Dublin-born, Paris-based ESSIRAY combines pop sensibilities with UK garage, jungle and drum ‘n’ bass, backed by live instrumentation and layered vocals. Originally trained as an opera singer, a vocal injury saw her shift towards production and electronic music, crafting a sound that was dubbed the ‘future of Irish music’ by District Magazine.
Following on from the release of her recent single, Make It Happen (check it out here), 909originals’ Emer O’Connor caught up with her.
Hi, thanks for talking to us. Paris is a very different city to Dublin. Have you been able to break into the music scene there?
Yeah, I’ve started getting involved. One of the biggest gigs I’ve done so far was at a venue called Les Étoiles, where I supported an Irish band called Somebody’s Child. I’m also part of the open mic scene and perform most weeks. That was one of the main reasons I moved – to meet more musicians and perform regularly.
Everywhere in this city there’s somewhere to sing. I also organised a jam session over the summer, and my goal now is to build towards bigger gigs.
You did something similar in Whelan’s several years ago – ESSIRAY and Friends. Did doing that spur you on to host more gigs so you and your friends would get more?
Yeah exactly, I was gigging a lot in Ireland but often only support slots for indie rock bands and other bands outside my genre. At the same time, I was meeting artists making similar music to mine – more electronic pop – so I decided to create a space for that. It ended up being a really strong lineup of female Irish artists, and it came from those shared conversations.
It’s something I’d definitely do again. I’m planning a headline show in Ireland very soon. We’re still finalising the date, but it’s in the works.
When you organise gigs, do you handle everything yourself or work with promoters?
Usually it’s collaborative. In Dublin, I’ve built relationships over time and did the groundwork, so people often reach out to me, but we still have to work together to promote the gig. In Paris, I’ll need to hustle a bit more, be more proactive and start reaching out myself.
You seem to have music coursing through your veins – your mother was a music teacher?d
Yes – my mum was a piano teacher, so she introduced me to music theory, piano and the importance of it all. I always wanted to sing from a very young age, so she made sure I had a solid foundation. Then I got into opera in my early teens. I had a teacher who recognised my voice might suit it and introduced me to the genre.
You can only formally train from 16, because your voice is still developing, so once I turned that age I joined the Royal Irish Academy of Music and started training there for the next six years.
Tell us about the highs and lows of the opera world. For those who are not au fait, what is involved in training on a daily basis? Is it strict? Is it tough mentally, physically?
It’s like you’re in the Singing Olympics. You must train your voice and the muscles like an athlete. It’s super intense, developing control, openness and strength so you can have a really clear sound.
There’s also a big focus on languages like French, Italian and German, especially pronunciation. You’re performing constantly in front of peers and teachers. It’s very structured. There is breathing training, and it’s demanding – it’s very exam-based and you’re training five full days a week.
So you’d be given a song or two, go play it with a piano player, come back and be graded on how you pronounce your vowels and which technique you’re using to sing. You’ve got to get on stage three times per week in front of your whole year and your professor. When you sing, you get comments from everyone. You have to be on top of your game.
It was stressful, and I cracked a few times – not gonna lie about that – and the stress it causes can end up hurting your voice. I was a bit stressed, it wasn’t for me, but I did it, I got through it.
You mentioned in a previous interview how you learned to absorb pressure and use criticism to grow rather than take it personally. What kind of criticism would you be facing? What would they say to you?
Oh various things, like “your technique isn’t quite there”, “you need to work on your language”, “you need to act more there”, “think of your dynamics…”
And you’re after working your ass off, you think you’re there, and then you’re crushed?
Yeah, that’s it. Sometimes it would be good, other times not so. My goal was that I wanted to get to the end of my training and get through my exams. I wasn’t holding myself to some crazy standard. I knew I was good enough to get there. I didn’t need to be the best in my class, just get a good enough mark and get my degree.
It was definitely hard work, there was pressure at times, but I do think it gave me pretty tough skin.
You’ve spoken about a vocal injury that forced you to abandon your career. Was this brought on by all that pressure, or did you hit a super high note and your voice cracked? What happened?
It wasn’t a clear single moment. I had a great teacher who was amazing and really focused on my vocal health, so I don’t think it was the training. However, I do think the stress and anxiety I had played a part.
A doctor later explained I had a blood vessel very close to my vocal cords that may have burst, creating a cyst. I only realised something was wrong after taking a break – I came back and my voice wasn’t the same.
So you didn’t have an accident as such, your voice simply disappeared?
Well, I can still get surgery to go back to the same voice I had, but I had two choices: either train the voice I have now and look after that, or go for the surgery. But the recovery time is really long, seven months, so I decided against it.
At the time I’d just been signed to a manager [she is managed by XL Recordings and Positiva Records founder Nick Hakes] and was starting to move forward professionally, so I chose to adapt instead. I decided to train the voice I have now rather than step away.
How different is your voice today?
Completely different – tone, register. I used to be a very high soprano. Now my voice is deeper, with darker tones, a bit of a rasp, a velvety kind of voice. That’s how I use my voice with my core.
I can’t access that top register anymore, but I’ve developed strength in my lower range and spoken-word singing.
Are you happy with where you are now?
Yes, I am now. It was difficult at first, but I’ve done a lot of vocal therapy and given my voice time to rest. I feel strong on stage again, even if I can’t sing the same repertoire as before. I feel like I have that power again. I just can’t sing my favourite aria unfortunately.
