She may have long since departed these shores, but Hannah Peel, who plays Belfast’s Open House Festival this month, tells Edwin Gilson how the ‘concrete and greyness’ of her native Craigavon still inspires her music

favourite contemporary musician, John Grant, she tries to employ analogue equipment whenever possible. She is perhaps best known for her unique use of the music box; her debut EP featured a number of 1980s classics reworked on the intricate instrument, including New Order’s Blue Monday and Soft Cell’s Tainted Love. While Peel accuses such songs of possessing “clinical and cold computerised beats”, she remains a “massive fan of electronic music”.

“The music box can change a song completely,” she says. “It makes it softer, more emotional, gives it life. When you strip it down, you realise that a lot of that synth-based 1980s music is melodically beautiful.”

If Peel’s desire for “more organic” musical output is understandable, her explanation of the inner workings of her music box is perhaps less so.

“It’s all programmed by paper, so it’s all hole-punched with just an ordinary household hole-punch, then the paper just feeds out the other end of the box to make sounds,” she says, with evident pride in her instrument of choice.

Having started playing music upon moving to Yorkshire, Peel is now master of the piano, violin, trombone and the fiddle. She used to jam a lot with her dad, a folk singer, and relishes the “Irish folk tradition” that she grew up with. There are downsides to the music box in a live setup, though, she admits; namely, the potential for error, the “little mistakes which can be characterful or damaging”.

“If something goes wrong with the paper in the box, like I lose it, then it’s sometimes a full-scale disaster,” she laughs. “Actually, at a gig in Brighton recently, my equipment did fail me and I had to adapt everything I was doing. It worked to my favour in a way, though, as the audience were with me. Everyone in the room was on my side, telling the sound guy that something was wrong, and it turned into a brilliant gig.”

Aside from such isolated incidents, the music box works effectively as part of a larger system, containing many instruments. This dynamic is vital to Peel’s performance, as she continues to go solo and refuse a backing band.

“I’ve only been in one band when there was a definite leader, and no sense of collaboration,” says Peel, “and it’s fair to say I didn’t last very long. I played in so many groups when I was younger that I eventually realised I wanted to break out on my own, and discover my own voice. It was just about having the belief to say: ‘Yeah, I can start singing on my own songs’.”

Peel’s independence means she doesn’t have to rely on anybody. From reimagining classic songs at the start of her career, to creating a diverse, expansive sound latterly, she has shown a fiercely individualistic creative streak that continues to serve her well. And it helps to have that special place, physical or mental, that she can disappear to in stressful times.

On Wednesday week in Belfast, she’ll return to that location which offers her more peace than most.

“I’m really looking forward to coming to Northern Ireland, and Belfast particularly,” she smiles. “Obviously it’s not as open as Donegal, but it’s by the sea, which is brilliant because it completely relieves those feelings of claustrophobia I sometimes get. I like to involve and include the crowd in my gigs, and I’m sure Belfast will be receptive to that!”