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'Bella Hardy is now an acclaimed singer; her voice has been marked as '...mesmerising' and '...faultless'. As well as singing unaccompanied ballads, Bella entwines her voice with her own fiddle accompaniment to breathtaking effect. Bella also teaches song, plays fiddle in ceilidh bands and works as a musical odd-jobs woman.'

Going back to when you started, your first real group was The Pack; were they people you met when you were learning fiddle?
Yes absolutely, when I first went to Folk Summer School, they were just a gang I fell in with really

And you recorded one album with them?|
We did. We recorded it when I was 16 I think, that was '12 Little Devils', it was great fun, we just hired a village hall and recorded the album....I remember we went and played to the primary school across the road!

Did you have plans to go professional from early on?
No, not at all really. I'm one of these people that never seems to be able to set her mind to any kind of plan whatsoever! I studied English Literature at University, and when I was there I was using my summers to go and do work experience with different people in the music industry....I did a few weeks with Harriet Simms in Glass Ceiling PR and I worked in a big agency in London who did Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel, I was trying out lots of roles within the music industry and I just fell into the performing really, it was what just built up over the years...it just happened!

You also do quite a bit of teaching don't you?
I do an evening class called group and harmony songs so that keeps me busy, I've been doing that for a couple of years now and it's very good for me. I try and get into primary schools and do a fair amount of primary school singing. I had a primary school headmaster who really loved singing and really got us singing a lot and composing songs. I realised very early on that I didn't remember anything but lyrics! I think it's a really beneficial thing to do at primary school age.

Did you actually come from Edale or somewhere in the Hope Vallley?
No, Edale A back corner of it... It's lovely.

And you've called your record label after the river there, haven't you?
Yes I have...well spotted! Lots of people don't notice that one. It's the name of the river that runs past my garden.

So is that to do your albums, have you got any plans to do any more?
I haven't yet, it does come up occasionally....I haven't ruled it out. I would say there's not enough in the business coffers to be doing it anytime soon...but it's set up so who knows really....

Your Night Visiting album's going very well...the reviews have been fantastic
I've been really pleased with it. Yes it's been wonderful, it was such an exciting one to make, as it was a coming together of songs that I'd been working on for a long time. I'm really pleased that it's been accepted as I'm not going to be able to make a record like it again!

Why, because it meant so much?
Beacuse that's my history of songs...the next one's going to be much more tricky because people will be expecting a certain thing...making this one was a lot of fun...

It resulted in 2 nominations at the folk awards...including one for best original song...
That was really flattering, the nomination for best original song really blew me away...it was a really nice one for me to get because it's inspired me to do more writing. I always done a lot of writing but not for the public ear...'cause I tend to try not to write what I call 'songs of teenage angst'...well I write a lot of them but I wouldn't make anyone listen to them!! But I could always give them to someone else...when I need something to retire on!
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Where did you record the album?
In Newcastle...I did a masters up in Newcastle which finished last year which was in music, loooking at song education mainly. I actually recorded it in a studio which had just been set up by friends of mine, Ian Stevenson and Julian Batten.. it was Julian in the studio mainly doing the recording with me, which was great because he has a musician's ear as well as a recording ear.

That's a good album for them to record in their new studio then!
I think it's just a temporary one actually, it was in an old televison studio, but it's actually being knocked down so they're going to have to relocate before the next album!

You describe yourself in your biography as a 'musical odd job woman'...can you qualify that?
I think that feeling came from having done lots of bits and bobs in various music offices for years. I was helping out with PR companies, I occasionally helped people with their art funding applications and lots of teaching here and there, so that's where it comes from...I think I've been really fortunate to get a look at lots of the ways the industry works....it's good to understand the system a little bit.

You've got loads of gigs lined up.a and festivals like Cambridge, Ely, Sidmouth, Warwick...
I'm going to be a busy girl....apparently I might be doing 15 or 16 festivals over the summer! Quite often 2 or 3 in a weekend....I think the most exciting journey we're doing is we're at the Sidmouth festival on the Friday and then I'm in Pickering on the Saturday lunchtime so that'll be an overnight drive. it'll be a lot of fun...I've got to take the opportunity to perform when I can!

It will be really exciting to do that many festivals won't it?
Oh it will.....it'll be really wonderful. The reason I started playing in The Pack is that we wanted to go to the festivals and couldn't afford to buy tickets so we started sending out demo tapes and trying to get on the bill! It's still a very social scene....I love catching up with friends there too...

You've got your first album out ,and you've been nominated for awards, do you feel a burden of expectation on you?
I'm going to hopefully make another album....nothing's down on paper of yet but it'll be next summer when it comes out. And hopefully more writing.....it's just a case of working on new stuff...

Where do your songs come from? do they come from experience?
I find it quite tricky....I do write a lot for reasons of therapy! But I don't really like washing my laundry in public and I certainly don't want to write about people who might recognise themselves in songs! I suppose it's about taking that personal experience and remoulding it into something that people want to listen to...but it's still all about that emotional connection, finding a piece of yourself in it.

It sounds like for you the songwriting process starts with a story and then the music follows....
It happens in so many different ways....some songs end up as poems rather than songs, sometime I get a little piece of tune in my head and I know I need to find a song that will go with it. It's always a very long process, and it all happens when you're doing other stuff, you just need to plant the seeds in your own head and it sorts itself out!

It'll be interesting to see if the festivals have an effect on the development of the songs....
Yes, absolutely....I want them to sound fresh, I don't want them to sound tired, and that's a real art...
the great thing about folk songs is that they are interesting so you can do that. They're always a challenge to sing, I have to keep my voice on top form. But that's the challenge...

Well it sounds like you like setting yourself a challenge!
Well it would be very dull wouldn't it!

Iain Hazlewood February 2008