Maria Shiel is a songwriter, musician and artist from the west of Ireland. She has been producing music in various guises for over twenty years and has performed shows across Ireland, Europe and the USA including legendary venues such as CBGB’s in New York and The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
In the early 2000’s Maria formed the roots/ hip-hop band Guava and went on to tour nationally, sharing stages with the likes of Damien Rice and Glen Hansard. In 2011 she set up collaborative record label KYO Records to promote international musical collaboration and went on to work with musicians from all over Europe, China, Russia, and the USA.
MARIA SHIEL – Photo by Amelie Caron
Through Kyo Records she released music under her electronic moniker MS44 and collaborated with acclaimed Irish producer Eomac. Maria has just released her full length solo record ‘Fire in the Sea!’, the long awaited follow up to 2015’s mini-album ‘Star’. The initial release is set as a physical LIMITED EDITION ART/CD release package only before the streaming release later in the year. (SEE: www.mariashiel.com/shop).
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In its first week of release it received extensive national radio airplay in Ireland and made the coveted spot on the ‘RTE Radio One Recommends Playlist’. ‘Fire in the Sea!’ is inspired by the ocean and combines influences from both sides of the Atlantic including old time country, indigenous roots music and vocal harmony groups from the 1950s and 1960s. The album showcases Maria’s own esoteric take on trans-atlantic sea-folk along with an aesthetic influenced by the work of Mark Rothko, Japanese anime and the street art of Bristol.
“With Fire In The Sea, Maria Shiel delivers the kind of Celtic-infused Americana that gives the genre a good name. What we have here is quality songwriting, expert musicianship, and melodies you’ll be humming from one side of the Atlantic to the other.”
– Tony Clayton Lee, The Irish Times
“Fire in the Sea is an eclectic amalgamation of influences which blend together to create a dream world of mythic and mystical proportions, exploring the boundaries of time and the human connection with land, sea and music through multi-generational migration. This is music for staring out to sea on stormy days and for dancing around fires on clear moonlit nights.”
– Not Bad
“Bristling with Confidence. A remarkable and honest debut album.” – Finbar Hoban
“An avant-garde blend of past, present and future encompassing earthy and folk influences from around the world” – SoundCloud Reviews
“A beautiful mix of electronica inspired acoustics that brings with it thoughts of other female artists like Florence Welch” – PureMzine.com
“An almost Enya-esque wall of ambient vocals… the perfect soundtrack for a movie dreamscape. Maria sounds a little like Edie Brickell” – Musician.ie