Roscommon songbird Ciara Lawless has been living a double life – by day arranging flowers – by night arranging, writing and recording music.
Now, she is ready to blossom with the release of her debut album Paint My Soul, a labour of love which has been four years in the making.
Known for her eye-catching floral crowns that she makes and wears on stage, the 25-year-old singer, who has released five singles to date, works part-time in her mother’s business, Clare’s Flowers in Ballinasloe.
Paint My Soul is a beautiful collection of ten songs that Ciara promises will do just that — paint your soul! With hints of Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Florence and the Machine, her musical and vocal styles are distinctive and positive, designed to lift the heart and spirit.
“All the music is centred around healing and reflections of self-love, how to love others. There are also themes of empowerment. I like music that is uplifting for people,” says Ciara, who hails from Taughmaconnell in rural south Roscommon.
“A lot of people find music is therapy and I firmly believe in that,” she adds, describing her sound as an indie pop mix with hints of folk and soft rock.
Countryside
Growing up on a farm certainly influences her music, agrees Ciara, with many of her lyrics drawing on nature and the world around her. Her parents Earl and Clare have sucklers and sheep.
“We always got roped in growing up, standing in a gap, helping to open a gate or chase something up the field,” says Ciara, laughing.
“I definitely drew a lot of inspiration from around me. One I think of is a barn owl that’s in the area, and I tend to hear that a lot at night. I suppose I write a lot at night time as well. Like a lot of performers, I’m a bit of a night owl.”
Eight out of ten tracks are either written by Ciara or she has a co-writing credit. She has also been fortunate enough to collaborate with songwriters of the calibre of Chris Willis, who wrote hit songs for David Guetta in the early 2000s, Marion Bradfield and Oisin Browne, who is also her manager.
An exception is No Rain No Flowers, written by LA-based Myah Marie, who has worked with Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, alongside Irish songwriter Oisin Browne.
Singing and dancing from the age of five, the chanteuse credits her grandmother, the late Birdie Murphy, a well-known Wicklow musician who was part of the Avoca Céilí Band, as a huge influence on her musical trajectory.
“I probably started to take it seriously when I was 15. At that point, I got cast as one of the leads in my secondary school (Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone) stage musical The Lion King.”
“I think that was when I realised that I really, really, love this. I had been in stage schools and theatre up to then, but that was the pivotal moment where I said to myself, I would love to turn this into a career,” says Ciara.
Roscommon singer Ciara Lawless says growing up in the countryside influences her music hugely. \Aoife Long
She later took classical music and opera training at The Academy of Music in Tullamore, and from there, started writing her own songs, attending major songwriting conferences in places like LA and France.
After school, Ciara took a year out to travel and gigged where she could before returning home to work with flowers, a task she finds extremely mindful and therapeutic.
She also honed her craft as a funeral singer and was proud to do so at an emotional time for families. Opening a flower shop in Roscommon in 2021 (she has since closed the outlet to concentrate more on music) led to a new part-time role as community radio officer in RosFM which she also enjoys.
Fascinated by Irish Celtic roots and traditions, the singer says she was delighted to perform at Uisneach in Westmeath – one of Ireland’s sacred sites – at the recent Bealtaine Fire Festival.
“We can all get caught up in this crazy world but going to these places, you see the simplicity of life,” muses Ciara, who is a big fan of meditation to soothe the nervous excitement before going on stage. “Places like Uisneach remind you of the importance of respecting nature and how important it was to people in the past.”
Looking ahead, a big aspiration for the singer is that her music would feature on TV or film via the Sync process, where music is pitched for upcoming productions.
“There are so many artists that you’ll hear today and how they actually came to prominence is because their song was in a film or a TV show,” comments Ciara.
Asked who her dream collaboration would be, she quickly chips in with Hozier, who she admires, Florence and the Machine or Lana del Ray, while she would love to play the 3Arena in the years ahead.
“There’s no problem dreaming, but I just have to put the hard work in now,” she says, before quickly adding that recording is already underway on album two.
With the official launch of her debut album on 14 June in The Cobblestone in Dublin; festival dates across the summer; along with a coffee shop tour in the autumn, it’s set to be a very busy period for Ciara but she’s relishing the prospect.
Paint My Soul is released by Human Angel Records and is available on all the main streaming platforms. Check @ciaralawlesshq
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Roscommon songbird Ciara Lawless has been living a double life – by day arranging flowers – by night arranging, writing and recording music.
