TPOE 341 Ramper

The Point of Everything

Declan McClafferty aka Ramper released his debut solo album Loner on March 7. Formerly a member of the award-winning Donegal band In Their Thousands, along with his brother, Declan is a session musician who plays as part of Ryan McMullan’s band. He says of Loner: "It’s about lots of things. About my childhood growing up and feeling the wheel go around when I had children of my own and I was on the other side. About the characters I grew up around and the way of life they had that’s almost unrecognisable now. It’s a reminder to keep things simple. I made it for the love of making music. Starting with nothing but ideas and ending up with 10 things that paint a bigger picture is a great lesson. Anything else that’s come along after that is a bonus - and I’m grateful for it all!" Press release: Loner is an apt name for the album; Ramper played every instrument on the LP, which he recorded and self-produced over six months at his own home studio during stolen moments when his sons were napping. The record was mixed by Daniel Ball (Chubby Cat, Ryan McMullan) and mastered by Richard Dowling (David Bowie, Sinead O’Connor). Ramper takes the best of primal rural simplicity and transports it into the future whilst telling the stories of our past and ever-changing present. Based on a childhood lived before the internet and in the Irish language first, Ramper captures those moments in time that are almost so simple you may not notice them at first, but when you let them settle hold a beauty that cuts through the noise. Much of his music ruminates on the slow erosion of our language and culture: “It’s not a right-wing approach that things should be conserved and locked down, or that other cultures are not welcome. It’s a lament that the culture of a place and skills like weaving, fishing or boat building are lost, while the people who should be carrying that on are in Australia and priced out of returning.” Loner’s songs, adorned with woozy pedal steel and deftly fingerpicked guitar, are about the peace of rural living (‘Cold in the Morning’, ‘Back to the Start’), the drawn-out death of Irish traditions (‘EYES’), the struggle to accept depression (‘Pale as the Moon’), the satisfaction of a job well done (‘If You Want a Good Dream’, ‘Promised’), his culture shock upon moving to Brighton for college (‘I Can’t Pretend’) and the many lessons McClafferty learned from his neighbours growing up in Donegal. These neighbours populate the songs, bringing rich colour along with them—like the “real quiet character” on ‘Cold in the Morning’. McClafferty remembers her as “humble and kind, but not very confident. This song is remembering her and putting her at the centre of the narrative for maybe the first time.” Or there are the two very different men on the penultimate track ‘Don’t Forget to Look Up’. “One worked every hour that was sent his way until he eventually accepted retirement and the other read books, smoked cigarettes and was an alcoholic. I attended both of their funerals in the same week,” McClafferty recalls. “This song is trying to zoom out from what a life is and realise the importance of balance. Both these characters would have changed things I think.”