The emergence of the internet in the last twenty years or so has meant that more and more artists can now make those first steps in the music industry without having to go through the usual means. Artists are now able to take the brave step of releasing music onto the internet for people to listen to off their own bat. One such artist who decided to take this step is Northern Ireland native, Caoimhe McAleavey, or CeeV as she is known when she performs.

CeeV began her music journey while studying in BIMM in Manchester, where she studied songwriting. Surprisingly, despite finding herself totally immersed in music both in college and in the city of Manchester, she was reluctant to perform or show off her own writings, and instead honed her performance skills in various bands around the city. Eventually, McAleavey felt the time was right to upload some songs onto her personal Soundcloud page, and it all went from there…

CeeV would go on to throw herself into the live music scene upon her return home to Newry. This would eventually begin to lead to McAleavey’s performance persona and confidence starting to develop, and a following starting to develop around the talented songwriter. This period would be followed with a stint in Ottawa in Canada, where she would further develop her craft performing in cafés and bars around the city.

Last week would see the release of the debut single from CeeV, the stunningly touching and introspective, Lonely Night.

We are living through a very strange time currently and lots of us are finding that our heads are full of thoughts and worries. It can often be difficult to order them, or even to make sense of all of them, and these difficulties are expertly articulated here. The song takes us through a time when McAleavey was feeling homesick while at college, and it charts the overthinking that can happen at this time.

Through the song, CeeV works in metaphors, trying to turn her concerns and worries into objects that are easily visualised so as to have a better grasp of them. It is a compelling and engaging songwriting technique, and it is a prime example of the performers talents in songwriting.

This is a triumphant debut for CeeV, and it’ll be very exciting to see what might come next.

MK