Ex-Ten Speed Racer guitarist Joe Chester is basking in the success of his first solo album. It was time to put up or shut up, he tells Jim Carroll

If Joe Chester had his way, he would still be in the studio. Still hunched over the desk, still letting his fingers glide over faders and buttons, still honing and embellishing tunes, still working on the album on which he had already spent three years. Production psychosis maybe, but if it weren't for Chester's manager telling him to stop fecking around and hand over the album, A Murder of Crows might still be on studio tape rather than CD.

Today, suited and booted in a Dublin hotel bar, Chester can afford to smile about his reluctance to let go of the album. Since its release earlier this year, A Murder of Crows has built up a fine head of steam thanks to radio airplay (Today FM's Tom Dunne was an early champion) and, best of all, word-of-mouth excitement.

It's a rare one, an album people discover by falling for its tender charms and then falling head over heels in love with what they hear. A modern alternative pop gem, the album boasts intelligent songwriting, sparkling melodies and a burning if somewhat humble confidence in its own abilities.

You can spot Chester's previous form as a producer in its textures and contours, but you can also spy a talented songwriter bursting to get out of the shadows.

Chester has spent most of his career as a guitarist with a rake of Irish acts, most prominently Ten Speed Racer and Nina Hynes. Having done a sound engineering course many moons ago, Chester found himself drifting into the studio control booth and working with the likes of Future Kings of Spain, Sack and Miriam Ingram.

"It's easier to be the producer than be the singer," he says. "It's not your stuff, you can't become obsessed about it. You don't even have to put your own name on it. I had built up some experience as a producer, so it was a comfort zone, like being the guitar player in a band, writing songs but not having to shoulder the responsibility for them."

Nonetheless, Chester found aspects of the production game difficult to handle. "I don't think I was a very good producer to begin with because I did find it very hard to relinquish control. I had to learn how to shut up and then you learn more by making mistakes and losing friends. It's more about personal relationships than technical issues. Really, you're there to facilitate someone in making their record and I found it hard to do that."

Chester started working on A Murder of Crows while Ten Speed Racer were recording their last studio album. He says his album would have been released even if the band had stayed together. But, like so many Irish acts in the recent past, Ten Speed Racer decided to apply the brakes.

"Creatively, everyone felt a little disenchanted, everyone wanted to do something else. We had been together for four or five years and there seemed to be a glass ceiling in terms of how far we could progress with that kind of music. I'm always careful about pointing the finger of blame at anyone but ourselves for what happened. It's very hard to keep bands together and to keep the motivation going for that long, and I think we were ready to move on."

For Chester, his own album was about challenging himself. "When you're in an indie band, there's always an escape clause. You don't have to sell loads of records or be successful because you're in an indie band. I wanted to challenge myself, and not just in how I was writing songs. I didn't want there to be anywhere I could hide, be it by using that indie mentality or a band name or hiding as a producer."

The reaction to the album has certainly boosted his self-confidence. "In my head, there's a sense that I have finally stepped up to the plate. So far no one has kicked the head off me, so I'm happy to keep going. Of course, someone will come along and kick you in the head, but you'll deal with that when it happens."

For now, he's keen to work the Irish beat. "Ten Speed Racer didn't really care about the reaction in Ireland, but I do. I don't want to fuck off to the UK and start touring until I put in the work here. There is nothing to keep me here, but being successful here would mean a lot to me."

It's a fine position to be in, especially when a few years ago Chester thought he'd never play music again. He had just returned from touring the US with Nina Hynes and took a job in a restaurant. "I was tired of breaking my bollox and getting nothing in return and having no sense of ownership. I was also fed up with not having the money to pay the rent and having to move back home to live at the age of 27."

Five years later, it's a very different Chester who is preparing for his first solo Irish tour. He attributes the change to retaining control. "It's a hugely personal project for me, material wise and the process that went into it, and I think I'm the best person to control it. It's still not something which comes easily to me, but I think there's no point in doing anything unless it's a challenge."

Naturally, he's already thinking ahead to the next album. He wants someone else to produce it to make sure it gets finished. His songwriting, too, is developing and he's looking for new angles and inspirations. The other day, he bought the Gershwin songbook and has already begun to delve into it.

"I'm starting to get a little afraid - is this where I'm going?" Many will be glad to go the distance with him.

A Murder of Crows is on BARP Records. Joe Chester starts an Irish tour in Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick on April 29th. www.joechester.com