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Lisa Hannigan had gotten comfortable touring and recording with Damien Rice. But a nudge out of the nest gave her the impetus she needed to record her own debut album. She talks thrills and trepidation with Jim Carrollon the eve of her appearance at this weekend's Electric Picnic

IT'S A sticky night in Dundalk. Real monsoon weather. All the windows in the Spirit Store are open in an attempt to get some air circulating, but the only thing going round the packed tiny room and down the stairs to the front bar is a buzz of expectation. People are curious about the singer, the one who has yet to release a note of music and who hasn't yet even played two dozen shows under her own name.