Gemma Hayes

Despite being shackled with a first name which hardly screams hip, alt-folk starlet, Gemma Hayes has developed a knack of impressing the right people. Hailing from the tiny town of Ballyporeen in Tipperary, Hayes, who is one of eight children, learnt how to play guitar and piano in her brother’s and sister’s bedrooms. Stealing influences from the like of Joni Mitchell et al, Hayes, like many other teenagers, was keen to escape the ennui of small town life and broaden her horizons.

She enrolled at Dublin University and quickly found her way on to the city’s gig circuit, but soon ditched her academic aspirations to concentrate on her music. Signing to hip French label Source in 2001, her debut EP, 4.35am was a startling, if low-fi affair. As the title suggested, the music was awash with moody, early morning laments, recalling the sparsely introverted moments of Nick Drake’s valedictory Pink Moon. Ears pricked up beyond the Irish music press, and touring stints in the UK and Europe soon followed, as did the patronage of David Gray and Mark Eitzel.

As an introduction to Hayes’ music however, 4.35am was something of a red-herring. The fuller, band oriented Work To A Calm showed she was in possession of an amplifier too. Demonstrating a more alt-rock direction, it wasn’t a million miles away from the discordance of her fellow countrymen My Bloody Valentine and Therapy?

Hayes’ debut album, Night On My Side, appeared in 2002. Produced by Dave “Mercury Rev” Fridmann, it attracted plaudits from fellow alt-rock aficionado, Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous – whom she later collaborated with - and garnered a Mercury Music Prize nomination. She lost out to Ms. Dynamite’s A Little Deeper, but Hayes’ career seemed to be taking off. Now firmly rooted in the Beth Orton, Dot Alison, Hope Sandoval ilk, Hayes was on course to aspire to more than occupying the Sunday afternoon slot at Glastonbury.

However, Hayes quickly disappeared from view. The reasons became clear after a two-year hiatus: Hayes had been suffering from depression. Uniformly, it infiltrated her sophomore effort, The Roads Don’t Love You, which was received a little deflatingly both musically and commercially. She found an outlet for her personal drama with the likes of Happy Sad, an album highlight. While there was a sense that writer’s block had set in momentarily, Gemma Hayes has a bright career ahead of her.

Discography:

Night On My Side (2001)
The Roads Don’t Love You (2005)