Síomha Brock, the owner of a distinctive jazz-inflected voice, plays The Kings Head on Thursday, February 16 when she will be joined by a full band to launch her self-title debut EP.

The 24-year-old from Ennis has been enamoured with music for quite a while.

“I was always playing music from a very young age,” Síomha recalls. “I was luckily given the opportunity by my parents to learn a few instruments – piano, flute and violin. In my teens, I started to take up the guitar.

“I got really into The Beatles,” she adds. “And I loved all the female folk singers – Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. I just took to the female vocalists – Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday.”

It’s not just Síomha’s voice that sets her apart – she’s also an accomplished jazz guitarist. How did she come to learn this challenging, nuanced way of playing the six-string?

“I was about to move to Australia, but pulled out of it last minute and went to France instead,” she says. “I studied in the south of France, under a gypsy jazz guitarist. He was an Italian guy, played all over the south doing that Django Reinhart style.

“It took me away from the vocal side of jazz into the instrumental. And probably the appeal to me was I play acoustic guitar and that’s done with more acoustic instruments. I studied for six months and then came back to Ireland, and that’s when it really started to kick off.”

Playing jazz in the sunny climate of Southern France sounds a pretty idyllic way to spend six months.

“It was great,” says Síomha. “Apart from anything else, there are so many musicians in the south of France. So many different festivals and such a flow of people; it’s great just even as a spectator. Joining in occasionally at sessions too– I wouldn’t have been as good as them but I tried my best.”

Upon returning home, Síomha was asked to sing with the Black Magic Big Band, one of the most established and well known jazz bands in Galway.

“That was my first time ever really performing jazz. That would’ve been about two years ago. They had a drummer, Danny Byrt, from Ennis. He had seen me doing my regular gig in Ennis and got in touch with me.”

Now, after singing other people’s songs for a few years, Síomha is concentrating on her own work. Her EP will hopefully give her some deserved exposure on a national level.

“I recorded the EP last August in Ennis,” she says. “I had the songs for a long time, and over the last year had started to play them with a full band. I thought these might be worthwhile recording. I had Danny Byrt, Eoin Judge on guitar, who’s a long term friend of mine, and a bass player called Karl Clews. I decided to go for it.”

A hometown show in Cruise’s, Ennis, saw Síomha air her new songs. The EP was launched by Saw Doctor Leo Moran.

“Leo’s kind of been a mentor of mine for the last couple of years,” Síomha explains. “We were put in touch with each other through a mutual friend in Tuam. I supported the Saw Doctors in Limerick. He always keeps in touch and checks in to see how everything’s going.
“He’s given me advice, anything he can to help and pointed me in the right direction. He’s great to sit over a cup of coffee with and have a chat. He’s a very down to earth guy.”

Síomha is currently living in Cork, where she is studying Music Management and Sound at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.