It’s been a busy few years for Bangor native Mark Hegan. Since 2019, he has released no fewer than nine singles and relentlessly performed on every stage he can get his two feet on. Having fine-tuned his live performance skills in the city of London, appearing at every open mic night he could find, he is back home and moving towards the release of his debut EP – ‘Human Mind’.
I caught up with Mark to speak about the upcoming release. The Alternative singer/songwriter is looking to share a collection of songs he believes genuinely belong together. Six tracks that will showcase him at his best. It promises to take us from the energetic, rousing choruses that beg to be sung – to the softer, more vulnerable and open moments those familiar with Mark’s music will be happy to see remain firmly at the centre of all his writing.
Let’s start simple: tell us a bit about yourself. Who is Mark Hegan?
Cool. Okay, so I’m Mark. The music I’ve been producing and writing myself over the last few years is like – a big indie rock pop sort of thing – but with heart. I think that’s the best way that I can describe it. You know, sometimes when people who write their songs talk about their stuff, they are so far up their own…you know – they can’t see the wood for trees, so I guess I let other people make up their minds on it. I don’t want to sound like a moron talking about it, but that’s it.
I’ve seen a previous article you featured on. In it, you were talking about your influences. You mentioned Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Snow Patrol, and Van Morrison, musicians who are storytellers at their core. What is it about that style of music that appeals to you?
I’m not sure. There are just these moments in songs, sometimes from the lyrics. The song I picked from Van Morrison, for example, ‘Rough God Goes Riding’, was a moment when I was listening to it with my girlfriend, and the lyric was “, and it’s a matter of survival / When you’re born with your back up against the wall / Won’t somebody hand me my bible? / Won’t you give me that number to call / When that rough God goes riding” – and for whatever reason, right there and then, that just hit me. It was resilient. It was just life. It was everything. It’s a guy singing and letting nothing be shielded; he’s laying it all bare, and that sort of stuff blows my mind.
Let’s talk a little about your live shows. How would you describe those?
There’s big energy in our shows! That’s what I like to think people see when they come to see us. Maybe you’ll disagree, but I think it’s the ultimate release (playing live) and why many people start playing music. It’s what me and my mates did when we were starting. We thought, ‘The ultimate is playing your live show!’. Maybe because that seemed quite achievable. Making a good recording was just – absolutely no way that could be achievable. But the live thing – that’s where me and the other guys live.
You know, you pray nothing will go wrong because so many things can. Your strings could break, the generator could blow up, all these terrible things go through your mind, but then it goes right, and there’s this moment – it’s just unbelievable, and it’s what you work hard for. We show big energy when playing, a lot of sweat, finding that energy and trying to get that moment between you and the audience, which is hard to find sometimes, but when it works, it’s the most rewarding experience ever.
We touched on your inspirations a little in general already, but I’m curious: what got you into music? I saw a video of you speaking a little about it. In it, you say that it all made sense to you when you were twelve years old at a gig. What was the gig?
It was Snow Patrol at Ward Park. You know, I guess when you’re like twelve, that’s when you’re getting obsessive about things, and music starts playing a massive part in your life. So I went to Ward Park, now, I couldn’t see shit! I’m small now, but back then, I was tiny! Everyone was heads above me. I went with some friends. I’d never been standing before; this was my second gig ever – the first being Green Day when I was ten. It just BLEW my mind.
It wasn’t just the music being great, it wasn’t just the heart in the songs, it was the fact that Gary Lightbody had so much love for his home town, and it told me that, you know, ambition, in the right place is, is so so powerful. It changed my life.
You seem to be interested in the production of songs. You do these great videos of you breaking down your songs and showing people how you create and bring them together. What is it about the production side of things that interests you? And have you any favourite producers?
It’s funny; it was just a means to an end. I wanted to make my songs, but I had no money. But also, I don’t want to spend a lot of money and not like how it’s turned out – it’s a control freak sort of thing, and that’s it. When I lived in London, I was good mates – through my brother – with Jim, who’s the bassist in Django Django, and I was talking to him about this, and he gave me a really important line, he said ‘no one will ever work harder on your music than you’. I appreciate that line. So, it was a means to an end. But then, as I continued, I started getting a real kick just playing around.
I was put off for the longest time because I thought, ‘You need to be a scientist to do that’. Or a mathematician! All these buttons, all this stuff going on, but I think everyone could do it. Of course, there are so many things to learn, so many great, great people do it. But if anyone enjoys music and has a pair of ears, they know what they like. They know the sounds they want, and they can create this and that. That’s what’s so liberating about the whole thing. I appreciate you saying that about the breakdown videos – because I feel like such a muppet sometimes doing them! But I find it so interesting.
