status unveil new track ‘Spoken Word’ featuring George The Poet - June 20, 2016
