Up and Coming: Kirsty Almeida

Who is Kirsty Almeida?

A self-confessed "massive hippy" who loves both Stevie Wonder and Ivor Cutler – Stevie for the soul and Ivor for the hand-knitted quality of his performance, we're guessing. When she plays live, she creates her own elaborate stage outfits, customises her instruments and dresses the stage with vintage junk-shop paraphernalia – a bit like Paloma Faith on a thrift-store budget.

What's the story?

Almeida was born in the UK and raised in Gibraltar but also spent much of her childhood on the move through Venezuela, Singapore, the Philippines and Florida. In all, she attended 19 schools and was expelled from one – not a bad strike rate. On returning to the UK, she attended art school then tried out musical theatre, touring with Carnival Messiah (Handel's Messiah performed in a carnival style, naturally).

What's the sound?

Moving to Manchester, where she is still based, she fronted a Latin big band called La Gran Descarga for a while, but left to write her own material, which is more commercial sultry folk/jazz-inflected pop, brought to life on stage by her raucous, vaudevillian backing band. Her debut album Pure Blue Green, produced by Youth, features cameo appearances by band mascot Bernard, The Bird Of Time, and a Nintendo DS.

What are other people saying?

"It's onstage, with her band in full bawdy flow and the birdcage juddering, that she flourishes" – The Guardian

Where can I hear more?

www.myspace.com/almeidagirl

Pure Blue Green is released by Decca on 30 August