Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Over the last decade, Ryan McMullan has toured around the world, released a string of critically acclaimed EPs and been championed by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Foy Vance and Gary Lightbody.  The one thing that has evaded the Down singer-songwriter is a debut album – but last Friday, after years of scheduled and postponed releases, the LP finally arrived.

Redesign has gone through a series of iterations, but it arrives now, ten love songs long, accompanied by a list of live dates that includes Monroe’s Tavern on April 15 of next year.

“It nearly didn’t get released,” McMullan says. “There was a point where I really just wanted to start back. We’ve actually written another album that we’re beginning to record here in December.

“There was a conversation to be had, of do we just forget this album and move on? I listened to it and as I listened to it, it weirdly resonated that time around than it ever did before.

“I listened to it five days in a row and, after the fifth day, I was like look, it deserves its chance. A lot of people had invested in it – their time and their effort. It would be a disservice to everybody to scrap it and move on.

“I’m just glad that it got its chance and people gave it the time and space to come out at the right time. I’m so grateful for everybody for their patience, and so thankful for the album for sticking by for so long.”

In the last couple of years, McMullan took an overdue break from music for his mental health. He’d endured enforced time off during Covid but making his own decision to step back was crucial to understanding what he wanted from his music long-term.

“There’s a lot to be said for standing still for a minute and taking a break,” he says. “I had to figure out what it is I want. Whenever this album was supposed to originally come out, I just hadn’t got a clue. I was just throwing it at the wall and hoping it stuck.

Pictured: Ryan McMullan…debut album and Galway date next April.