Saibh Skelly: "Busking did so much for me. I gained so much confidence"

Departing from her usual acoustic style, the debut EP from Saibh Skelly – a hugely talented 17-year-old busker – takes her takes her street setlist to a new level, adding a welcomed poppier-production.

The five tracks on Undercover Heartbreak, which debuted at No.10 on the Official Irish Albums Chart, are covers of contemporary tracks that helped guide her through the pandemic.

“Music really helped me during lockdown,” she reflects. “I think during that time, everyone found something they realised they needed in their life. These particular songs are what made me feel happy.”

If you didn’t know better, the conviction and soul she breathes into each track would leave you thinking Saibh penned each one.“I cover a lot of songs,” she continued. “I think my covers always sound different than the original artist, because I inevitably interpret the lyrics differently. One of my favourite songs on the EP is 'Is Your Bedroom Ceiling Bored' [originally by Sody]. When I first heard that song, it represented how I felt during lockdown. The song talks about having nothing to do but stare at your bedroom ceiling. The fact that we did it as a duet was amazing. I could bring in one of my friends, Jacob Koopman, to sing it with me – I think we made it our own.”

To take the next step in her journey as a musician, Saibh has already started writing her own music, which she hopes to start sharing this year.

“We’ve been working on an awful lot of original music behind the scenes,” she notes. “We will be hoping to put that out in the world as soon as we can.”

What can listeners expect from Skelly’s album?

“I always tell people that I’m a happy person who just likes to sing sad songs. I’ve always gravitated towards songs that have a deeper meaning – that pull you in and really make you feel something.”

Saibh caught the musical bug the first time her mother, who encouraged her to busk

“Busking did so much for me,” the singer enthuses. “I gained so much confidence. It taught me to play music for myself and not to please anyone else.”

As one could guess, given her acoustic roots, Ed Sheeran has been big influence.

“He’s definitely a big one for me,” she says. “He was always acoustic-minded and I started out just playing guitar. He’s probably my biggest inspiration.”

The young singer-songwriter also looks to her fellow rising stars for inspiration.

“At the moment, there are so many great Irish musicians. Lea Heart is amazing, though Holly Humberstone is my favourite. There’s a song called ‘London Is Lonely’ that Holly released recently. I’ve been going back and forth to London an awful lot, so when I first heard that song I could relate to it so much. It just blew me away.”

Finally, where would Skelly play if she had her pick of any venue?

“I’d like to play one of the bigger venues in Dublin,” she says. “3Arena would probably be my dream venue.”

• Undercover Heartbreak is out now. Saibh Skelly plays Indiependence on July 31.