Imelda May Photos In The Studio

[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Imelda May [/lastfm]and her guitarist-husband Darrel Higham made their way to the new studio of our friends at Last.fm Presents in NYC, to play songs from their latest album Mayhem.

Growing up in Liberties section of Dublin, Ireland, Imelda benefited from having a large family in small living quarters (seven in two rooms), so one record player was shared by all. A balanced exposure of jazz, R&B, country, blues, rockabilly and traditional Irish music gave her a broad range of musical-styles that has helped shaped her musically and given her great direction in her career.

This range of influences comes through big time on her new album. Watch the exclusive Last.fm Presents studio session below.

At an early age, her brother introduced her to artists like [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Gene Vincent[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Eddie Cochran [/lastfm]and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Buddy Holly [/lastfm]and that helped open the doors to other musical genres she might have never heard.

Prior to Darrel teaming up with her, Imelda’s musical direction was jazz driven, led by the piano. Enter Darrel and his guitar playing brings in a rockabilly edge and even a post-punk flavor. This is exactly the way Imelda wanted it.

All For You

Inside Out

Mayhem

Proud And Humble

Tainted Love (cover of the Gloria Jones song, made famous by Soft Cell and inspired by the Dave Phillips version)

Interview

Imelda & Darell appeared on January 31, 2010 at the 52nd GRAMMY Awards. She and Darrel joined [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Jeff Beck [/lastfm]and his band in the tribute to Les Paul. They also performed at a special concert for President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama back on May 23rd of last year at College Green in Dublin, Ireland.