And your favourite producers.
I love Jacknife Lee; I think he’s fantastic. The stuff he did with Snow Patrol, Two Door Cinema Club, then when he joined up with U2 in 2005 for ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’, all fantastic. Brian Eno is another. Everything he did on the Joshua Tree – just so, so incredible. Also, I quite like the production of Bleachers – Jack Antonoff.
You said there previously that you lived in London a little bit. Different city, different music scene. I’m curious if that has affected you and your music.
London was wild; I was studying there a bit, and then I worked on Denmark Street in a guitar shop, so I was surrounded by music. You know, London’s an incredibly competitive place. I would be out just with my guitar, to do open mic nights all the time – and the occasional gig when I could land one. I just went out and played and had great moments and some awful moments, too, but I learned so much. I knew what it takes in terms of the actual physical playing stuff, but also what it takes mentally. Sometimes, it was the last bloody thing I wanted to do. It’s terrifying, you’re on your own, and it’s just like – you’re getting up in this bar you’ve never been to. I learnt so much about playing to people who do not care about who you are.
I remember one night, there was this one band that I watched. It was an acoustic session, and they spoke and they shared stories about their songs. How are specific parts of their lives and journeys as musicians related to the songs? It was so powerful; there was a feeling in the room – like a movie. That’s probably my number one takeaway from London that night: how do you make each song a chapter until you touch the audience? How do you reach out and find someone in the room that wants to hear you?
So, ‘Human Mind’ – how does it feel to be releasing the EP?
It feels really good! I’ve been listening to it – which sounds stupid to say – but I’ve listened to it as a whole thing, and I think it’s nice. But then there are times I listen to it, and I go, ‘JESUS, WHAT?!’
That’s the producer in you.
Yeah! That’s it. But no, the bottom line is I’m so proud of it. I spent so much time on it. I have been releasing singles for a while now, and although I was advised not to release an EP by some solid people, I just thought certain songs did belong together. So I thought, let’s do a 6 track EP, and I’m so happy; I’m so proud that I’ve found the right songs in the correct order. I hope it talks to people in a way. That’s the ultimate job, I think, for anyone who writes songs, I guess.
Have you any favourite songs on it or any songs you’re particularly excited to play live?
Yeah! ‘Borderline’. I love that one, and it’s so much fun to play live. ‘Something Right And Something Real’, which is an old one I revamped and put strings on, is also great, great fun to play. What’s quite nice about the EP and the set is that we got those big, fun, loud ones, but then we also have some sad ones to bring it right down – which hopefully doesn’t bore the audience! – But I always wanted the set and the EP to have a dynamic range and emotional range. It starts very, BAM BAM BAM, you know? And then it goes down a bit, then I think it comes back up at the end, but then I love playing them all.
Was there any message you wanted to put across in this EP? Was there a certain mindset you had when selecting the songs for this collection?
Yeah, so I knew I wanted something solid. There were songs that people gravitated towards themselves, so I was thinking about what people might want to hear, but also what would make me happy, what would make me able to live with myself if I listened to it! So that was the balance. I think all the songs are searching for things. They are struggling with identity and place. It’s me writing from my experience of just trying to do my best in certain difficult situations. There’s a lot of sadness in it, but also a lot of resilience in the sadness, you know? I like to make songs about that.
I guess the overall message is trying to find your purpose, your place in life. I hate when people listen to sad music and find it depressing; it nullifies the music. When you’re in a sense of sadness, sometimes you need that sadness to reach your potential. So, I hope this EP does that for people. That would be the best thing.
So finally, your music has been played on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, and RTE Radio, to name a few! But tell me, how on earth did your song make its way over to New Zealand’s national news station, playing during the weather update?!
Listen, this is just what happens! I still don’t know! There is a story to that! So my brother sent it to me; he had a friend from years ago who lives in New Zealand and is married to a news anchor. So, through some social media connections, she found it! Now, the important thing is my brother had nothing to do with it, which makes me feel better about the whole thing! But yeah, they played it. It was during Covid, but it was one of those out-of-body experiences. It was as funny as it was amazing.
Sound of Belfast 2023 – Mark Hegan EP Launch – 9th Nov 2023 – Get Tickets here.
Mark Hegan’s debut EP, “Human Mind”, is available everywhere on 10th November. Preorder in digital and physical formats via Bandcamp here.
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