THE HOUSE OF DUNLOP

There’s more to making a live album than meets the eye, or ear, as Will Macnab attests in a case study of soundtracking singer-songwriter Gareth Dunlop

- Gareth Dunlop

Built in the early 70s and barely touched since, a house sits on the County Down coast and on the edge of Strangford Lough, a stretch of water where the Irish Sea breathes in and out with the tide. Just along the coast, the 15th century ruins of Kilclief Castle watch over the headland, and the only sounds most days are the wind coming off the sea and the murmur of the waves. Inside, time seems to have stood still, the thick, faded carpets and retro furniture silent witness to times past. The floorboards creak underfoot, and the wide windows drink in the coastal light. All is still. Removed. A quiet and secluded place where everything slows down. Within this retreat, Belfast-born singer, songwriter and producer Gareth Dunlop found a special something that he didn't know he was looking for.

Dunlop first came to the house while making his 2022 Welcome To The House Of I Don’t Know. It served as a sanctuary between sessions, somewhere to decompress, pass the guitar around and let the dust settle. A backdrop for slow conversations and long listening sessions, it's the place where the album quietly began to take root. Dunlop's reputation as a songwriter reaches far beyond his native Northern Ireland, his music echoing through hit TV dramas such as Nashville, This Is Us, Lucifer and Suits, and his distinctive voice, equal parts gravel and grace, has been compared to Dylan, Waits and Van Morrison. But while