SIRENS STUDIO
This project is funded by Youth Music Incubator Fund, allowing us to create a gender inclusive space with the aim to give power and opportunities to women and people of diverse genders who are interested in developing skills in music and live sound. More information about the Youth Music Incubator Fund below!
If you are interested in getting involved, contact us at:
Instagram: @sirensstudiopenryn
Email: sirensrecording@gmail.com
Facebook: Sirens Studio
BOOKING
If you are looking to record or rehearse at SIRENS Studio, please visit our website below to book a slot:
RESIDENCY ARTISTS 2023
February
Billie Maree
Billie draws inspiration from her connection to the polarities of the human experience; the dark and the light. Her poetic words aim to invoke an inner understanding of ourselves. Each song contains its own essence, allowing them to take on a blend of genres. New to putting her music out into the world. She is currently in the process of recording her first Album from home as well as in the studio while performing as much as possible.
View Billie's linktree below to listen to their music:
K.óla
K.óla is the solo project of Katrín Helga Ólafsdóttir from Iceland. She has been releasing music and making art under that name since 2017. Katrín is currently living in Copenhagen, studying Music Creation at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory. She has connections with Falmouth after spending half a year there as an exchange student at Falmouth University, in Creative Music Technology in the autumn of 2018. After picking up the electric bass in 2018 she has released 4 solo albums, in icelandic and english who can be found on spotify and bandcamp. Recently she started writing songs on guitar, and will play some of those in Icelandic and English. Her songs contain playful melodies and sincere lyrics.
Click below to check out K.óla's work and to listen to her music:
UPCOMING EVENTS
K.ÓLA + MIA NICHOLLS + CAITLIN PINKESS
An evening with Sirens Studio resident artist K.óla, supported by Mia Nicholls and Caitlin Pinkess at The Fish Factory Arts on 11th February.
K.óla is the solo project of Katrín Helga Ólafsdóttir from Iceland. She has been releasing music and making art under that name since 2017. K.óla has released 4 solo albums in icelandic and english with her songs containing playful melodies and sincere lyrics.
Mia Nicholls is a singer/songwriter currently based in Falmouth. With inspiration from Alice Phoebe Lou, Wolf Alice and Ben Howard, her music is a formation of vulnerable lyrics, swooning electric guitar riffs and layered, ethereal vocals smothered by elevated orchestral elements.
Brit school alumni Caitlin Pinkess is a singer-songwriter from South West London. Her neo-soul inspired music has soulful vocals and unapologetically honest lyrics that speak beyond her years, captivating her listeners. The band's rhythmic variations paired with Caitlin’s jazz chords create a unique variation of neo-soul.
Saturday 11th February 2023
7:30pm
Grab your tickets below!
PREVIOUS EVENTS
Introduction to DJing with reli.ah
In this workshop we covered a wide range of topics including (but not limited to): getting set up on DJ controllers, working with different DJ equipment, using DJ software and how to organise and source tracks.
This was the second workshop delivered by SIRENS Studio. As always our workshops aim to empower musicians and sound makers to gain confidence in their practice or take up a new skill.
This workshop was especially for 18-25 year olds who identify as a marginalised gender including but not exclusively female, non-binary, trans men and women and two spirit.
More info below:
Event Page:
Tickets:
reli.ah & (irselr)
A night of pumping and exciting electronic music with a DJ set from reli.ah plus live coding from (irselr). A SIRENS Studio event!
About this event
reli.ah has been active on the DJ scene for the past 3 years and since then has played at festivals such as Wilderness, We Out Here and MADE Festival. As an active member of Selextorhood reli.ah has had the pleasure of collaborating on talks, workshops and other events and she is passionate about helping others grow as musicans. Describing her sound as eclectic, danceable sad songs with a lot of bass, reli.ah's music collection spans a range of sounds and her aim is always to keep those feet tapping. As a multi-genre DJ, reli.ah focuses on seamlessly guiding tracks from one to the other while still highlighting the beauty of each tune. On a typical night you can hear her spinning bass, house, electro, garage, disco and much more.
Also joining us opening the night is (irselr) - "Hey! I'm Nina. I make music, and I like to experiment with many different techniques and styles. In the past few months, I have been attracted to live coding and the potential of improvisational sound, so I'm really looking forward to trying it out in a live environment."
Doors - 7.30pm
Music starts - 8pm
Expect dreamy, mind boggling electronics followed by gorgeous and very danceable DJ set!
More info below:
Event Page:
Tickets:
ARTIST Q&A
Here is a few Q&A's with some of the incredible musicians that have collaborated with us at Sirens Studio. Please see our interviews with Rubie, Sukie & Hockeysmith
In Conversation with Rubie
Q: How did your musical journey begin?