It must have taken a lot for you to shift mentally from where you thought your career path was, to taking a totally different trajectory.
When I lost my voice, I had already shifted my focus from opera to songwriting and production. I was working as a full-time teacher, but my doctor told me I needed a job that didn’t rely on my voice, which is how I moved into digital marketing. It’s all positive though, it’s led me to good places.
Another one of those ‘good places’ was that night in Wigwam when you went with your instinct and decided to move into the realm of drum ‘n’ bass?
I started exploring electronic music in college, going out more and learning to DJ. Jungle and drum ‘n’ bass really resonated with me – the rhythms, the energy and the emotional pull. It felt natural to combine that with my musical background. So I brought these two worlds together and made my first jungle track.
Would you consider this to be the permanent home for your music, or is it just another chapter in a bigger genre-fluid journey?
I think about this a lot, it’s interesting. I do experiment. While here in Paris, I get up singing with a full live jazz band. I also write jazz-inspired music and more stripped-back songs. I do a song called Blue Eyes, that’s just piano.
Oh, I really enjoyed that on your SoundCloud.
Ah, thank you. I am working towards putting an album together. I have so many songs.
You describe yourself as having an ‘underdog spirit’ running through your performances. How does that mindset shape the way you approach new creative risks or unexpected musical shifts?
I often felt like I didn’t fully fit into one space – whether in opera or later in electronic music. So now I don’t try to fit into a box. I just create what feels right and build my own lane.
You completed a master’s degree in popular music practice, specialising in composition. Is it more important to you to be popular with the masses or maintain artistic integrity?
Artistic integrity, definitely. I take inspiration from popular artists, but I don’t create with the intention of fitting trends. I follow what feels natural because I come from opera. I didn’t really know what was popular, so I just write whatever comes out.
How do you approach songwriting?
It’s quite a solitary process. I usually start with chords or a sound, then build from there. I keep a notebook for ideas, but when I sit down to write, I go off instinct. Lyrics come after the music, and develop organically.
However, I do draw inspiration from everyday experiences, especially live moments. Being on a dancefloor, feeling connected to a crowd, that sense of losing yourself in the music. And of course some bigger popular artists, but I don’t intentionally copy from them, I just enjoy their sound.
When I first read your bio, I immediately thought of Rosalía’s track Berghain, and that ferocious mix of techno and opera. Then I listened to your SoundCloud, and your voice is so soft and soulful, even when your productions contain elements of the beautiful chaos of DnB. Have you considered pushing your voice in a completely different direction or do you feel like you must restrain yourself so you don’t get injured again?
That’s such a good question. I know I have a softer element to my voice, but when people see me live, especially more recently, I’m starting to get a bit more confident because it’s in a good place.
People say if they hear me live versus online, they’re really surprised because I’m starting to push my voice at certain junctions in the songs on stage that I didn’t feel I could in the past. I’m 100% open to that, but I will always be a bit more cautious.
In your track Lose You, you blend vulnerability with dancefloor energy. Do you think dance music, especially jungle, offers a unique space for emotional storytelling?
Definitely. The drums, where they are positioned, the transitions, how they skip over each other – you can have different breaks within the song, moving different layers around. I play piano in a lot of my pieces and I play it over these beats, which I find easy to play over, and those bassy synths in DnB that I love. All the components excite me.
I have a solitary way of making music. I find the chord progression on my computer, then I make a sample, then I offer the drums as the base of my track.
I have a notebook that I bring everywhere. When I go to an open mic, I sing something, then an idea crops up, I’ll go outside and write it down. I’m constantly taking inspiration.
Is there any genre you haven’t pulled from yet that you feel like exploring?
I’ve been doing a lot of jazz recently because here in Paris, it’s where it’s at. One of the venues I go to holds Sunday jams where you have to write your name on a board and there is a full band, with a brass section, sax, bass, the whole shebang. It inspires me because it’s a riff, you have to go off on a tangent, create new lines and play with the instruments in real time.
Singing off the cuff with a full backing band means you just need to go for it. Sometimes when I’m feeling really confident, I can write things on the spot. Other times, I give the band chords to a song I already have, but you don’t know what style they will play in… so it’s a bit mad.
What are you most excited to develop next?
I want to build a full artistic world around my music – visuals, branding, everything that supports ESSIRAY as an artist.
That’s something I’m really interested in growing, though I tend to be a little bit shy, so it will be a push for me to promote my image. But I know it’s a big thing for an artist. So falling in love with that is something I need to work on and stop struggling with my own inner critic.
What’s holding you back from that right now?
Honestly, myself. I work in marketing, so I know what to do, but applying that to yourself can be harder.
My recent single reflects that internal struggle – the push and pull between wanting to succeed and doubting myself. Like my lyrics say, “it’s like I don’t want to be hard on myself, but time is ticking and I’m waiting around wondering, is it worth winning? It’s like the best of myself doesn’t feel like enough.”
I’m getting better at showing my personality online and detaching from what I’m doing, and enjoying it more.
Well go for it girl, the future is bright. You’re full of talent and you’ve a lovely tone to your voice. I wish you all the very best.
Thank you so much for the call, I loved answering your questions. 🙂
Keep up to date with ESSIRAY’s latest releases and tour dates here.