Now, she is ready to blossom with the release of her debut album Paint My Soul, a labour of love which has been four years in the making.
Known for her eye-catching floral crowns that she makes and wears on stage, the 25-year-old singer, who has released five singles to date, works part-time in her mother’s business, Clare’s Flowers in Ballinasloe.
Paint My Soul is a beautiful collection of ten songs that Ciara promises will do just that — paint your soul! With hints of Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Florence and the Machine, her musical and vocal styles are distinctive and positive, designed to lift the heart and spirit.
“All the music is centred around healing and reflections of self-love, how to love others. There are also themes of empowerment. I like music that is uplifting for people,” says Ciara, who hails from Taughmaconnell in rural south Roscommon.
“A lot of people find music is therapy and I firmly believe in that,” she adds, describing her sound as an indie pop mix with hints of folk and soft rock.
Countryside
Growing up on a farm certainly influences her music, agrees Ciara, with many of her lyrics drawing on nature and the world around her. Her parents Earl and Clare have sucklers and sheep.
“We always got roped in growing up, standing in a gap, helping to open a gate or chase something up the field,” says Ciara, laughing.
“I definitely drew a lot of inspiration from around me. One I think of is a barn owl that’s in the area, and I tend to hear that a lot at night. I suppose I write a lot at night time as well. Like a lot of performers, I’m a bit of a night owl.”
Eight out of ten tracks are either written by Ciara or she has a co-writing credit. She has also been fortunate enough to collaborate with songwriters of the calibre of Chris Willis, who wrote hit songs for David Guetta in the early 2000s, Marion Bradfield and Oisin Browne, who is also her manager.
An exception is No Rain No Flowers, written by LA-based Myah Marie, who has worked with Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, alongside Irish songwriter Oisin Browne.
Singing and dancing from the age of five, the chanteuse credits her grandmother, the late Birdie Murphy, a well-known Wicklow musician who was part of the Avoca Céilí Band, as a huge influence on her musical trajectory.
“I probably started to take it seriously when I was 15. At that point, I got cast as one of the leads in my secondary school (Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone) stage musical The Lion King.”
“I think that was when I realised that I really, really, love this. I had been in stage schools and theatre up to then, but that was the pivotal moment where I said to myself, I would love to turn this into a career,” says Ciara.
Roscommon singer Ciara Lawless says growing up in the countryside influences her music hugely. \Aoife Long
She later took classical music and opera training at The Academy of Music in Tullamore, and from there, started writing her own songs, attending major songwriting conferences in places like LA and France.
After school, Ciara took a year out to travel and gigged where she could before returning home to work with flowers, a task she finds extremely mindful and therapeutic.
She also honed her craft as a funeral singer and was proud to do so at an emotional time for families. Opening a flower shop in Roscommon in 2021 (she has since closed the outlet to concentrate more on music) led to a new part-time role as community radio officer in RosFM which she also enjoys.
Fascinated by Irish Celtic roots and traditions, the singer says she was delighted to perform at Uisneach in Westmeath – one of Ireland’s sacred sites – at the recent Bealtaine Fire Festival.
“We can all get caught up in this crazy world but going to these places, you see the simplicity of life,” muses Ciara, who is a big fan of meditation to soothe the nervous excitement before going on stage. “Places like Uisneach remind you of the importance of respecting nature and how important it was to people in the past.”
Looking ahead, a big aspiration for the singer is that her music would feature on TV or film via the Sync process, where music is pitched for upcoming productions.
“There are so many artists that you’ll hear today and how they actually came to prominence is because their song was in a film or a TV show,” comments Ciara.
Asked who her dream collaboration would be, she quickly chips in with Hozier, who she admires, Florence and the Machine or Lana del Ray, while she would love to play the 3Arena in the years ahead.
“There’s no problem dreaming, but I just have to put the hard work in now,” she says, before quickly adding that recording is already underway on album two.
With the official launch of her debut album on 14 June in The Cobblestone in Dublin; festival dates across the summer; along with a coffee shop tour in the autumn, it’s set to be a very busy period for Ciara but she’s relishing the prospect.
Paint My Soul is released by Human Angel Records and is available on all the main streaming platforms. Check @ciaralawlesshq
Read more
Memoirs: ‘Bob Hoskins later bought our London place’
‘Shearfest’ extravaganza on June bank holiday weekend
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