Robert recently gave an interview to his label Matchbox Recordings UK, which is set to feature on their website. You can read the transcript below.

What made you decide to start a career in music, tell us a bit about your history to date?

I asked my mum for a keyboard for my birthday at the age of 7. A year before that I had started in Billy Barry stage school in Ireland – it’s the biggest and most well known of it’s kind here – sort of like Ireland’s answer to Sylvia Young. When I got the keyboard for my birthday I realised I’d need lessons. I started lessons at 8 and continued until I was 19. I knew all along at the back of my mind that a career in music was my ideal, and I knew that there were lots of different areas within the industry, it was just a matter of finding the right one for me. I was a keyboard teacher at one point a few years ago too – so that was a whole different career in music. I enjoyed it, but I knew that I wanted to perform, and that distracted me. I believe if you’re not 100% in something, you might as well not bother at all.

Who or what are your influences?

George Michael is the artist that first comes to mind. I love his passion; his vocals are so delicate and incredibly emotive. Also the fact that he’s written the vast majority of his lyrics is a big plus – I feel that when you listen to a singer, singing their own songs, telling their own story, there’s nothing quite like it. Dido is another major influence on me. I like her simple story telling. Songs like “Thank You”, “Here With Me” and “White Flag” are just so raw and true-to-life. I also adore Alanis Morrisette. The detail in her songs is amazing, she manages somehow to say everything that she needs to say, and it’s so crazy, yet I can relate to most of what she’s saying.

What modern artists do you like? What's the music scene like in Ireland at the moment?

I’m very much into a new artist named Imogen Heap at the moment. She’s becoming more mainstream through having her music played on The OC but her album “Speak For Yourself” is fantastic. It’s a mixture of Pop, Rock and Electronica – actually the style that I’m most interested in right now. I also love two American rock bands called Nada Surf and Death Cab For Cutie. They’re without doubt the most played bands on my iPod. Right now in Ireland, the charts contain a lot of edgy pop songs. Pure pop to an extent doesn’t sell all that well anymore, like Rachel Stevens for instance, but the likes of the Sugababes are still doing well thanks to their clever pop songs. And then there’s Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, that sort of thing. It wouldn’t be my cup of tea but I respect what they do and they do it very well. There’s quite a few singer-songwriters on the scene here at the moment too. I think people are finally realising that the charts simply can’t go on to be filled with you know, five X Factor contestants every time there’s a new season.

If you could choose to record a song with any other artist/band alive or dead who would it be and why?

Dido. Without doubt…I would love to write and record a song together. She just blows my mind. I know so many people call her “bland” and “middle of the road” but they’re referring to the genre of easy listening. It isn’t made to dance to in clubs. It’s for your living room, but that doesn’t mean the music and the lyrics aren’t quality.

What inspires you to write your music/lyrics?

I become inspired at the most inconvenient times. It started at school…I’d be walking home in the rain reflecting and all of a sudden I’d have a lyric embedded in my brain. Now I could be out having drinks with friends and I’m only short of saying, “excuse me, I have to go write a new song now”. Sometimes relationships and issues that my friends are going through inspire me, and sometimes it’s things that are going on in my own life. I find that the best time for me to write is when I’m feeling really strongly about something. That’s when I have something to say. I’ll never sit down and try to write, or pick a topic to write about. It just doesn’t work like that at all.

Name your all time fave track by another artist?

”I Can’t Make You Love Me” by George Michael. It’s perfect. The music sets the mood, and the lyric is so convincing. I zone out when I hear that song. That’s the way I want to touch people with my songs – and that’s why I feel the need to be nothing but completely honest when I’m writing. No cover-ups, no clichés, just be real.

What sort of sound can we expect from your forthcoming album? Have you had any good reviews yet?

I started recording this album in August last year (2005) and the sound I was going for was Acoustic Pop, but since then I’ve been listening to a lot more American Rock like Death Cab For Cutie, so I want to incorporate elements of that sound, together with subtle Electronica – think William Orbit’s work on Madonna’s Ray Of Light. I want the sort of album that you can have in the background to a dinner-party, the sort you can drive to, and most importantly the sort you can sit and listen to whilst doing nothing in your bedroom. Hotpress ran a good review for my song “Ten Years Time”. Usually the magazine, which is huge in Ireland, is quite harsh on artists. When I heard my publicist at the time had sent the track in to be reviewed, I was a nervous wreck. I wanted my first review to be positive and I expected Hotpress would slate me, but to my delight they said that I was a “top honours singer-songwriter”, and compared it to Ben Folds. I was astonished. I couldn’t have asked for a better review from a magazine of its calibre.

What are your ambitions for your music? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I want to establish myself as a respected and well-known artist. In five years I would hope to have released at least two proper studio albums. I see a lot of relatively new artists who leave three and four years between their album releases. I understand this with artists who have been around for several years, but I think I’d feel the need to keep up the pace once I’d had success. I’d also like to write for other artists, and to have my music used on a soundtrack would be nice. I would like to have toured globally, at least in the UK and Ireland, and Europe. Whether I was playing arenas, theatres or pubs, it wouldn’t bother me. I just want the chance to perform my music, and to have an audience listen willingly.

How would you describe your music and what genre do you think it fits into?

My music stylistically borrows from lots of different genres. I like the Electronica and Pop fusion, like All Saints “Black Coffee” and Madonna’s “Ray Of Light” album, hints of this can be heard in my music, where I’ve used keyboards together with a live band, to create some conflict and have something interesting happening. The songs are solid Pop-Rock songs – they have the real instruments and organic production of Rock music, but at the core you will find a catchy Pop melody. People have said there are traces of Soul in some of my tracks too.

Where is your forthcoming album being recorded and who is producing?

It’s all a work in progress. So far I’ve recorded everything in Dublin, Ireland. I’ve recorded demos with lots of producers, but most of those will probably never see the light of day! I recorded a track with Billy Farrell, who has worked with The Corrs on a number of occasions, and that will certainly make the album, as will my first single, which was produced by Steve Hogan and Fionan DeBarra. I’m working again with Steve and Fionan on more tracks for the album. We work well together; we all bring something to each track. Steve is relatively new to production, but comes from a musical background, having been a drummer for a great number of years, so that’s a plus. He’s played with everyone from Damien Rice to LeAnn Rimes. Fionann has worked with Moya Brennan from Clannad on her solo material, and he’s the main producer on her new album. He’s a very talented guy, and I can see us working together in the future. I’m keeping my options open to working with other producers too, but I don’t want to work with too many different people – I don’t want the album to sound confused and lack continuity. I have a clear vision of the album I want to create.