Rising star Rianne Downey charts the journey to her debut single

It is the paradigm of young independent contemporary artists and it certainly yields results. Indeed, her last 12 months have been littered with achievements that many established artists could only dream of and her audience continues to grow online.

Things were only getting bigger for the Bellshill singer and momentum was building.

However, on Friday last week, Downey took, arguably, her biggest leap forward yet as she unveiled her debut single Fuel to the Flame. To say the release had been a long time coming would be an understatement.

"It's massive," she tells The Weekender. "It's what I have been building up to my whole life."

Speaking ahead of the debut release, her words are infused with anticipation and optimism.

Years had passed since her first steps in the industry, but there is much more ahead than behind. Fuel to the Flame would set the tone for everything else to follow.

The significance of the occasion is not lost on the singer, and her loyal fanbase certainly did not let her down with more than 3,000 streams on release day.

But the tale behind the track is truly fitting, with Downey determined to carve her own path.

She continues: "I'm really excited to let people hear my thoughts and what I've been working on.

"Fuel to the Flame is about making your mark in life, while you are here. It's about realising that, when you've been at rock bottom, the only way is up, and things can only get better.

"It's about going for it; to come at life and make your stand – making the most of your time here.

RISING STAR: Rianne Downey released her debut single in February. Picture by Gaelle Beri

"I think it is something that everybody thinks about. We all have to go through it – hit our rock bottom – to then realise it's time to get out there and make something of themselves.

"With everything going on right now, I do feel there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel now. I think we all appreciate things a lot more now."

Downey may be approaching only her 21st birthday but she has served her apprenticeship in music for the past few years.

At 13, she heard Jake Bugg and was inspired by the modern sound he had created. Her love of the classic had been engrained and so her own vibe became a delicate mashing of the two.

Within a couple of years, it was time to get out and find an audience. The tougher the better.

Finding ways to catch the attention of others would always be difficult, so Buchannan Street in Glasgow seemed as good a place as any.

"It's an apprenticeship," the singer reflects as she thinks back to those freezing-cold Saturday mornings. She laughs as she revisits the memory of getting up at 6am and racing to find the best spots in the city centre.

She was far from alone, of course. She had the likes of Dylan John Thomas for company as they duo learned their way on the streets.

Downey says: "The busking scene was really good – it's like a wee community. It is stuff that like that breaks you and makes you. It gets you ready for everything that's to come: all the disasters and all the good stuff as well.

"I was pretty young and a bit naïve. I just thought we could go along and try make a bit of money. At the very start, it was brilliant. You would get people coming up to you to give nice wee compliments or just asking where else they can hear you.

"It's pretty special; you build a lot of really nice relationships when you're out there.

RISING STAR: Rianne Downey released her debut single in February. Picture by Gaelle Beri

It does have its hardships as well – you do get a little bit of abuse and there will always be those who walk straight past you. But I guess that's just good character building.

"Not everyone can stop and listen, fair enough. Not everyone is going to like you – that's the nature of life and it's important to not let that get to you. Someone walking past on their phone with a finger in their ear? That's not a problem.

"But I remember I was playing one time and a guy walked past and shouted over: 'You should go shoot yourself'. He looked so innocent, as well, and had a nice wee suit on. But he must've had a bad day or something.

"So, when you hear stuff like that, someone walking past on their phone doesn't bother you.

From the cold mornings to the summer nights of lockdown, Downey had been forever reaching out through her music. Obstacles became opportunity.

When the live performance industry shut down last March, the alternative was to perform online. Thousands have followed her social media accounts with her soulful covers of classic tracks proving a huge draw.

Each video can expect to reach tens of thousands with some edging towards a quarter of a million views.

Part of Downey's appeal has been her approach to those songs, performing them in her own way.

The singer adds: "I like playing covers and trying to make them my own a little. Although I don't have any songs of my own out just yet, I want people to be familiar with my sound.

"I did a cover of Once by Liam Gallagher and from there I had found my wee support group. The indie stuff, I guess, seems to speak to people.

"I think a lot of the covers I do, I don't think many are really expecting me to do that, especially because most of the songs I play are by men and I manage to turn them around and put my wee country-folk twist on them.

"It's quite exciting to hear a song performed so differently to the original. Sometimes, I see comments from people saying they were able to hear the words more from my version – it's nice that folk are able to discover something that they hadn't seen before from the song.

"It's crazy sometimes to just see how many people have sat and listened to my voice – it's amazing."

The prospect of releasing original material was always on the singer's mind. But it wasn't until the lockdown period that she began to explore that side with purpose.

In the meantime, each cover would give Downey just a little more confidence. She would learn so much from each effort in terms of what her audience wanted. But then, every so often, she would get the question.

"I've had so many people asking when my own stuff is coming out," she says. "And that's great because you think that, a lot of the time, people just want to listen to what they know.

"Folk asking to hear something that you have written is very overwhelming feeling.

RISING STAR: Rianne Downey released her debut single in February. Picture by Gaelle Beri

She continues: "I am so grateful for the support system I have had – all those people who like my videos and share my stuff. I really care about what they have to say because that's the reason I am doing it.

"The main reason things are getting bigger for me is because of the support system I have and the people that are interested in me and my music. So, any kind of feedback, I always try to take it in and do what I can with it.

"I'm starting to understand what people are wanting from music nowadays. For me, when listening to music, I always wanted to feel part of something and to have someone talking directly to me."

Fuel to the Flame will be followed up in short order. Further singles are ready to go and a hopeful eye has already been cast on an EP release.

"We have our second single picked and ready to go," Downey says. "It's a bit more upbeat than Fuel to the Flame, but it's a big middle finger to all those who doubt you.

"We'll see how the first song goes. Hopefully, we'll get a nice wee reception, and then I'll be back with a bang for my second single.

"There's definitely an EP coming as well, but I couldn't say when. I'd say maybe the summer or autumn."

She adds: "I just want to put my songs out and I want them to mean something to every person who listens. I don't feel like I need to have loads of production behind it, because it's about the lyrics, it's about the melody and just being in the moment.

"My songs are about me and whoever is listening – it's like we are talking to each other.

"There is nothing like connecting with people, especially when you are sharing something you both love. Music is such a powerful thing."

Fuel to the Flame was released on Friday, February 19, and is available on all streaming services.

LISTEN: Rianne Downey - Fuel to the Flame on Spotify