5 Songs I Love w/ M'ADAM

We were delighted to sit down with Irish artist M'ADAM upon the release of his new single 'It's you' to find out more about the influences behind his sound. Be sure to check out the track at the bottom and follow him along on his journey! But first, a couple of words from the artist himself:

"It is hard to pin down what makes tracks influential and why, but here are five tracks that we referenced throughout the process of recording my second album "Before We Die” , which is out on vinyl on July 25th and being released digitally in August. There are a lot of Americana influences and the process of creating the album was very reflective and introspective, I think these songs reflect this."

True Love - Hovvdy (2021)

When I first heard this song, I really enjoyed how full it was, it just felt warm and the chorus “You comfort me, Rosie” really pulled me out of a funk I was in at the time. It reminds me of that end of summer energy, the sun setting and a true feeling of connectedness. I like how the vocals interact in harmony and unison, but also how they use them in between chorus and verses in a very subtle way. The texture of the song throughout is like a big hug. I look to this song to remind me to write more happy and uplifting music.

Wintersong - Blake Mills (2010)

When we were recording “A song” , my first release this year from the upcoming album, myself, Kealan Kenny and Eoin Barclay who all contributed to the song, spent a lot of time listening to Blake Mills. The almost broken sound in this song has become a real influence for me. The raw, almost unedited sound of the drums, guitar and bass at the start in particular for me really draws you in. I go to this sound to remind myself that I too can sometimes sound broken and turn the dial too far and it can sound great and feel right. We ended up recording backing vocals in a tiled bathroom on “A song” I think in part because we felt we could sound a little broken.

True Blue - boygenius (2023)

When I first heard this song, I cried. The chorus “It feels good, to be known, so well. I can’t hide from you, like I hide from myself” for me gives you the licence to feel vulnerable knowing, at least for me at least, that someone is there for you and how beautiful it is to have someone who is always there for you. There's something about the staging and the dynamics in the song and the steadiness of the vocal, it's gentle, like someone speaking to you and how the way the song and its harmony unfolds throughout. I remember saying to my wife that if I could ever write a song like this and make others feel the way it made me feel when I first heard it, I would have made a great song.

Morning - Beck (2014)

When I first decided to make an album and not an EP, myself and Kealan would oftentimes reference the start of the “Morning Phase” album and I know what we really liked was how the song “Morning” seemed to have everything it needed and still be a very low tempo song. I have been criticised by one of my sisters (lovingly) for not having faster songs. I really like the instrumentation in this song and how a lot of thought has gone into arranging it to keep us moving seamlessly throughout an experience even if it's a slow one.

Hannah Sun - Lomelda (2020)

I find that I connect with songs when they make me see the movie in the mundane, the story that an artist is conveying and how it feels like we listen to their story and paint our own version of it in our heads. I had a lot of songs during the pandemic that made me feel like this but I always come back to this song. I really like how this song ebbs and flows and is very reflective repeating “Hannah do no harm” at the end. I also think for me sometimes you can try and say a big thing with a big voice, big instrumentation etc. I love how delicate the vocal is in this song, against a minimalist accompaniment that is exactly what it needs to be. This song reminds me to keep it simple and to deliver a message sometimes you do not need a massive sound.

M'ADAM - It's you (2025)