Interview with Saoirse Casey

Interview with Saoirse Casey

Get out your pen and notepad and stick this name down on your 'One to Watch' page. With an incredibly unique voice, style and the ability to formulate exquisite lyrics, it won't be long until Saoirse Casey is making headlines.

I recently chatted to her following the premiere of Keith Plunkett's music video for his new single 'Hold On' which we both feature in as leads (I dont think acting is my thing), but nonetheless, here's what she had to say.

"Music was always something I cared about but I don’t know about it being an eventuality. I was encouraged to learn instruments and I was very stubborn I think. My mom tried to teach me keyboard when I was around 10 or 11 and I just wasn’t dedicated at all.. I get a little annoyed at that because now I’m piano obsessed and it would have been great to have started learning back then."

Saoirse is actually the daughter of the hugely popular and successful Irish singer/songwriter, Paddy Casey and she claims he has influenced her greatly, but not in the traditional sense of the term!

"Hmm… I’m not sure he influenced me in the way I play or write, but seeing him play his songs for people as I grew up and going to his gigs was and is a very special thing to me. I was and am very proud of him. Yes, he influences me now. Some of his advice includes ‘’Don’t be a musician’’ and ‘’Don’t date musicians’’. He’s actually forbidden me to date anyone till I’m 30 years old!!"

So at the age of 19, it seems Saoirse has a while to wait yet until she can search for the man of her dreams but at 17, she made a life-changing decision. She left school and focused more and more on her music.

"I have no idea if leaving school was the right thing to do.. I still feel like a baby bird. I think time will tell? It did feel right though. I don’t think it’s for everyone. There was a lot of great things about the school I went to but getting up in the mornings just wasn’t working for me. Just kidding. I don’t regret anything yet. There’s a great quote by someone somewhere ‘’Do it or don’t do it. you will regret both’’ I'm just going to try my best." 

For anyone who has heard Casey's music before, you will be well aware of her captivating lyrics and ability to paint a picture in the listener's mind. But where do the ideas for her songs come from?

"All my songs are personal in an impersonal way. I do try to cloud the truth a little bit, just because the details aren’t very important. They start with a feeling, and the story can come from there. The stories might not be true but at the same time they are. I think the word for that is allegory, but that makes me think of the bible!!

The young artist claims that she is really enjoying the experience of gigging and performing in front of larger audiences but admits she is unsure as to what the future holds for her from a musical point of view.

"The word career scares me..but I would like to keep playing music for a long time. There’s so much to learn, and thats so exciting. As for getting signed, well, thats also a bit of a scary term. I can’t imagine a businessman/woman seeing something sellable in me. Can I just go live in the forest and hold concerts for the woodland animals? I hear they’re a very attentive audience."

Well the woodland animals will be glad to hear that she does have one particular project she is focused on;

"I'm hoping to release my album in Spring 2016, and this week I'm playing support for Declan O'Rourke in St.David's Church in Naas. I'm really looking forward to that." 

And finally... I asked where people could find out more about Saoirse Casey and/or listen to her music and she gave me this response.. See if you can make sense of it!!

"Of course, you can find me sometimes on the moon. There’s this beautiful jazz bar there, where I sing at. Mostly covers, you know, like The Cure and Simon and Garfunkel. Or you could check my Facebook page and youtube… or my website. Cue website link… www.saoirse-music.tumblr.com :) I would be very happy if someone liked my music, and wanted to come see me play."

EOIN!