When I was very young, there was a lot of jazz and a lot of ‘80s French pop playing in the house because my mum grew up in Paris. As I got a little bit older, I started developing my own tastes and listening to people like King Krule and The Pixies. Then I picked up the guitar and started teaching myself to make beats.

Yeah, definitely! I think especially because I grew up having access to Youtube, it meant that I could just go down these rabbit holes and find anything from ‘60s soul deep cuts to Aphex Twin, to techno, to everything! I had access to such a wide range of different music – I think that’s what got me interested in music as a whole.

Definitely. I felt like it really expanded my vocabulary and encouraged me to write poetry. And I think having written from the age of about 11 years old – having that practice and having that time and inspiration – helped me hone my own voice and get to a place where I could communicate my feelings clearly.

I actually felt very inspired during that time, which I didn’t expect at all! I was looking through a lot of old journals and trying to think about the experiences that shaped me and the conversations and situations that made me who I am today. That was something I was really focused on – the idea of the past and of nostalgia. Having the time to listen to albums all the way through, watch films, and just absorb art without those external responsibilities was one of the positives, although it has been a difficult time for everyone.

I think it is the most important thing. For music to make people feel held and comforted and not alone is one of the most special powers it has. Especially over lockdown, a lot of the music that I listened to was going back to music I listened to growing up that had soundtracked a positive moment of my life, whether that was Otis Redding or Erykah Badu. Creating that sense of feeling safe and warm was something very important to me – and that’s all I could hope to convey in others.

That’s interesting. Listening to Walk in the Park by Beach House gave me that sense of melancholy but it also made me feel hopeful. I’ve always loved shoegaze-y dream pop music because the sounds are just so enveloping. I listen to that music whenever I’m in a difficult space, and it makes me feel like there is a possibility for joy even in the moment I’m feeling low.

Yeah, I do. I mean, I see them as separate but intertwined, and the visual serves to almost elevate the sound. Because we’ve worked together for so long, she truly understands my music, and the visual just complements it. I think even the way I write is very visual – I try to write as if I’m looking down the lens of a film camera trying to describe a scene to someone holistically. I also think that having that visual aspect not only elevates the song but also hopefully makes people maybe think about it in a way they didn’t before.

Yes! One of the most beautiful parts of music is collaboration, and it does feel so refreshing to be let into someone else’s process, to be able to sing together and work together, especially when it’s artists that I looked up to. To be seen as their peer is very special!

I would love to work with someone outside of my genre, someone like Caribou, Flying Lotus or A.K Paul – I’d love to do something in the electronic world. Frank Ocean would be the dream of dreams!

My sonic palette has expanded, and it’s still going to have that introspective, emotional feel to it. I wrote it during lockdown after a lot of reflection. I’m hoping it feels like an evolution from the things that I’ve made before.