Musical Rooms

Dubliner Carly Sings tells Sinéad Gleesonwhy she loves to make music in her mother's kitchen

MY favourite space to create music is in the kitchen in my mum's house. There is a slightly out-of-tune upright Petrof piano, which I named Petr. Opposite the piano is a wall of windows that slopes upwards to the sky, and in between is the kitchen table my grandfather made.

The room is open-plan, with an old wooden floor, paintings and an antique couch draped in coloured blankets. On the shelves are two damaged speakers connected to our stereo. They are broken because I've put too much bass through them over the past year.

My guitar makes guest appearances for writing and recording, but is normally kept in my bedroom. I have a mic stand holding my old microphone, which I plug in to my minidisc player when I'm recording. I bring in my Korg tuner when I'm feeling thorough.

I spend some part of every day here, except when there are mice and I'm too frightened to stay. I probably touch the piano at least once a day.

I play jazz pieces that turn into 10-minute improvisations that might eventually evolve into a song. Mostly I work alone, but I've recorded and collaborated with lots of different people in this kitchen too. I'm used to sharing. I don't use complicated equipment - just a recorder, vintage mic and garage band.

I like that the room smells of food. The acoustics are good, when in theory they shouldn't be. I love the view of our overgrown garden. At the moment, the birds are super-loud - I recorded new tracks last week, and you can hear their song behind my voice. You can also hear the fridge buzzing. I love that this is a practical room as well as a creative space. I often think there's some strange energy field under our floorboards because all sorts of people have found inspiration here.

Plays have been written on the table. Duets composed on the couch. Love has been declared and undeclared by the sink. Because of the piano, many concerts and rehearsals have been performed here for family and friends, so the room has the atmosphere of an auditorium or a stage. I think that's what I like the best.

Carly Sings's debut album,The Glove Thief , is released on June 6th. She plays an acoustic set in Road Records, Dublin, on the same day.  www.myspace.com/carlysings

For moreMusical Rooms by Sinead, See  www.sineadgleeson.com