Gemma Hayes

Gemma Hayes (born 11 August 1977) is an Irish musician, singer-songwriter and composer.

Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments, including the piano and the harmonica.

She is also a member of The Cake Sale, Printer Clips and Trio (with Lisa Hannigan and Paul Noonan).

Hayes grew up in Ballyporeen, Tipperary with her parents and seven other siblings.

She was surrounded by music from an early age heavily influenced by her siblings and her father who was a keyboardist in a local band.

Hayes would later move to County Limerick to attend boarding school.

By this time, Hayes was proficient at piano and found that the music used to counter the boredom of living in a small village.

She would later move to Dublin City to attend UCD to study sociology, psychology and history.

Hayes soon dropped out of university to concentrate on her music and to gig at music venues across the city.

This was subsidised by working part-time in a laundrette.

Hayes' music career catapulted upon signing a recording contract with French independent record label, Source Records in 2001.

Under this label she would release her first EP 4.35am and its follow up Work to a Calm.

By 2002 her debut album Night on my Side was released.

This release received critical acclaim resulting in her winning Best Female Artist at the Hot Press Awards 2002 and later the album was nominated for Best Album at the 2003 Mercury Prize.

Hayes toured Europe and the US extensively upon the album's release performing at high profiled festivals such as Ireland's Witnness festival and Montreux Jazz Festival 2002 in Switzerland.

After touring Night on my Side Hayes took two years out from the music industry; "All I do know is that I didn't want to listen to music at all. I stopped listening to the radio. It was like I'd overdosed on music".

She did however find the time to record a cover of Lay Lady Lay with Magnet.

This version appeared in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

In 2004, Hayes moved from Dublin to Los Angeles.

By late 2005,

Hayes returned with her more upbeat second album, The Roads Don't Love You, and picked up the Best Irish Female Artist award at the 2006 Meteor Ireland Music Awards while completing a small tour of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Shortly after this she parted ways with Source Records as its parent company EMI-Virgin decided to overhaul its line-up of artists and bands.

During this time Hayes co-wrote the song "Hazy" with Adam Duritz.

Hayes toured Ireland, the UK and US during the promotion of the album.

On 14 August 2006 Hayes announced she had begun work on her third album in the Black Box Studios in France and produced by her former guitarist, David Odlum.

Hayes posted demos of "Out of Our Hands", "Home", and "This Is What You Do" on her MySpace during the recording process.

Hayes later confirmed the name of her third album The Hollow of Morning.

The album was independently released through her own label GH Music and co-financed by an investor.

The album was released in Ireland on 2 May 2008 debuting in the Irish Albums Chart at number 12.

Following its release in Ireland, Hayes signed a distribution deal with US label Second Motion the album was released in the US on 30 September 2008.

During her 2008 'The Hollow of Morning' tour in the UK, Hayes announced she was considering on recording an acoustic album to release by the year end.

During promotional work in Ireland during summer 2008, Hayes confirmed she would start recording her fourth album in August.

To support the album she put together a touring band featuring Joe Chester on guitar, Binzer Brennan on drums and Karl Odlum on bass.

This lineup would go on to tour extensively in Ireland, the UK as well as some dates opening for My Bloody Valentine in the United States, including at All Tomorrow's Parties in upstate New York.

It was confirmed in January 2009 Hayes was nominated for Best Irish Female, at the 2009 Meteor Ireland Music Awards, which took place on 17 March 2009 in Dublin.

She lost out to Imelda May.

On 13 February 2009 the music video for the song "Home" debuted on MySpace.

On 19 February 2009 she performed (with Joe Chester) at the Oscar Wilde party in Los Angeles.

The annual event takes place days before the Oscars, and celebrates the best of Irish popular culture.

Gemma and Joe would continue touring as a duo until April 2010.