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The British dance-pop star considers Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come amid the Black Lives Matter protests, and picks out tracks by Otis Redding, Miraa May and more
I’ve been quarantined at the family house, with instruments everywhere, and we have a little studio in the back garden so I’m not having a creative drought. I’ve been writing on Zoom with Ryan Tedder [a songwriter for Adele and Beyoncé and OneRepublic frontman], exploring powerful feminist messages which I’m very passionate about. I’m so used to being out and about, soaking in everything around me like a sponge, and writing down snapshots of things I see or feel. So in this stillness, I’m forced to look inside myself.
I’ve been reflecting a lot on the ups and downs I’ve been through as a woman – some of the tough things I’ve maybe buried, which I’ve had to pull out of myself and look at. I’ve had an unfair share of negative experiences and trauma. It’s not particularly nice to even talk about, but I’m getting the confidence to put these feelings and emotions into music. Continue reading...