Daria & Matthew, are ceremonial musicians, song weavers, walking the path, traveling into the depths of the original story to unveil the collective memory that resides within.
Their seamless blend of kinfolk, spiritual roots music opens up a space of stillness to aid in uniting the separation of the physical and the spirit, exploring harmony through remembrance, carried by their songs revealing the beauty and love that connects us all.
The frequency of love.
Matthew
Born to the sounds of Bow bells in the city of London to an Irish mother and father Matthew grew up in rather interesting environment. His father known as Brush Shiels was a member of one of the first heavy rock bands SKID ROW that came out of Ireland and performed on the World music stage alongside many greats. Matthew spent his early years living with his parents in a rented accommodation in the East End of London as so many world renowned musicians like Thin Lizzy, Fleet wood mac, Sparks, The Small Faces and many more …. His mum’s and dad’s flat was always packed with musicians, artists and stragglers from Ireland trying to dream big.
Jamming with Garry Moore or Phil Lynott was just a natural thing that happened in these days and only after many years Matthew realized how precious those moments were and how privileged he was to experience all these amazing personalities in such an innocent way.
After few years the family moved back to Ireland, Matthew found it difficult to adapt. School was not an easy environment as he was struggling with dyslexia and in those days it was not yet understood how to support children with these type of difficulties. His parents decided to take Matthew out of school and allowed him to join his father’s band at age 14.
Music meant everything to Matthew. He was practicing guitar for hours every day. He never learned to read music but he had a great ear and his own unique style of playing that came naturally to him.
Over the years Matthew was playing with many bands and also had his own band. Some of his proudest moments were supporting Jeff Healy and Buddy guy as he really admired their work and talent.
Earning a living as a musician is not easy, if you haven’t made it big. This was really disheartening and caused disappointment as playing music was something so innate and so integral to his life. Not getting a lucky break made Matthew reevaluate his actions and follow other interests that became a more sustainable way for creating income. From the time he was a young boy he was a natural healer. Working with animals and people intuitively over the years allowed him to transition to this line of work and it became his new profession.
Around the same time Matthew meets his wife Daria and asks her to marry him on their first date and she says yes
The first years of their marriage have been filled with challenges including Matthew becoming seriously ill.
After Matthew recovered from cancer the couple decides to change their life, let go of all their possessions and start a fresh with less baggage and responsibilities. They travel to India and their life changes into an amazing journey of self-exploration and trust in what may unfold day after day.
During this many years of adventure they both focus a lot of energy on self-knowledge. Spending a lot of time in deep meditation and discovering the blessings of sacred medicines, ceremony and community.
Going back to the roots, reconnecting with mother nature and simplifying their way of life brought in an amazing amount of healing and uncovered the hidden truths about their purpose here on this earth.
Once again the flood gates opened and music started to flow through but this time round with so much more meaning and understanding that could not be denied any longer.
Both Matthew and Daria received many songs and have been sharing them in song circles around the World.
During covid Matthew and Daria found themselves back in Ireland which gave them an opportunity to record some of their songs and make them available to a wider audience.
Daria
Daria was born in a little town named Koscian in Poland. To make it more interesting she was brought back home from the maternity ward to a little, one room flat on the grounds of Psychiatric hospital where both of her parents worked at the time. She had a happy childhood despite of what may come across as not a child friendly environment to grow up in. In reality it was an amazing walled garden where children could run free and explore the wonders of life without too much supervision from parents.
Daria always felt a strong connection to nature and appreciated time on her own. Not too crazy about school but enjoyed subjects like biology, chemistry, poetry and music.
Growing up on the grounds of hospital made her wonder about the place for medication and ignited a lifelong passion for supporting health in a natural way as much as possible.
Always hands on, physical and free. Despite the conditioning she was exposed to, she always believed that anything is possible and she carried on living this way causing her father absolute distress with a statement ‘I am hitch hiking to Spain tomorrow ‘at 16. And off she went.
During her teenage years she dedicated a lot of time to her passion for theater and music was always a way for her to express how she felt.
After high school she found herself exploring nutritional sciences as a continuation of her curiosity about health and well-being. Towards the end of the University she also took up a second subject and studied physical therapy and natural healing modalities.
After completion she decided to leave Poland and start a new life in Ireland. She enjoyed her independence, loved the Irish people and her new home.
For many years she was running a little holistic therapy room in Dublin until one day she met her husband and set out on a joined journey uncovering truths about life that keeps on reviling itself day after day, adventure after adventure, song after song .
She is fascinated with the journey of her own voice and sound as a powerful force of creation.
Matthew asked Daria to marry him at the beginning of their first date on the night of Summer Solstice 2008 and she said Yes. They have not been apart since. Living, working, making music! You always see them together, growing stronger with every day and appreciating each other’s reflection.
“The first time I looked into his eyes I felt at ease, I knew that, if there are true fairy tale stories I was definitely living it in that very moment. I did not question what was happening, I did not analyse it , I felt it and I let it unfold” Daria
