Hi Nell and welcome back to Ireland. Thank you for this interview. Firstly, let me congratulate you on the fabulous new album What does it take?.

PJ: Many readers may not realise that you have also performed as gaeilge (in the Irish language) on the CEOL 09 compilation – the proceeds of which go to Barnardos’ charity. What was it like working on Dara huair a ghrá?

Nell:

Well I was in New York when we recorded the vocals for it and my first time doing it we worked with a translation I had sent to me and I had to work with a producer who had no knowledge of Irish and it being a complicated difficult language to pronounce – it took a few years. And I ended up having to hook up with a Irish fluent speaker in New York, so Second time around we got it – no pun intended! It was really great to be able to be on the album with such amazing talent like Glen Hansard, Duke Special and Mick Flannery.

PJ: What does it take? really is a well-deserved breakthrough album for you and I know you really have had to work hard building your career the old-school way, through graft and word of mouth. The country/bluegrass music scene is very hard to get a foothold in – Do you have any advice for someone (in particular women) looking to follow in your footsteps?

Nell:

Really it’s all about touring very hard, there are no easy answers – it’s about building a fan base and going out night after night and building on that fan base. Do whatever it takes to quit your job and go out on the road – if you really want to give music as go as a professional career. I set up all my own tours the first 3 years, and ending up playing a couple of hundred shows around the world, and that was just through word of mouth and linking up with other musicians – doing supports and travelling. Another thing is Keeping your over-head’s low and learning how to budget whilst on tour. This is so important. Being a full time musician involves so much more that being a musician- it’s about time management and travelling and dealing with people.

PJ: There are some very poetic lyrics on your album and I was wondering where you get your inspiration from – In particular for the song Green Dress which is one of my favourites?

Nell:

I was an English Major in college and I always loved stories with strength and character, I read fiction all the time and other influences are life stories and experiences. Travelling a lot means you hear a lot of various stories and these do grow on you and often translate into songs.

PJ: I know you have been around music since you were a child but was there ever any other line of work you thought of as a career before following your dream of music?

Nell:

I thought I was going to be an actress but that meant a lot of the time being someone else, and in music I prefer the freedom of being who you are and incorporating that into music.

PJ: I think everyone would love to know what music you listen to on your downtime from your busy schedule… What was the last thing you listened to on your i-pod?

Nell: I was recently listening to James Brown and Kings of Leon, oh and Ray Charles. It varies.

PJ: We have some great tour dates coming up in Ireland (listed on your website) but what can the fans expect to look forward to next from Nell Bryden?

Nell:

The new single and the album both titled What Does it Take? In the coming month’s there is a documentary film coming out that was directed by Susan Cohn Rockefeller and sponsored by Niall Rogers (wrote a lot of songs in the disco era) and I was also outfitted by Bono’s wife Ali Hewson for the film which was really a special thing. So all that along with gigging in Ireland and the Uk for the next 3 months.

Thank you for taking the time to share with my readers. The new album “What does it take?” is out May 15^th so I really wish you all the best with its release – It’s going to be a huge success

Hey thanks a million!

Love Nell xx