She was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, into a musical family; her uncle is Dáithí Sproule of Altan.
After playing the clarinet for some time, she showed an interest in guitar, having been brought up listening to Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello in Derry and Donegal.
She made a rough demo tape which was sent to both the Parlophone and Blue Note record labels, who jointly offered her a recording deal within a week — Parlophone publishing in Europe and Blue Note in the United States.
[2] The album was produced by Stewart Levine, and included top musicians such as Pino Palladino.
The album consists of tracks which Sproule wrote between the ages of 17 and 19, and attracted widespread attention.