Biography
Stephanie Kirkham first saw the light of day in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, absorbing the sounds of Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, and Johnny Cash as a child and nurturing an ambition to write songs of her own. During her studies at Blackpool Art College she dispatched a cappella recordings of nascent material to Parlophone A&M executive Jamie Nelson; those tracks ultimately formed the foundation of her debut record. Issued in 2003 on Hut Records, a Virgin subsidiary with which she had secured a multi-album contract, That Girl was fronted by the buoyant single “Inappropriate” and revealed Kirkham’s bright, endearing pop sensibility. Just six months later Hut shut its doors, severing her arrangement with Virgin. Undaunted, she joined forces with musician Johnny Dunne to self-release the follow-up Sunlight on My Soul on SLK Music in 2006, an album that fused Tudor madrigals, Celtic folk, and jazz to widespread critical approval. Over the ensuing decade she largely withdrew from the industry, redirecting her energies toward visual art. Kirkham reemerged in 2016 with Tiny Spark, her third album, a buoyant, melody-rich collection recorded and produced by Phil Thornalley.
Singles
