Episode 2 City of Culture Film

I am Stephen McCauley and Derry/Londonderry is my hometown.

In the second instalment of our short films

featuring inspirational artists from the Northwest, I have come

back to the Playhouse Theatre to catch up with Soak,

AKA Bridie Monds-Watson.

We'll find out how the first few months of 2013

have unfolded for her as a singer songwriter

and also for the wider music scene here in the city.

Well, Bridie, it's 2013.

It's here. There's no running away from it.

So it started off with Sons and Daughters.

That was the big opening concert.

It was an incredible night, wasn't it? It was pretty amazing.

I mean, like, just all the acts that were there were great.

The whole set-up and atmosphere. Did you see the atmosphere in there?

It was, like... It was remarkable.

Everybody was just so buzzing for the City of Culture

and just to be there and that was class!

I think for me the thing that really struck me was the fact that you had

that line-up for the first time in history together on the one stage.

All these massive, kind of, international Derry icons. Yes.

Now for tonight's youngest performer. She is only 16,

she's a huge talent

and she's here to sing her own composition, Sea Creatures.

Please welcome... Soak!

CHEERING

I feel like that was kind of my introduction

to the wider Derry audience. You know, like the people who wouldn't

necessarily come out and watch gigs around town.

'That was a great way to sort of get what I can do musically, across.'

I'm Soak and this is Sea Creatures.

'I was the youngest on that stage. Like, to be so young'

and among that line-up like Neil Hannon and just... everybody!

And then, Frank doing the orchestra was so cool.

# The stars and moons

# Remind me of you

# I don't know what to say

# It might make you worse

# I don't understand

# What her problem is I think she's just a fish. #

Let's talk about the orchestra,

because the orchestra was a major feature in your song

and I remember watching it

and, you know, I'm used to seeing you playing Sea Creatures,

solo acoustic, but halfway through the song, this massive orchestra

came through, so you know, what was that like for you, doing that live?

It was one of the best things I've done with that song, ever.

# I don't think they know what love is... #

I've played Sea Creatures about 400 times now,

and it is the same thing and I try to change it up, tempo-wise

and put different words in different places,

but the orchestra was so tight and the arrangement

was so brilliant that it just worked brilliantly.

But I suppose when you play that live yourself on your own,

you can dictate the tempo,

but when there's an orchestra you have to get that right. Exactly.

When playing live, I can slow down even a tiny bit, nobody will notice,

but when you are playing with an orchestra,

timing has to be completely on-time,

like if you mess up, the orchestra is going to mess up.

It is not that it was difficult, it was just scary.

Like, what if I don't do it, what if I go baaa... ? You know what I mean?

Even if I wasn't doing it,

but it was just that fear in the back of my head.

# They don't really care

# Sea creatures

# Interfere... #

It's funny because watching you doing that,

you didn't look even the slightest bit fazed!

People keep telling me that,

but really, in my head, I am going like, no, no, no, you know?

# They don't know... #

There's a great sense of pride that night as well, I think

about the city? Yeah. Whenever Snow Patrol walked out on that stage,

the crowd just went absolutely bonkers.

It is our great pleasure to be here tonight.

Thank you so much for having us.

Whenever I played with them back before Christmas,

they played Chasing Cars and the audience was really into it,

they were really excited and energetic and whatnot.

But it was a completely different atmosphere then

whenever they played that in Derry and it just had that little

special feeling and you can't really explain that but it was amazing.

# Ooo-ooo, for you...

# For me-e-e... #

Bridie, I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to catch up

with you again very soon, possibly at the Radio One Big Weekend.

Who knows? For the time being, thanks so much for joining us.

Thanks for having me again.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd