• Beck Siàn was born on the 4th of January (we'll be polite and avoid mentioning the year) in Melbourne, Australia. Her mother is Welsh, and her father was born in England, but is from an Irish family. With Welsh and Irish blood, it seems only natural that Beck was going to be drawn to all things Celtic – everything from the Celtic artwork and mythology, Druidic reverence for nature and trees, tales of banshees and faeries, to the musical instruments and haunting singing-styles. There is definitely a strong Celtic thread in Beck Siàn’s music – even when singing Australian songs and modern compositions.
• Related to English singer Kate Bush, it was her influence and artistic inspiration (as well as having a talented artist for a father) that sparked Beck's own desire to dance, sing and create.
• Beck Siàn’s original music is heavily influenced by the natural environment surrounding her. Her first album, ‘Unfurling’, was set within an Australian Rain-forest. Her second full-length CD, ‘Luminous Wings & Unseen Things’ is set within the formal gardens of a haunted Welsh Castle.
• ‘Unfurling’ was named for the unfurling of the fern fronds in the forest, and for the unfurling of Beck’s true and new self within that environment. Beck Siàn moved to a cottage in the forest, with a guitar and a book of chords, and taught herself how to play. Having always loved writing little poems and stories, Beck began to set them to music. And so, ‘Unfurling’ was born, and Beck’s new journey as a singer/songwriter began. She particularly loves to write about storms, nature and ghost stories.
• Beck Siàn arrived in the UK in mid 2006 for her first British tour. It is still going...
• Beck Siàn is currently residing on a Welsh hillside, where dragons once circled the skies, and where stories of the supernatural abound. She lives in a haunted cottage and works by day in an apparently haunted castle. Not surprisingly, many notebooks have already been filled with excited scribblings – lots of material for future albums?
• Beck Siàn was the winner of the Ranges Folk Festival Songwriting Award 2004, for her song ‘Under Thunderous Skies’, featured on her ‘Unfurling’ album.
* 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things' was released in 2009. It is a haunting and atmospheric collection of 'garden songs' - music and lyrics set within topiary gardens, secret gardens and castle gardens. Influenced by Beck Siàn's love of 'Jane Eyre', Jane Austen and 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Featuring original songs and Beck's interpretations of traditional ballads that fit the ghostly garden theme.
"Some singers have only to utter a note and instantly, you're transfixed. They've reached out, touched your soul. Beck Siàn has that rare quality. In Beck, you sense she's on a journey and, for a short while at least, you're a traveling companion. She draws inspiration from the subtropical rainforests of her native Australia, creating what she fittingly calls 'Haunted Forest Music', through voice, guitar, whistle and didgeridoo. It's mystical, magical music, spiritual and enchanting. There are touches redolent of Kate Bush, to whom Beck is related, but these are mere brush-strokes of influence. Overall, it's as distinctive as it's original. With a soprano voice to die for, her approach is highly individual, the ambiance emotional and utterly entrancing. She's charismatic, convivial and funny on stage - in short, a real show-stopper! Her outstanding debut album is called 'Unfurling'. And artistically, that is precisely what Beck is doing. Unmissable." (Julian Badcock - Wheaton Aston Folk Festival 2007)
“Really great. She’s got an amazing voice…”
Reg Presley (The Troggs)
“Bucketloads of charisma and a fabulous, enchanting delivery…”
Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel)
“She is fabulous!”
Genevieve Tudor (‘Sunday Folk’ BBC Radio Shropshire)
"She (Beck Siàn) sings of storms, nature, emotional journeys and a ghost story or two. This is stunning music with a Celtic foundation, a Supernatural thread, a World music vibe, a Gothic darkness and, dare I say a new category, of Fantasy Folk!"
Haunted Forest Productions
“A multi-layered unique artiste with a vocal gift to carry her anywhere.”
Judith Durham (The Seekers)
“Beck Siàn conjured up a magical evening of great good humour, enchanting music, disarming honesty – and just a spoonful of craziness! Her exuberance and love of life is infectious.”
Phil Gillam
“It is one thing to be admired by the Folk Establishment and a whole other matter to be taken into the hearts of the audiences, which Beck Siàn is. Everything about Beck tells you she is a star.”
Bob Lines (St. Valentine’s Charity Folk Festival 2007)
“Her presentation is impeccable: between her songs she tells her story in her soft Australian accent, on equal terms with her audience. It’s like listening to a new friend. Her beautiful voice delivers her beautiful words wrapped in velvet: she captivates.”
Tony Charnock (Topic Folk Club 2006)
“Her vocal range and haunting delivery raises the hairs on the back of your neck.”
David Parker (The Beat International)