I was a musician in denial for a long time; although I'd been writing songs since I was a teenager, I wasn't showing them to anyone or performing at all. I was studying and making visual art, mainly sculpture and performance stuff, and got into playing shows because I really enjoyed gig venues as a place to perform and make work, much more than gallery spaces... playing gigs is all about controlling a room and taking it on a journey, and it felt like I could really challenge the audience with what I was doing. When I used to perform in art gallery type spaces it was way more sterile, it felt like whatever you did the audience would just stroke their chins and nod. So gradually the music has taken over and become my whole deal.
Q: Tell us your background!
I grew up in London, and have lived there my whole life. I freely admit that I'm the classic Londoner who has never quite been able to bring themselves to leave... though that could change someday. I studied sculpture at Central St. Martins.
Q: Where do you find inspiration ?
I've really enjoyed starting to be inspired by live music again these past few months. A big advantage of living in london is that there are amazing gigs every night of the week, and ill often spend a free evening going down to see a band I've never heard of in a tiny pub or basement.
I am also always inspired by the other musical projects I'm involved in; Jenny Moore's Mystic Business and F*Choir. Both projects really center the cathartic joy of collective singing, which has become increasingly important in my own work too in recent years.
Q: Musical influences?
I always go back to songwriters I was introduced to by my parents... Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, John Martyn. Although I really enjoy using more varied and experimental sonic textures in my work, I almost always finish a song on the piano or guitar first. No matter how much weird stuff I add to a track, I try to make sure it's still anchored around a really solid song that stands up without it.
Q: What do you try to achieve with your work?
That's a good question. I think at the moment I've been deprogramming this attitude that comes from art school that what I make always needs to be abrasive, confrontational, challenging, high concept... as much as those ideas can be useful, i've lately really been enjoying leaning into lush, beautiful textures, and straying into more sincere and corny lyrical ideas.
Introspection is also a huge part of why I make work. Songwriting allows me to find ways into big ideas and questions that matter to me; from gender identity stuff, to queer politics, to sisterhood and solidarity.
Q: What’s been a highlight in your musical career ?
Going to Bergen with F*Choir was a really unbelievable whirlwind of an experience; singing at Borealis Festival and getting to teach a couple of my songs was a total dream come true, and I can't wait to go back to travelling internationally for projects... covid has made me an uncharacteristic homebody!
Q: Any advice for people starting out in music?
If you've never played a show, book a show. And try something new at every gig you play. Sure, some ideas will turn out not to work, but nothing teaches you more than a chaotic gig. And you'll discover that audiences love when you mess up anyway! www.rubierooo.com @rubierooo
In Conversation with HOCKEYSMITH
Q: Tell us! Where have you lived and studied?
I moved to Falmouth in 2014 with my sister to do music as it’s a beautiful place to be inspired and creative. I have spent a couple of years in Copenhagen and Paris since as it’s important to find new
places of inspiration. But Falmouth is always my base. I live on a farm on the outskirts of Falmouth. I am a proud owner of an American Winnebago bus. I am a singer songwriter, music lover and I co-run an electronic music label called eel. I’ve been dj-ing for a couple of years now. I really enjoy it, hunting for new tracks which in turn inspires the music I write.
Q: Where did your musical career start?
I’ve always sung from a young age. My melodies are often quite R&B because I grew up listening to Pink and Christian Aguilera. I started writing songs with my sister as a teenager and I decided to pursue it properly in 2009 after finishing my A Levels and playing a set at Glastonbury music festival.
Q: Which music artists inspire you?
They have changed a lot over the years. Listening to lots and lots of Cocteau Twins helped me to discover my voice and my ability to write melodies. I have always loved pop music, early Kylie and Madonna - RAY of Light is my favourite Madonna album. I love the techno production by William Orbit on that record and now that I am older and more spiritual Madonna’s lyrics on that record really resonate with me. Lyrics are very important to me as much as the melodies.
I got into electronic music through Aphex Twin and right now I’m listening to the likes of Sassy 009, PC music, Babii and Iglooghost, Abra and Tirzah.
Q: What inspires you?
Reading books and life experience for my lyrics
Collaborating with my band mates Alice and Peasy. Going to concerts - recently I went to a PC music night. Seeing the likes of A G Cook, Namasenda and Felicita made me think about my own live performance and writing boundary pushing pop music. The different places I’ve lived - I found myself in the French countryside during lockdown and I wrote a number of songs just piano and voice. I’m very grateful for the Cornish support – it’s what keeps me going. People love something that’s a bit different in Cornwall. It’s a great place to make experimental music – it’s in the DNA of Cornwall.
