With musical prowess in her DNA and a widely praised debut single already under her belt, Slaney is one to watch.
Slaney Power is not your average 21-year-old performer. For one, she cites Joni Mitchell and 1950s-era singers as her main influences. For another, she is luckily to have not one but two musically accomplished parents helping her to hone her sound.
The Carlow native is the daughter of renowned drummer Niall, the so-called 'man of many bands' who performed alongside everyone from Bob Geldof to Westlife in a professional career that spanned four decades. Her mother, Shelly, is also a singer with an entrepreneurial flair for coming up with creative ventures.
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"Growing up I was always surrounded by music," Slaney agreed. "There was always music around the house."
"My Dad always encouraged me to appreciate good music and he would always bring a CD in the car going to school and he would bring me to gigs. I would watch him drumming from the side of the stage, getting to be his roadie and hanging out with the band. I got a real feel for it at such a young age," she continued.
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Slaney Power.
It's, therefore, no wonder that Slaney said she "knew in her heart" as a child that she would eventually pursue music herself.
"I remember being inspired by my mum showing me demos of original songs she had recorded and I felt that it was something I wanted to do someday," she added.
She recalls being five or six years old and hearing Sarah McLachlan's rendition of Randy Newman's emotive track 'When She Loved Me' while watching Toy Story 2.
"I must have really liked this song at the time because I sang it, word for word, back to my mum. She said she had tears in her eyes as it was the first time she heard me sing."
Her musical mum is still her biggest champion - the duo wrote Slaney's newly released 'Recharge My Soul' together, inspired by a restorative holiday in Cape Town, South Africa.
"A lot of our writing starts in the car, driving around humming a little tune," Slaney said. "We usually know it's a good one when it comes straight out of the pen. We have a great chemistry between us, so it feels very natural writing together."
The song was produced by Michael Hopkins, whom she credits with helping her "find her sound".
The resulting track highlights said sound; it's an infectious, hymn-like ariose which showcases Slaney's pure vocals.
The Irish College of Music Theatre graduate spent two years studying musical theatre and has performed in shows such as 'Cabaret' and 'Putting It Together' - but it's the money-can't-buy musical education she gained during her childhood years at home that really influenced her.
"I've always preferred older music from the '50s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. I was also brought up with the likes of Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, and Hall and Oates."
"There are so many different things that inspire me and every song is different," she reflected. "It's always hard to describe your own sound but I want to be as creative and diverse as possible. I think it's important to be original and to keep things fresh."
On the subject of keeping things fresh, Slaney revealed she has already recorded her next song, due for release in early 2019. After that, she hopes to pursue gigging as she continues to record material.
Acting is also on her agenda - as is fitting of somebody of the multi-hyphenate generation.
"My biggest role to date would be a short film called 'Breastfriends' directed by Eleanor Rogers. It's an LGBT coming-of-age short film about a female relationship and the complications of sexual desire. I play the lead role of Ash. So far it has won Best Irish Short at the Gaze film festival and it will be shown at the Cork Film Festival."
Listen to Slaney on Spotify
here.
* This article was originally published on our sister publication, Irish Tatler.
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