Sophie O Keeffe

Sophie O Keeffe interview Friday 4th Nov 2011

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with a new up and coming songwriter Sophie O Keeffe from Ballycotton. I had met Sophie before when she was about 7 or 8 years old, she was with her parents Niall and Aine O Keeffe who were heading a band called Sonic Icons and were in studio for a chat and with them was Sophie. However this time round I got to speak to Sophie and talk to her about her own music. I had a chance to listen to her sing a few songs mostly her own and to say that this young ladies star is shinning brightly is an understatement.

 We started off talking about the usual things, and this 15year old was quite capable of answering all the questions I threw at her, some of the questions made sense others, well even I didnt know where they were taking me or what line of questioning I was following, but through it all she remained calm and collected and quitely confident. Bearing in mind it was her first time as a singer songwriter on any radio show, she was being filmed, taped and photographed and questioned by myself, never an easy thing to undertake , she was amazing through it all.

We spoke about how she always wanted to play music how she never thought she would do anything else, about growing up in a house full of music, how her brothers and sisters are also into music as are her parents. She plays guitar and Piano is studying music in school and spends a lot of time writing songs which in her own words comes easy to her. We spoke about what she would like to do in the future, we spoke about her interests in sport as she plays hockey and soccer, we covered her favorite music the books she reads and many more bits and pieces in between.

This quite unassuming lady has got talent in abundance, she sang without the usual nerves associated with some singers live on radio, she played along on her guitar with out a worry in the world. But what impressed me most about this rare talent was the quality of her songs, The last time I heard songs with such quality from a young person was when I first heard Sinead Lohan being interviewed and Sophie has the same qualities Sinead had, Not that I am comparing either of them to each other, No Sinead had her qualities but Sophie has hers too and I think they outweigh Sineads on many levels. The songs are well constructed, well written and thoughtfull, they convey a story from someone years older, they have a wisdom and a sense of truth that only Sophie will ever really know. They are not as simplistic as most teenage songs. Add in the vocals which weave through the lyrics in unison and perfect harmony, She sings each song with a feeling for the song, an understanding of what each word is about and what each song is trying to say and she does this all without batting an eyelid. I suggest you listen to the interview to hear the songs from someone so young but yet so wise.

In a business where it is tough to make it or even to see a rare and new talent, its easy to see where the talent came from in this case, Sophies mother Aine is an amazing singer and her father Niall is also a very accomplished musician and songwriter both having reached a level of success with their own music projects down through the years most notably Temple Door reaching No 1 in the Irish charts in 1995 with the song Roll on the Weekend and further success with Sonic Icons a group they formed later on around 2004, combine their talents and you have a truly remarkable lady waiting to take the world by storm. Well all I can say about this fine singer songwriter is keep an eye out for her, because if today was anything to go by you will be hearing a lot more from this new and upcoming star from East Cork, Sophie O Keeffe, and hey,  you cant say you havnt been warned.


Click below to hear the full interview.

Shane Supple interviews Sophie O Keeffe by Shane Supple on Mixcloud