London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school.

Taxi drivers used to ask me what kind of music I did and I'd say, well, it's kind of jazz, soul, classical - but that makes no sense to anyone. Now I say I just write my own songs. I thought I had to help people get me, but I don't think they need to be spoon-fed. If you connect with me that is cool. I don't need the whole world to feel like I am a soul angel.

Who made you the center of the universe?

My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining.

I respect hippos. They just look the way they do; they can't do anything about it, but they don't seem bothered.

Lizz Wright is my favourite singer. Her voice moves me and takes me to another place. She also grows her own food and that inspires me.

I remember listening to Miles Davis in the car with my dad. I had just done my Grade 5 piano exam, and I was quite cocky. I said, 'It sounds like he's played the wrong note there.' I remember the look of horror on my dad's face, and thinking, 'Wow, I have to figure out why that is not acceptable.'