INTERVIEW: Niamh Casey

Teesside-born, Newcastle-based alternative folk artist Niamh Casey shares her debut EP Memories Of My Chaotic Existence this month, on which she opens up about love, family and friendship. She’s been working on the EP for a very long time and is excited to finally release these open-hearted alternative folk pop songs into the world.

Niamh started writing from a very young age and brought the songs she’s written over the years together on her debut EP. “My music is very raw and very personal to myself. In trying to find a name for it I didn’t really want to use the word diary so I settled on Memories Of My Chaotic Existence, because my life is quite a chaotic mess,” she reveals. “Each song is a memory of what happened, the highs and lows of relationships, about friendship and family. I’ve written these songs at different points in my life, from aged 16 to nearly 25 now.”

I found it very hard to express emotions and talk about them, writing about them helped.

Her family has always supported her and been a great inspiration for her music. “I wrote one of the songs on the EP about my dad. He’s a big music lover and he showed me loads of music growing up. I’ve not stopped singing ever since I was a kid, so ever since then my mum and dad wanted to put me in music school where I learned how to play the guitar and the piano, and found the release of writing and being able to get all my thoughts out on paper. I found it very hard to express emotions and talk about them, writing about them helped.”

On Memories Of My Chaotic Existence we clearly hear those that have inspired Niamh from a young age: “People like Adele inspired me, my writing style is similar ballad-wise, I love a ballad. Influences also come from Lizzy McAlpine, Abby Powledge and Noah Kahan has also been a big inspiration.”

Writing songs might come naturally to musicians, but finding the right people to give them that shiny finish isn’t always the easiest of tasks; Niamh was lucky to run into the right person to work with her on her sound when she was just 17. “All the material written is just me in my room, a lot of them were written in my early twenties, when it came to the recording process I worked with Paul Worthington at Salt, I could give him my word vomit and he just comes back with it straight away, he’s been a really big help on this EP.”

Niamh hopes listeners connect to her music on a deeper level, as she doesn’t sugar coat any of the challenges she has gone through, and hopes those harsh truths will make those listening feel okay with what they’re feeling too. Above all, Niamh’s emphatic about her end goal. “To write a big album full of belters!”

Niamh Casey releases Memories Of My Chaotic Existence EP on 30^th May.