Australian musician Mama Kin - aka Danielle Caruana - is no stranger to our shores, having played various dates around the country in 2014, both solo and supporting John Butler, who happens to be her husband.
Caruana is back in Ireland for a run of dates during September, so we thought it was good timing to get the lowdown on the 5 albums that have shaped her life and her career to date.
You can read about her choices, and why she picked them - as well as details of her own forthcoming live dates - below.
1) GILLIAN WELCH - 'Time (The Revelator)'
"Game changer. A friend gave me this album and I had never heard of Gillian. I casually put it on, and it just stopped me in my tracks. I ended up sitting in front of the stereo, listening in awe as my understanding of a great song rearranged itself for ever! Her pairing with David Rawlings is cosmic. Seeing them live was one of the most spiritual musical experiences of my life."
2) JOAN ARMATRADING - 'Track Record'
"This sounds like my sisters to me. I am the youngest of 6 kids, the youngest of 4 daughters, and Joan was a feature in the bedroom of my sister Carmen, who taught me to sing and also introduced me to other greats including Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. I would lay on her bed with her and we would sing these songs together. They are branded in my mind as "happy place". I went and saw her perform solo last year and I was weeping as she sang out my beautiful bond with my big sister."
3) RAY CHARLES - 'The Spirit of Christmas'
"OK I know this seems a bit left field, but I love a Christmas carol, love a Christmas album and seriously love Ray Charles, so this album kicks a lot of yuletide goals for me! This album changed my whole relationship with Christmas!! He breathed soul and playfulness into these songs and I still listen to this album on high rotation every Christmas time! What he did to Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is nothing short of legendary! I still cry when I sing his rendition of Drummer Boy (which i do ad nauseum)."
4) JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN - 'The Deep Field'
"Another great Joan! She is so wonderful. I love how she blends vulnerable, edgy and powerful so effortlessly. Her melodies slay me, yet she knows how to reach deep into a groove and sit heavily with it. One of the best live gigs I have ever been to in my life."
5) STEVIE WONDER - 'Innervisions'
"If Joan Armatrading is the sound of my sisters, then Stevie Wonder is the sound of my brothers. This master of soul, funk and groove embedded in me a deep appreciation for sounds and arrangements that are so dirty they make you scowl while you involuntarily nod your head in reverent agreement! I love that he is not afraid to take a groove that makes you move, and add to it content and lyrics that make you think. The master blaster genius of our time."
*****
Catch Mama Kin:
Upstairs at Whelan's - September 16th
Billy Byrne's in Kilkenny - 17th
McCarthy's in Dingle - 18th
De Barra's in Clonakilty - 19th/20th
Mullarkey's in Clifden, Galway - 23rd.
