In 2012, a young singer songwriter from Derry was starting to gather the attention of music fans in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Bridie Monds-Watson, working under the stage name SOAK, a moniker she got from reversing the phonetic pronunciation of chaos (“kaos”). She first came to the attention of the music public with the release of the fantastic Sea Creatures.

The maturity of the lyrics and instrumentation on show on this song marked Monds-Watson as an artist that was worth paying attention to, and the Blud EP that would follow in 2014 would mark the first proper release by the performer. The collection of three original songs, and a remix of the title track by Scottish electronic outfit CHVRCHES (would helped with the recording of the EP), would include my favourite song by the artist to date – the spectacular Explosions.

By the end of 2014, the singer/songwriter had been signed to Rough Trade Records and shortly after she would be placed on the BBC Sounds of 2015 shortlist, a massive honour for such a young artist and a significant step forward in her career. The momentum that was starting to generate was further built on with the release of her debut album in May 2015, Before We Forgot How To Dream. The album would receive very favourable reviews, and would be nominated for and eventually win the Choice Music Prize for 2016.

It is clear from listening to the music of Bridie Monds-Watson that there is plenty more to come from the singer/songwriter, it’s something to look forward to.

MK