Gareth Dunlop Embraces Spontaneity as He Looks Back on Belfast Childhood

Belfast singer-songwriter Gareth Dunlop has said he is embracing spontaneity more than ever as he enters what he describes as an exciting new chapter in his career.

The Belfast-born musician returns with his latest single, Freewheeling, a deeply personal reflection on childhood, memory and the strange experience of growing older while still carrying earlier versions of yourself.

For Dunlop, the song was sparked by a seemingly ordinary drive around his old Belfast neighbourhood, where the sight and sound of children playing in the streets transported him back to his own childhood.

“I feel like I have a thousand songs in me about looking back,” says Dunlop, who brought the new song home for an intimate Belfast show before heading out on tour with Crash Test Dummies in October.

You’ve had a really creative run of releases over the past year. How are you feeling about this current chapter of your career?

I’m feeling excited and like there are new creative doors opening… I’m leaving a lot more up to chance these days… on stage and in the studio. Things that I maybe would have held onto and sweated over for too long are getting out there into the world and the live shows are becoming much more improvised which has led to some interesting corners musically. 

Your new single Freewheeling is a very reflective song about memory, childhood and growing older. What was the moment when you realised there was a song in those feelings?

I feel like I have a thousand songs in me about looking back. Nostalgia has always been a powerful feeling in my life and it gets triggered all the time by such small everyday things. I think the distance between what once was and what is now is such a fertile space to write from. There’s lots to think about… and lots to pull from. 

Do you think you’ve become more comfortable with vulnerability as a songwriter as your career has progressed?

I hope so… I think that’s where the best songs come from, from all song-writers. When you’re vulnerable and honest - it’s authentic. Whether the song is good or bad doesn’t really come into it when you write from that place. At least that’s how I feel about it. 

When you look back at the young musician you started out as, what do you think that version of yourself would make of where you are today?

I think he’d be amazed at the opportunities, connections, friendships and life experiences that have come from making music. I think he’d be proud too. 

What do you remember most vividly about the young Gareth growing up in Belfast? Was music always the thing that made you feel like yourself?

I remember a lot of trying to find ‘my thing’ when I was a kid… i was a skater for a few months before I realised I hated it…then table tennis for a while before dropping out… then swimming… then something else that would inevitably get forgotten about. Music was the first thing that really got a hold of me. As soon as my fingers started moving a bit easier on the neck of the guitar it became this obsession to surround myself with it. I always loved listening to music but being able to play it was like learning a new secret language that not many people around me knew. It became ‘my thing’ 

You’ve spoken about driving around your old neighbourhood and being hit by memories for Freewheeling. What was it about returning to those streets that unlocked those emotions?

There were kids playing out in the streets chasing each other around and laughing… just like I did with my mates. It was the view of it and the sound of it. 

Feels like a million years ago… but also just a few moments ago at the same time. 

Do you think Belfast has shaped your songwriting voice, perhaps in terms of storytelling, humour, resilience?

I’m sure it has in a lot of ways… The way folks tell their stories here - no matter how small, there’s always theatre and exaggeration in it.  Even the saddest stories sometimes have the best punchlines. 

You’ve moved between soul, folk, rock, pop and more recently some alt-R&B influences. Do you still feel like you’re experimenting and discovering new sides of yourself musically?

Always… Most of my songs start out life the same way - on a blank page with a guitar in my hands. It’s when I get into the studio with other musicians that all the potential avenues start to open up. The smallest thing, even a mistake can send a song down a path I didn’t see before. 

The studio feels like a giant cauldron… you throw everything in, every influence, every good idea and every bad idea. It’s always amazing to hear where the songs end up.  

After so many years making music, what still excites you when you sit down to write a new song?

There’s still magic in it. You start with absolutely nothing and then there’s something there that didn’t exist before. 

You’ll be bringing Freewheeling home for an intimate Belfast show before heading out on tour with Crash Test Dummies. What does it mean to introduce new music to a hometown audience?

It’s a privilege to get the chance to play brand new songs to a home crowd. There are going to be people there who were at some of my very first shows here. People who supported and championed me from the get go… I owe those folks so much. 

Do Belfast audiences feel different from audiences elsewhere in the world?

Yeah they do! Belfast audiences have a reputation for being deeply passionate… especially for their own. If they’re enjoying themselves, you’ll know about it. And if they’re not… you’ll know that too! 

With Freewheeling, Dunlop continues to explore the space between the person he was and the person he has become, while discovering that perhaps the two aren't as far apart as they might seem.