In at the deep end

You join us in transit between Cork and Dublin, our current co-ordinates somewhere in deepest Munster. Just over an hour ago, Skyn Deep – the latest addition to Ireland’s growing roster of shiny happy pop-combos – stepped off stage in the Glen Green arena, Milstreet, where the quartet opened for Atomic Kitten. Right now, three members of the group – co-founder Natasha May and cousins Michele and Aislinn Charmant – sit facing your correspondent in the back seat of their tour-bus, which is hauling ass towards Dublin and the O2 Party in The Park taking place the following day.

Such a hectic schedule befits an outfit whose debut single, the Destiny’s Child-flavoured R’n’B number, ‘A Matter Of Time’, entered the Irish charts at no. 13 earlier that day. Although Skyn Deep are bound to find themselves categorised alongside Girls Aloud and the rest of the manufactured brigade, the group are keen to stress both their independence and the entirely organic circumstances in which the group formed.

“I actually met Morgan (Deane, the group’s fourth member and songwriter) three years ago at In The City,” explains Natasha. “We both went over as solo artists, and we got talking because we were both from Ireland and what have you. We kept in touch when we came back home, and when it became obvious that our solo careers weren’t progressing as fast as we would have liked, we came up with the idea of putting a band together.”

Following the addition of Michele and Aislinn to the line-up, the group acquired professional management and immediately set to work on material for their forthcoming debut album. Now, with ‘A Matter Of Time’ nestled comfortably in the Top 20 and a planned collaboration with The Neptunes in the offing, Skyn Deep are well positioned to follow in the footsteps of Boyzone and Westlife and launch an all-out assault on the British market.

But the question has to be asked: are the girls doing this simply for fame and fortune or do they perform purely out of a love of music?

“It’s the music for me, although I do want the whole world to know my name,” laughs Natasha. “I mean, obviously you want to be known for being talented. There are an awful lot of bands around at the moment who are getting by on looks alone, but that’s not enough to build a career on. But if you have looks and talent, you will go a long way, there’s no doubt about it.

“Also, when you get into this business, you have to be aware of the downsides to the job, and I think that’s something we’ve taken on board. Like, you look at the recent documentary on Michael Jackson and you see that sometimes being famous means you end up living in a very strange environment. So we would be aware that fame in and of itself isn’t always a great thing, and that’s why we care so much about our music – if the songs are good, everything will flow very naturally from that.”

Given the youthful nature of their fanbase, do the girls feel any pressure to be role models?

“Er, it’s not really pressure as such,” answers Natasha, amid much sheepish reaction. “I mean, I was asked about this yesterday, and what I said was that if your fanbase is especially young, you probably do have a responsibility to act in a certain way. It’s probably not appropriate to be seen drinking and smoking in public, because young kids might not be able to make an informed choice for themselves – they might start behaving badly way for no good reason other than they think it’s the fashionable thing to do. So you have to be very careful and think before you act sometimes.”

Would Skyn Deep ever “do a Six” and appear scantily clad on the cover of a lads’ mag?

“Well, you’ve gotta come out as who you are,” offers Natasha. “If that means you have a sexier image, then so be it. When Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears first arrived on the scene, they played off this image of being young girls, these totally innocent virgins. And I think that’s one thing that they actually did wrong, because when they decided a few years later that, ‘Okay, I’m sick of this image’, they just end up looking completely ridiculous. So the most important thing is definitely to stay true to yourself and not apologise for it. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.”