If you’ve seen Ivy Fernie perform with one of her pro bands, you would know that the diminutive diva has a voice that packs one hell of a punch. It might have been AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses or Iron Maiden that you heard her belt out. Whatever it was, think big hair, tight jeans, long boots, and seriously anthemic 1980s belters.

Ninth State is the current apparition doing the rounds of wedding parties, corporate gigs and private clubs that pay proper fees. But if you haven’t been to one of those functions you may well have seen them for free anyway, on one of the nights they’re just playing for the hell
of it. If you had done, you’ll remember Fernie, at the front, in the middle, letting rip with her powerful vocal chords.

So it’s an interesting turn of events that Fernie is now taking a very different set of darkly introverted original songs to townside venues, to play the indie scene with her new band Dark Himaya.

“Himaya in [the Filipino language of] Tagalog means bliss, glory, hail and happiness, all these things together,” she says of the outfit that started rehearsing last year as a duet with fellow vocalist and keyboard player Aileen Alonzo.

Since then, they’ve picked up a bassist and a drummer and the show is going to The Wanch. “We have a minimalist but eclectic sound, with cryptic lyrics,” says Fernie, who clocks in on guitar duties as well as vocals.

Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Kate Bush have all made their mark on the band. “You have to read the whole song first before you can get to understand what it’s about. If we have a love song, for instance, we don’t just say ‘I miss you’,” she says. Instead, the “lusty, emotional, and sad” mood permeates through the entirety of the song.

But isn’t this a world away from those well-paying party gigs? “I like performing so much, whether it’s cover songs or my
own music,” she replies. With covers, Fernie is only offering up her voice to the audience. But with original material, so much more of herself goes into the performance. Says Fernie: “It’s a completely different role.”
 
Dark Himaya plays The Wanch on January 20. Free.