Hey Cariss! Let’s start at the beginning – how did you get into music?
Heyy! Music has always been a big part of my life through my family – gatherings, staying at my grandparents over the summer, my mum playing Luther Vandross or rinsing Mary J Blige’s No More Drama album. Then I had the chance to learn how to play the cello and was that extracurricular kid at school who was in every single orchestra and singing group.

When was the moment you decided to make it a career?
I was teaching myself how to produce songs and went from Fruity Loops to GarageBand when I saved up for an old Mac. I made this song called ‘Unphased’ and put it on Soundcloud. My friends liked it so I uploaded it to BBC Introducing and it got played nationally on the Mark Forrest show. Then I thought – hang on lol.

A tough one now… what’s the piece of work you’re most proud of, and why?
I think it has to be Daydream. I wrote it in peak pandemic isolation wanting to escape everything and it resonated with so many people, it’s been mad to experience. I remember I produced four bars of the chorus and had no second verse before I ran for my train to London to work with the producer Iziah Yarde. We got the whole song done in 4 hours then Chrio Blake added these unreal guitar riffs. Lovely lovely people have reached out and messaged me or commented on the music video and that means everything to see it be a holiday for people like I wanted for myself. Dr Martens have just featured it as part of their Tough As You initiative, it’s a bit surreal and I’m super grateful.

How did growing up in Wolves influence your sound and career?
I went to the same school as Beverley Knight and she visited to watch a school play, I remember being so starstruck, like Beverley Knight is right there, ‘hello’. I was too shy to go over to her but it’s been amazing having someone like Beverley from my hometown as an inspiration. Places like Newhampton Arts Centre and WCR fm were really supportive starting out and gave me the opportunity to figure out what I wanted to do as an artist. Also I personally think you can hear bits of my accent in my music but I’ve been told I sound like I’m from the south because of my family, sorry to Wulfrunians!

Can you guide us through your creative process?
It does change but it always starts from something I’m experiencing at that time. Writing is cathartic to me so I’m getting my emotions out like a diary entry. Then I’ll either sit at my keyboard, laptop or guitar and start playing around with some simple chords to create melodies to. The nicest thing is when a fully formed idea just falls from the sky into your brain and everything writes itself but I’ve also been on version 27 of a chorus and had to step away for weeks. Then I’ll sketch a production demo on Logic and usually work with a producer but sometimes, like with ‘Fantasy’ produced by Eddie Serafica, I’ve gone in with not a single note in my head and it’s turned out a treat.