Rock has always had a strong presence in Ireland, and one fresh artist is leading a new wave. 28-year-old Ailsha Davey is working away on a composition for the Big Brother video game when we get time together. Previously, she worked as a make-up artist for seven years, before hanging up her brushes and picking up a microphone instead. The 28-year-old completed her studies in Video Game Composition at Griffith College, then fell in love with rock music – and the rest is history.

“I used to sit at my computer and produce short snippets of instrumental music all the time,” Ailsha laughs. “I showed them to a friend and they were like, ‘This would be perfect for video games’. That’s how it all started. I was a make-up artist as a means to make money, but I didn’t enjoy it. In 2019, I was so miserable. I knew I had to figure my life out.”

Ailsha has come a long way since her childhood gaming years.

“Initially I played a lot of the Harry Potter games!” she grins. “That’s what got me into video game music. I also played the Barbie CD ROMs and Bratz. I always leaned into the cosy, girly games when I was younger, or anything that had wizards or fairies. It’s great now that we’re at a place where it doesn’t really matter who you are. It’s just so accessible to everybody.”

Having spent her youth learning to compose and produce, Ailsha kicked off 2023 with a performance at Whelan’s One to Watch following a creative revamp.

“I initially started producing pop songs because I felt people would like them more. But then at the end of last year, I literally locked myself away and started writing rock songs, You have to go for it. I’m already on single four this year.”

‘Enemy’ is inspired by the excitement of boss fights, Japanese electronic metal and elements of cyberpunk. The high-octane track features a drum breakdown between Al Quiff of Beardfire Studios and Dublin-based metalcore drummer Veronika vecová, symbolising the battle between forces.

“Al Quiff co-produced my songs with me,” Ailsha offers, excitedly. “We recorded him doing the drums first. Veronika is the drummer in my band, and really wanted to be involved. ‘Enemy’ was her favourite in the set, so we just decided to have a big drum-off between them. It was so much fun.

“They’re both amazing and their styles are completely different. It was really cool to see. We couldn’t pick a winner, they were dead even! We’re prepping for our gig in November. That’s going to be wild. Veronika also has crazy unicorn hair.”

Ailsha’s Spotify playlists are currently filled with nu-metal pop provocateur Cassyette.

“I discovered Cassyette at the end of last year and I thought she was so inspiring,” Davey tells me. “She was doing really heavy pop stuff, but was still accessible and commercial. Cassyette was really important to me during that time, as well as the likes of Wargasm, Nova Twins and Spiritbox. Their frontwoman, Courtney LaPlante, is very influential as a vocalist and performer. There’s a lot of amazing heavy music bouncing around.”

What makes a Hall of Fame rock frontwoman, in Ailsha’s view?

“Confidence! They have to really believe in what they’re doing – or at least pretend to when they’re onstage. Something I’ve noticed writing rock songs, compared to pop, is that I have more leeway to just really not care. All the songs I’ve released this year were written quickly, as soon as the idea landed. When I was writing pop music, I felt like I was putting way too much thought into what people thought of me. With rock, you just let go and lose yourself.”

Image also plays a role, arguably, in the rock genre.

“I was always an emo in school, but I never had dyed hair or piercings. I was pretty tame aesthetically,” she laughs. “I went through a phase where I cut my hair really short and started wearing trousers and a tie to school. I was always trying to be a bit different, but I never really fit in. I was trying to find myself, which is normal. 2019 was the year when I decided to go back to being emo, but do it properly this time! I really look up to Amy Lee and Within Temptation’s Sharon Den Adel.”

Given that her parents work in the industry – Belfast-born composer Shaun Davey (Brendan The Voyage) and Dublin singer Rita Connolly – what advice was drilled into her growing up?

“One thing my parents always prepared me for was with every high, there’s a low,” Ailsha replies. “They go hand in hand with each other. That’s one of the reasons I worked in make-up for as long as I did. I felt like I couldn’t cope with the lows. It actually turns out I can’t cope with the highs either! This year has been surreal because I wasn’t expecting things to go as successfully as they have.”

• ‘Enemy’ is out now. Ailsha plays The Workman’s Cellar, Dublin on November 9.