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Fiona Bevan

Published Thursday 26 January 2006 at 11:20

Almost every instrument in Fiona Bevan’s first solo album, In the Swimming Pool, is played by her - from the glockenspiel and guitar to violins and vocal harmonies.

Painstakingly recorded in sections, what sounds like several violins or a choir is actually a series of separate performances cut together.

The result, says the 22-year-old singer-songwriter, is hard to put into words. “I don’t know where it would go in the CD shop. It was influenced by jazz, folk and all kinds of soul music. I had been listening to people like Erykah Badu and Billy Holiday a lot over the last year but the instrumentation is more classical and I wanted the songs to have a pop catchiness.”

In the Swimming Pool was released in the autumn, after a summer of recording. Moving into a new flat has meant Fiona can concentrate on writing music: “I stayed on people’s floors and spare rooms for a month before I moved in. I wrote a little bit but I felt like I didn’t know where I was - you need a bit of privacy.

“In Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, she said to write, a woman needs a room of her own and a steady income. I reckon to make songs you need a room of your own, a steady income and some good soundproofing. If you’re aware that people are listening to something it’s really hard not to be self-conscious.”

Fiona herself has considered almost every career thinkable. “I’ve pretty much wanted to be everything - a chef, a pilot, a firewoman, a writer. I even wanted to be a policewoman for a very short time,” she laughs. With straight As at A-Level, and a first-class degree in English from University College London, Fiona probably could have been anything but singing has been a passion since childhood.

“My mum was taught by her dad to sing harmonies and she taught me and my brother and sisters. Our family’s a bit ridiculous - whenever we get together we all sing in harmonies - it’s like something out of The Waltons.

“I’ve often wanted to go to the Edinburgh festival with a play, because I really enjoy acting but you have to spend so much time rehearsing and usually I’d rather be doing gigs. I’ve always chosen music over drama when it came to it.”

Fiona’s first gig was at the age of 16 with her band Rocking Horse. “We had been practising for about six months and I was so nervous but I knew at that moment that was the one thing I wanted to do.”

She now performs at venues across the UK and her CD is available at www.fionabevan.co.uk.

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