NATHAN O'Regan is a name that may be on many music lovers' lips over the next few months. The Cork-born singer songwriter who is now based in Northern Ireland has just released a stunning new track entitled Like Never Before and it is a song that that is instantly memorable, highly melodic and possesses that very rare quality of sounding like one huge chorus from start to finish.
Co-written by local musical luminary Gareth Dunlop, Like Never Before richly deserves to be consumed by as big an audience as possible. Nathan tells me that the track helped to write itself.
“It was one of those songs that came quite easily, to be honest. I had a tune and some chords in my head for ages that really just needed to come out and when Gareth and I sat down together and he contributed to it, it just rolled out. A real pleasure to write in fact and sometimes the good songs do come easily. That’s maybe the trick.”
Nathan has a powerful, soulful voice but with a rocky edge. It’s a voice that reaches far beyond his years and oozes confidence and character. Like Never Before allows that vocal to flow and the song’s arrangement and delivery is reminiscent of the work of classic songwriters.
On that note, I put it to him that while he undoubtedly has an individual musical identity, I can definitely detect a distinct whiff of Springsteen emanating from the song.
“Well, I’ll totally take that as a compliment. I am a huge Springsteen fan. I love the way he writes and the manner in which he structures his songs. It’s hard to stop your influences coming out in your work although I would never set out to try and sound like someone… but I guess spending many nights watching Bruce’s four hour concerts may have rubbed off. I’m happy with that.”
Nathan certainly has plenty of great songs in his repertoire but there is no doubting the quality and potential commercial appeal of this single – a sentiment shared by the artist himself.
“It does feel great to have come up with what I personally feel is a very strong track and something of which I’m really proud. If other people get into it too well that really is a bonus . I think Gareth and I did a pretty good job on it.”
I think so too and let’s hope Like Never Before puts this rising star firmly on the map.
