I was travelling for five years and had to take various jobs. I taught English in China, worked on an organic farm in Australia and danced in some Bollywood films in India.

I was staying in a hostel in Mumbai when some film people came round looking for westerners to play extras, so I gave it a go. Then they wanted dancers, and as I'd done ballet since I was tiny and been to music and drama college, I volunteered. It was fantastic fun!

Then I lived in England for a while and began doing some gigs. It's amazing what a magical effect the Welsh language has on people. Lots of English people thought I was singing in Elfish because of Lord of the Rings. But that's the beautiful thing about Welsh - it's so entrancing, the perfect language to sing in.

But, even though I gathered lots of inspiration from travelling, I did miss Wales a great deal; my family, the land, the language, the culture. So I've moved back and I'm performing lots of gigs around the country. The folk scene is really thriving, especially in the Cardiff area.

I think the Celtic tradition is a very easy form to write songs in, especially about feelings and emotions. It's the music of the people, after all.

I also perform old songs like Dacw 'nghariad and Ar lan y mor, but I think they can end up sounding rather depressing, so I speed them up a bit, and maybe perform them with a different instrument.

My father's family come from Ireland originally, and I love performing with a bodrhan, a small, round Irish drum which you play with one stick while singing.

I don't have a recording contract yet, so I made an album in my friend's studio, got other friends to help press the CDs and designed the artwork for the cover myself.

You can download my music off the internet too and having a web page has been great for getting offers for gigs.

After establishing myself a little more I would like to launch my CD properly, maybe find a distributor. Although downloading is popular, lots of people still like having a real CD, so I've got to find ways to reach them. Maybe I should go on a tour of all of Wales' record shops myself!

I'd love to move back to Aberdyfi one day, but I'll have to make my fortune first because it's very expensive.

My one rule is, never say no if someone asks you to sing. I've made so many friends and got booked for lots of gigs by singing when I'm asked. So if you're thinking of getting into the folk scene, go for it. Catrin O'Neill