I was very self-involved and I mean that in a good way. My mum used to say I was just so weird, always in my own world. And I was. But I never felt alone in it. I was more of a wonderer than a wanderer, if that makes sense. Off in the corner, not left out, just enjoying myself.

It was never really a plan. I dropped my first song last September and even that came out of nowhere. I had always sung, in school choir and church choir, but never with the thought, “I can sing, so I should be an artist.” I see my whole journey as spiritual. I was recording songs on my laptop for no reason, just enjoying it. I used GarageBand because it came free with the Mac. I would have a melody in my head and sit there for hours working it out. At the time, I had three or four jobs. Nothing nine to five because I genuinely cannot survive in that kind of institution. Then one day I messaged a producer friend just to show him some songs. That first song was nine minutes long. We put everything into it because we loved it.

“Another Day” was different. With the first song, I was trying to sound perfect. I wanted to hit the right notes and sound like you were supposed to sound on a record. “Another Day” was simpler. I recorded it and just thought, oh, this is me. I did not have to bend myself out of shape to get there.

Not really. It is still on track. What I am saying has not changed. It is just more polished now. You keep discovering little things in the process that help.

Yes. I once wrote a jingle for Nescafé when they were running a competition. I downloaded the instrumentals they provided and made a whole song out of it. Nobody is hearing that one. Maybe one day, just to show how far I have come.

Honestly, I never fully know. Even after we have mixed and mastered it and started promoting it, I will hear something I wish I had added. The perfecting never really stops. What tells me it is ready is simpler. I listen back and if it has soul, if it leaves me with a feeling, that is enough.

It is the business side of things. I am someone who can hear a beautiful song and just enjoy it for what it is. Then suddenly you are thinking about how people are going to receive it, what they are going to do with it and whether they are enjoying it enough. At some point, even something as simple as loving a song starts to feel like part of a strategy. That is the part I struggle with. It is not that the business side is bad. It just takes some of the beauty out of it. You are a creative but you are also thinking about the business at the same time. There is always that tension.

Not pressure exactly. More like fleeting thoughts. Should I act this way? Is this cooler? I let the thoughts come because pushing them away just gives them power. Then I address them and move on. Who is going to be you if you are busy being someone else?

Community, definitely. I think you need people around you who understand where you are coming from, whether that is your friends, the people you work with or your partner. And that does not mean everyone has to agree with you. Some people just are not your people and that is okay.

Maybe that I am cold. I am very particular about energy. I am a bit cat-like in that way. If something does not draw me in, I will not force it. It does not mean there is anything wrong with the person or the energy. It just might not be for me.

Confidence. Way more of it. I can sit in a room full of singers now and know I belong there, because I have seen what the work does.

I pray about this actually. I do not want new demons showing up once the old ones are handled. Right now I can provide for my family, make music, be happy, and that is already what I asked for. I do not want to get to a point where I have all of that and I am still finding new things to be discontent about, like an award I do not have or someone I am being compared to. That is the only thing I am really watching for.

Progress, honestly. That is what success looks like to me right now. I do have this bigger picture in my head. I see a room full of people singing, dancing, having a good time, everyone feeling okay in themselves. No anxiety. Just being present and enjoying the music. That is probably the furthest version of it. But for now, I measure success by how far I have come since I started. I can see the progress and I am happy with the pace.

Production. I am still learning it. There is a lot I want to do that I cannot yet but I am getting there.

That the songs reflected what my life actually looked like at the time. Go back to my first song and it is all about the dream. A few years from now, I want to actually be on tour, living that dream. I want people to see the whole arc. The room I recorded in, me editing my own videos, before anything was polished or there were billions involved. I am not trying to flash anything. I want it to be a normal story of learning, messing up, figuring things out and growing. I want my music and my life to look like that. Honestly, all of it.