[RonjaGirl]

From the Limerick Leader:

The Long option
Published Date: 16 April 2009

Vyvienne Long has invested everything - emotionally and financially - into her debut LP and can't wait to hear what you think. Alan Owens spoke to her before her Belltable date this Friday evening
MY FIRST reaction to hearing the song Happy Thoughts by Vyvienne Long is one of surprise - her delicate and quirky vocals mixing freely and naturally with her plucked cello, the song moving toward a soaring finish, drums caught betwixt, a bass line McCartney would relish filling out the latter part of the song.

I thought Long was merely a cello player in Damien Rice's band. How wrong I was.

In fairness to the Dublin-born, classically trained cellist, she laughs at this admission on my part.

"That's good," she laughs.

"I think that's good. I can put my "new" sticker on. I have been fairly low-profile up until now because I haven't been gigging a whole lot, I have averaged a few gigs a year because I have quite big band and it is a big operation organising gigs – but I think now is the time to get out."

As she gears up to "get out" – which transfers into a short, whistle-stop tour of the country, including a date in the Belltable this week – it seems a good bet that a lot more people are going to discover this quirky performer.

Like me, you may have heard Vyvienne before and not even realised it – be it on Today FM, where her innovative cover version of the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' wowed listeners, or perhaps it was through the recent Easi-Singles advert that Happy Thoughts wormed its way into your subconscious.

That uplifting song was originally intended as a secret track on Vyvienne's forthcoming debut album, 'Serenade for Caterpillars', but instead wound up on television, charming all that heard it. If Happy Thoughts – and 2006 EP Birdtalk – are anything to go by, Long's debut should be one to get very excited about.

"I haven't fixed a release date, but it is almost ready and I am just waiting to get the last bit of work on it done, and then I need to get going with artwork," explains Vyvienne of the album, which will feature everything from French horns to a boy soprano choir.

"I went all out and invested everything, emotionally and financially – it is the biggest project ever undertaken in my entire life. I can't wait to see what people think of it."

As Vyvienne takes her first dainty steps out into the light from behind Damien Rice's shadow, with whom she collaborated on albums 'O' and '9' and also toured all over the world with, one can't help but think of comparisons with Lisa Hannigan, who also emerged from within Rice's cadre to huge fanfare.

On this point she says simply and with tongue lodged firmly in cheek: "I think we are each quite different and that is really good. I suppose you could say our personalities are quite different, and musically we are quite different – and equally brilliant."

Joking aside, it seems her time with Rice et all has left her prepared for the road ahead.

"I think it has definitely inspired me, because it was a world I wasn't involved in up until then. I suppose I am going into this knowing all the work involved, but I can't say that I wouldn't have found this path if I had remained in classical music."