It’s a beautiful place which has the roots of rave culture as well as an odd quirkiness. You definitely can’t belittle it – Cornwall stands next to places like London and Copenhagen for original artistic ideas.
Q: What do you aspire to with your music?
Someone recently said to me at a live show that they were constantly surprised during the performance It doesn’t stick to one genre. People don’t know what to expect next and I like that. I make melodic and melancholic pop music. It is often ethereal but with layers of grungy guitars. It’s a bit retro with inspiration from 80s synth pop and 90s rave.
Q: Career highlight?
The BARN - May 2018. A free party we put on at the barn on the farm where I live. The weather was amazing, we had fire pits. Aphex Twin played !! I was so proud to see so many people come and enjoy it. It was the birth of ‘eel’ and we’ve had so many amazing ‘eel’ nights in Falmouth since. Alice and I arrived in the bucket of the farmers tractor and ran on stage to perform our set. It felt like my super sweet 16
Q: Any words of wisdom for other musicians?
It’s a big journey! There is so much to learn. Find your tutors and teachers and ask questions/make mistakes. The up’s and downs of life all feed into the music and inspiration. The music industry is very fickle and getting financial backing is very hard. If you wan’t credibility and longevity it’s best to do your own thing, start your own scene. Don’t get caught up in the industry side of things
Keep doing it as long as you enjoy it. That’s the most important thing!
In Conversation with Sukie
Q: Where are you from? Where have you been!
I’m from Manchester originally, so grew up up-north, but ended up moving to the most southern place (Falmouth) for uni. I lived there for three years but craved being in a city again, so me and my partner are currently living in Bath. We moved there kind of by accident and pure coincidence, we’d never been there before we moved, but are loving it so far.
Q: How did your music journey begin?
My dad played guitar and piano every evening when he got home from work when I was a kid. He loves music and had me listening to The Fall and The Smiths from being a baby haha. My mum was a dancer before she had kids, too, so they really encouraged me in doing creative stuff. I always loved singing but when I was in high school I had this guitar teacher who ended up not really teaching me any guitar, but made me write songs for every session, which is what got me into writing my own stuff.
Q: Which musicians inspire you the most?
Ah so many! All the music I grew up with (basically any band you can think of that came from Manchester haha) influenced me when I was younger (The Smiths, Joy Division etc). Now I just love female pop artists of all kinds. I find women so inspiring. I’d say my biggest influences for the songs I write now are Solange, Biig Piig and Britney Spears.
Q: Where do you find inspiration ?
I don’t know really. I tend to write about really boring, everyday stuff, because that’s what I do. I go to work, I get anxious, I make breakfast, I brush my teeth, I go to the pub, I see friends, all the stuff everybody does. I just write about whatever my silly little brain is thinking about haha
Q: Any advice for younger people starting out in music?
I don’t really think I’m qualified to give advice haha. I’d just say to do fun stuff with friends, like make music videos with them. My favourite part of doing music is the collaborations I get to do with talented friends.
Q: What do you try to achieve with your work?
That’s a hard one! I guess I try to just make myself happy, I love being creative and writing and making arty stuff. I want to try and make the everyday seem nice, too. I don’t think people have to have a super deep meaning behind every song for the music to mean something. Quite often my lyrics have little bits in them that only me or some friends would understand the reference to. Sometimes I write about things that are quite emotional to me, and sometimes I write about what I had for tea. Both are nice, I think.
Q: Favourite memory of your career so far?
I recently did a gig in Bristol and I was really really nervous. I couldn’t stop thinking about a gig I had done in Bristol years ago with a different band where no one turned up, we literally had to play just to the other band performing. When I arrived I saw that that venue I had played at years ago was just across the road. The gig I did that night was packed out, and I had strangers singing my lyrics back to me. It was so surreal and just put everything into perspective, it made me realise how much had changed and how far I’d come.
In Conversation with Su, I Think
Q: How did your musical journey begin? How did you first get into music?
I got into music because I accidentally fell into a school musical when I was 11; from there I got obsessed with chasing a career in the big music world. I think things started to become more serious when I started releasing music when I was 16; from here I started playing different gigs around the country and I guess things started from there!
Q: What is your creative process when making music?
It definitely changes each time I create. Sometimes I start with a beat, other times I come to the studio prepared with a track written already. It all completely depends on who I’m working with and how it comes together!
