I know my sound, and I have to be true to who I am as an artist, even though I want be real cool, and make really cool music.

The music that I make isn't really like any of the music that I listen to. I think I listen to cool music, but I know that I don't make cool music - so it's kind of funny!

I had a pretty regular childhood, with a rad mum who taught me to love reading and thinking and laughing, and (as far as I was concerned) a regular dad who drove trucks for a living and did radio interviews on weekends and got stopped in the street a lot when we went out.

Obviously, it was a big life change for me and quite a shock to suddenly have these songs I'd written in my bedroom as a far-too-intense teenager all over the airwaves and see my face on buses, especially in a small country like New Zealand, but at the same time it was such a thrill and an honour knowing that my music was reaching people.

At sixteen I was like: "I need to get an album out now!" - even though I was only sixteen. I was always in a little bit of a rush to be an adult.

The God we worship is Jesus - He is the image of the invisible God - and if we dare seek Him for who He really is rather than pursue an idea of Him that fits into our tidy boxes, He will blow our minds.

I had received some minor indie label interest when I was 14 after I was in a schools music competition thing in NZ called 'Rockquest', but I knew it wasn't the right time and that I wasn't good enough and needed to concentrate on school.