Your new single \u2018Stellar Collision\u2019 <\/a>is out now \u2013 what\u2019s the story behind it?\u00a0 Zach started playing this really cool guitar part, and from there, I just started writing lyrics. I then took it to my band in rehearsal and they helped build up the parts. We ended up performing it on my UK tour last year before officially releasing it in October. It came together so naturally- that\u2019s one of the reasons why I love it because it just felt like it was meant to happen in that moment.<\/p>\n How does it compare to your past releases? Since we last spoke, you\u2019ve toured the UK, played Tramlines and released an EP. How does it feel looking back? I only celebrated my second anniversary with my band the other week, so to have done all this in just two years is something I\u2019m really proud of. It\u2019s a testament to not just my talent but how hard I have worked and everything I have put into this.<\/p>\n What have been the biggest highlights for you? What\u2019s been the most rewarding part of your growth as an artist? I cannot even describe how much work and time it took to manage the whole tour myself. I was working a full-time job, then spending every spare moment on admin, emails, promo, and rehearsals. I am very lucky to have had my partner who massively supported me throughout the tour. It was exhausting, but it was also the best week of my life. We played seven shows across the UK and sold out two of them all while connecting with fans who I still speak to now. It was such a rewarding and emotional experience, when we finished the last gig, the band and I were all in tears but it was just such a proud moment for us all.\u00a0<\/p>\n Any unexpected challenges along the way that shaped your journey? Even though you\u2019re based in London now, how has Sheffield continued to shape your music? I was heartbroken when Dorothy Pax shut down \u2013 it was such an important venue for upcoming artists. Sheffield\u2019s music scene is so intimate, and the venues play a huge role in supporting musicians. It\u2019s such a loss for the music scene. Without the musicians, the venue struggles and without the venues, the musicians struggle.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next \u2013 more singles, an album, another tour? Gigging is my main priority right now. Personally, I connect with people best through my live shows and that\u2019s how I build my audience in the most organic way. I do have a couple small festivals coming up which I can\u2019t announce just yet but that\u2019s very exciting too. I was shortlisted for Tramlines again, so whether that happens or not, I would love to do that again.<\/p>\n Stellar Collision is out now. Follow @absmusic<\/a> for the latest updates.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t
<\/strong>This song actually came together in just an hour. I wrote it with my partner, Zach Masho \u2013 he\u2019s a bassist and producer who\u2019s worked with a lot of artists in the Sheffield music scene. One morning, we woke up, and he said \u2018let\u2019s write a song today,\u2019 so we did. He asked me what genre I wanted to go for, and I told him I had this playlist called Hot AF, which didn\u2019t have any of my songs on it yet. And so that\u2019s how the song was born \u2013 I wanted to create something that would fit in with my playlist, inspired by artists like D\u2019Angelo, Jacob Banks and Lianne La Havas.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>As an artist, I don\u2019t believe in sticking to just one style \u2013 I think you should write based on how you feel. But right now, I am absolutely loving jazzy, neo-soul-inspired music. It\u2019s very chilled, very cool, and I love that my band is on it as well. It\u2019s all live recorded, which makes it different from my previous, more electronic-leaning work. This one is much more down the neo-soul route and I think that\u2019s where I\u2019m at.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/abs-in-copy.jpg\")
\u201cStellar Collision came together so naturally- that\u2019s one of the reasons why I love it because it just felt like it was meant to happen in that moment.\u201c<\/p>\n
<\/strong>It\u2019s honestly crazy because I do think that it is quite a lot to have achieved in a very short space of time especially for an upcoming artist. When I look back, it reminds me that people are connecting with what I\u2019m doing \u2013 people are showing up to gigs and booking me -it proves that I\u2019m on the right track and that\u2019s reassuring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Touring was definitely one of my proudest achievements. I was lucky enough to get funding from Help Musicians, who supported the tour and gave me expert advice. That in itself was massive because funding applications are so competitive and rejection gets disheartening. I actually got rejected the first time, but I took a massive leap of faith \u2013 I booked the tour and then applied for funding, hoping I\u2019d get it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/abs-in-copy2.jpg\")
\u201cSheffield is my roots and the music scene is so supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Funding is my biggest challenge in everything as a musician. I have so many big ideas, but I can\u2019t afford a single one of them. I\u2019ve got around 10 songs written or in demo form, but I don\u2019t have the money to properly finish and record them the way I\u2019d like \u2013 with my full band in a studio. I\u2019m also working a full-time job, which makes it difficult to dedicate as much time to music as I\u2019d like. Doing music full-time is the dream, but I can\u2019t afford it and I think that\u2019s the sad truth for most independent musicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>I went to university in Sheffield, and that\u2019s where I started as an artist and met my band which is still based there, so I travel back and forth for rehearsals and gigs. I felt it was time for me to expand my horizon, so I moved to London where I have met so many more artists of my genre. But Sheffield is my roots and the music scene is so supportive \u2013 Exposed Magazine was the first to interview me, and Tramlines gave me that huge opportunity. I have a lot of love for Sheffield and I will always be coming back because I have fans there, I have my band there and I don\u2019t want to lose that connection \u2013 it really shaped who I am as an artist.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>I\u2019m working on my second EP at the moment and would love to release it this year, but it all depends on money. I have definitely got my second bad bitch anthem which I debuted at my sold-out London headline gig, and the reaction was wild, so that one is definitely coming. I feel really creative at the moment. I could have a conversation with someone, hear one line and it inspires a whole song.<\/p>\n