Q: Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration for me is everywhere, cringey as that sounds haha! Mostly I’m inspired by emotions that people tend to hide away from. For example I really like to utilise bitterness and being pathetic when writing lyrics. I think these feelings are often much more honest and true compared to being happy and content. Writing exactly how you feel rather than sugar coating is my inspiration I suppose. Express how you mean to express!
Q: What do you try to achieve with your work?
I just try to ensure people can relate to what I have to say. Making work that is universally understandable to everyone; no matter what they do or who they are. Writing well enough that you can have a crowd of all different people at your live show. Bring people together through being bitter and sad!!
I also love to ensure that I have visualisers with all of my work. No matter how simple, I want to ensure that audio is assisted by visually creating different narratives.
Q: What/who are your favourite musical influences?
Gosh, there are so many. I suppose I draw great inspiration from artists like: Perfume Genius, Lorde, Pulp and Phoebe Bridgers. But I am super inspired by artists like FKA Twigs and Le1f, who push their music forward with visualisers that enrich their tracks with another narrative of visual form. Right now I’m super inspired by my friends and collaborators as they have picked my back from the floor so many times with inspiring words and insane music ability. Feel super lucky to get inspired by people who are around me as much as artists who I don’t know.
Q: What are your interests outside of music?
Such an interesting question, I would say right now my interests are getting my head together. I find that after last year my mind has been swamped with too many thoughts and this year I am challenging myself to think more openly and practise mindfulness. I know this is a horrendously boring answer but I think people don’t speak about how vital it is to know that you’re well in yourself before you start throwing yourself into different interests and such. So I guess my interests right now are getting well and falling back in love with life haha!
Q: How do you nurture your own creativity?
By stopping for periods of time. At the end of last year I finished an EP with long time collaborator James Casper and after that I felt super uninspired and lost. So I just stopped for a bit. I know that sounds super simple but it truly works. Just stop what you’re doing and go for a walk. Watch TV. Practise self love and make yourself a meal haha. Stop for a bit, it can take years to nurture yourself back to a place where you want to practise but you have to give yourself time. Time and peace!! I sound like such a guru, but its true! Haha!
Q: What is your favourite memory in your musical journey?
There have been so many and I’m still experiencing them everyday. Meeting new people is always a new and exciting memory In regards to my music. Going into spaces where nobody knows who you are and then leaving that venue after sharing your music, knowing you have connected and met with likeminded people is such a blessing. It’s the thing I’m most grateful for I think. Being able to connect to and connect other people through songs you wrote about your troubles is so lush. I feel very blessed that there are too many to mention!
In Conversation with Mauis Mollis
Q: Where do your find inspiration?
Q: How did your musical journey begin? How did you first get into music?
My musical journey began at home. I am a fourth generation musician with my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all playing/performing/teaching in some sort of way. I often laugh and say I almost didn't have a choice in a way; music was all around me, and I soaked it up like a sponge.
Q: What is your creative process when making music?
My creative process when making music involves showing up over and over for myself until something comes out. I often feel like there is this misconception of writing (particualrly with songs), that it just flows out effortlessly, when more often than not- or at least in my experience- it takes hours of 'failed' attempts before you write something. It's a muscle that needs using.
I find my inspiration in feelings, politics, nature, my friends and family, and from other musicians and artforms.
Q: What do you try to achieve with your work?
I always hope to make my songs relatable to listeners. This isn't always possible, but one way I do this is in the style I write my lyrics-vague enough that lots of different narratives could be projected onto my songs.
Q: What/who are your favourite musical influences?
It's hard to choose, there are so many! Laura Marling, Ben Howard, Joni Mitchel, Nora Jones, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Adele, Keton Henson, James Blake...
Q: What are your interests outside of music?
I love painting, listening to podcasts, and have an unhealthy investment in trash TV.
Q: How do you nurture your own creativity?
I make doing my creative practice accessible. The less barriers to picking up my guitar, or writing the better. I also go to gigs, listen and read things that inspire me, and am working on my relationship with perfectionism.
Q: What is your favourite memory in your musical journey?
I learnt to play concertina in my second year of uni and took it up as a minor study in performance. It was not an easy journey, and I got lots of bad marks and brutal feedback in the process, fell apart in my first few recitals because of nerves. I was lucky to have really supportive friends who pushed me on and celebrated the wins with me. The day finally came for my recital and it was quite a surreal moment. I made a few mistakes but overall, the arrangements were great, and I even pushed the boat out with an experimental solo piece. I got my grade back and cried tears of joy. To start at 55 and get a final score of 65 was huge for me. And to know that I had done a bachelors level recital on an instrument I had only really been learning on for a year was quite a feeling. It's not my main instrument these days but taught me a lot about the value in perseverance and the joy of learning new things.
