Galway native’s home thoughts from Berlin

Kinvara native Ruth Mac has been based in Berlin for several years building her reputation as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her music has been described as slacker rock – laid back and wistful in its atmosphere but textured and highly detailed in the instrumentation.

Ruth’s 2021 EP Living Room, written and recorded between Kinvara and Germany, was lauded by the likes of Hot Press and The Last Mixed Tape.

Next Thursday. October 5, she is set to release Home from Home – a melodic and warm new single that chronicles a trip back to Ireland that left her feeling out of place in once familiar surroundings.

Many of Ruth’s formative years were spent in Dublin and the track touches on the huge changes that have run through the city in her absence.

“I wrote it having been away from Dublin for at least three years,” Ruth recalls.

“I come back to Ireland fairly regularly and you always get that very warm feeling returning back home. This time it was during the lockdown, so it was all very weird anyway.

“Dublin was very quiet, and I was just roaming around, and it was my first time thinking I don’t feel at home in this city anymore.

“Dublin had gone through so much change physically. It’s become a more difficult place to live in and a lot of people have left for different reasons. So, it was a feeling of oh, maybe my time in Dublin is in the past.”

There has been an exodus of young creatives from Ireland over the last decade amid the housing crisis and a rising cost of living. While Ruth didn’t feel forced out of the country, it was no longer feeling like a place for her to explore her music and live comfortably.

Pictured: New single...Kinvara native Ruth Mac’s latest release.