The Papua New Guinean performer said music was a part of life for her and other children while growing up.

“Living there (in PNG) at that time was quite hard. We had a lot of difficulties and kids would turn to music for therapeutic reasons,” Ngaiire said.

“I decided at quite a young age that I wanted to pursue music but my mum told me that it wouldn’t be possible because of where we lived.

“I ended up getting scholarship in Australia, we moved over and the rest is history.”

After arriving in Australia, the then teenager was exposed to a host of musicians she had never heard of.

“People like Stevie Wonder and Jeff Buckley. I was introduced to all these people’s music at the same time,” Ngaiire said.

“I remember thinking ‘holy sh*t, my brain is exploding’. This is what I wanted to do, all these singers have their own piece of soul that they offer and I wanted to do that.”

Since then, Ngaiire has worked hard and established herself as an impressive performer.

She performed at the 2014 Glastonbury festival, recorded two albums and spent the Australian summer on the festival circuit.

“Oh man, Glastonbury doesn't even compare (to Australian festivals). There are so many people there and so many stages,” Ngaiire said.

“Basically you are an ant among bigger ants. It was more the experience the thing I went away with, being able to watch Dolly Parton from the side of stage and seeing James Blake and those type people and feeling blessed to be playing at the same festival.

“Everyone goes (to Glastonbury) expecting mud and expecting crowds but it’s one thing a lot of people want to tick off their bucket list.”

Ngaiire’s latest album, Blastoma, will be released in early June.

“(Recording) has been different this time around. This album wasn't very fun, to be honest,” she said.

“I was going through a lot of heartbreak and relationships ended during writing. So I didn’t feel therapeutic, it was more masochistic than enjoyable.

“That’s why I named it Blastoma, after a cancer I had when I was a kid.”

But despite the difficulty in recording, her new singles have been well received.

“I was quite surprised at how it was received, we released the first song from the album (in 2015) and at that point I wasn't really vibing on it but people connected to it,” Ngaiire said.

“I’m very relived with the result. I can't wait to show people (the rest of the album).”  

Ngaiire plays at GTM at 12.40pm on Saturday.