I've always been able to just concoct a melody quite easily - it's just kind of instinct, really. You've got to channel your subconscious.

I started off singing in church as a child. The sound of voices coming together, that was my first moment of touching something outside of myself.

I'd experimented with so many different types of music. I had these folky songs I'd written and recorded, but something wasn't quite right.

For someone so conflicted, who am I to give advice to anybody? It’s such a funny, grandiose idea

I've learned not to hide behind a veil of irony - to talk about my work in a more honest way.

When I first started, especially because I got the Critics' Choice before I'd released an album, there was a lot of scrutiny on what my character was, what my background was, what colour my hair was. I fought quite hard for the music to overtake the personality aspect.

I've always been attracted to romantic secondhand clothes. But my style developed as I started going to these strange raves where everybody had these very definitive costumes.