Gavin James: ‘The new songs are upbeat but not all happy, thank God’

Gavin James touched down from LA only two days before we speak over Zoom and is fresh from a round of in-person TV and radio promos in Dublin for his upcoming tour. He sips on his red wine with the company of his beloved lurcher. The dog companion was named so after James and his “missus” attended a Springsteen gig in Croke Park in 2016.

“All my mates are over there, they’re writing songs and DJing,” he says of his recent trip to the US. “I went to see DJ Dillon Francis in Vegas. I was very happy that my [credit] cards got blocked, so I didn’t end up doing any gambling. We went to the Yucca Valley, which was amazing — right next to Joshua Tree.”

One of his closest friends is multi-platinum songwriter, producer and musician Dan Dare, who is also known in musical circles as SLANG. The pair have collaborated on James’s new album, which should be released towards the end of this year. “We write a lot of songs together. Previously, we wrote All For You. I jumped in on some sessions in America with him and other musicians,” he says. “I usually just write at home here with the dog.”

As a successful artist, James is no stranger to travel himself, although it is clear that he remains well rooted in Ireland, and north Dublin specifically. “I used to live in Viking Road, Stoneybatter, and then we moved up to Ashington. I also went to London for a couple of years. My dad has just sent me a message [from Portugal on holiday] saying ‘One euro pints!”

James aired some of his latest material at the recent Marquee gig in Cork. They seem to have gone down well: “It was great — such a buzz, such an energy. The tent is louder than it should be for that amount of people. When they sing along, one person sounds like 10, it’s amazing. I tried loads of new songs. It’s tricky placing them where you want to place them, but you can never do two in a row.”

The fresh tracks that he’s been rolling out live have a rockier edge, which goes back to his love of heavy rock when he was growing up. “There are a lot more electric guitars and solos, so they are fun to play,” he says. “When I was younger, I used to be in Zeppelin tribute bands. I would try and do the solo from Since I’ve Been Loving You and sing it at the same time — it was a f***ing nightmare.”

Recording for the new album took place in Black Mountain Studios near Dundalk and was “a blast”, he says. The album features past collaborators Alex ‘Trombanjo’ Borwick and Ollie Green, who produced Always for him. That song achieved ‘diamond’ status [above platinum] in Brazil after regularly being played in the hit TV series Pega Pega.

New song White Noise, unveiled late last year, is a summery banger that he wrote with Green in London. It did concern me that this song would be an indicative of, dare I say it, a more optimistic sounding Gavin James. He quickly puts me at ease: “White Noise is definitely a bit more upbeat, but there are definitely some sad as f**k songs on the album as well. They’re not all really happy, thank God.”

No title has been decided for the new album. I asked him to give an insight into what we can expect. “There’s loads of death metal stuff on it, I can’t wait,” he says. “There are definitely a few songs on it that are nothing like I’ve done before.”

Speaking of new directions, I’m curious to know if he would ever divert his songwriting in a more political direction. However, despite his love of Bob Dylan, he is uncertain if the would: “If it ever falls upon me to write something about politics, I will. So far, I’ve never really delved into it too much but it may come to a point when it’s too much in our lives to not write about that.”

He was one of a host of Irish musicians who boycotted the SXSW festival in Texas after the discovery of the arts festival’s sponsorship by the US army.

“Kneecap [from Belfast] were the first lads to cop it,” he says. “It’s mental, because music and supporting war should not be side by side. Any music festival should not have an affiliation with anything that kills anyone. It’s very f***ing strange for a music festival to sign up to that. Music should be about spreading peace.”

We go off on a brief tangent to chat about his secret recipe for perfect scrambled eggs (30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, bit of crème fraîche, apparently) and his new tattoo, which his partner has mirrored — a Peter Pan hat on their wrists, dedicated to staying forever young. This accompanies his other forearm tattoos — one of them a lyric from a Counting Crows song, Color Blind, a band that his dad introduced him to as a kid.

Back on message again, we discuss his upcoming gig at Trinity College on July 3. I inform him that he is playing Dublin on the same night as Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks, who is at the 3Arena. His response: “Ah, f**k off! B****cks — I am going on early.”

Northerner Ryan McMullan will be supporting him and Gavin is complimentary of the Co Down singer: “I never played with Ryan before, but I remember seeing his video of the cover of Streets of New York [by The Wolfe Tones] — f***ing hell. He used to do that song in Temple Bar. He’s incredible, I’m buzzing about that.”

James will celebrate his 33rd birthday the same week as the Trinity show. He’s in the mood for an after-party, but has his reservations — “I’ll probably bring everyone back to the gaff after the gig.”

A decade after getting signed by major labels in the US and Europe, James seems to be in a great place. Last year, he signed a global deal with Sony Music Worldwide.

Although I am delighted to hear that all is well in the world of Gavin James, it’s good to know that another signature song about despair and loss isn’t too far away. As Gavin agrees: “You gotta have some heartache there. They are the songs that are gonna fall out a lot easier. It’s very hard to write a good, happy song”.

• Gavin James plays the Trinity Summer Series on July 3 with Ryan McMullan. Gavin also is appearing at the Galway International Arts Festival on July 26 and is planning for a world tour in 2025

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.