That's exactly what you're doing.
Absolutely. When I was little, I listened to a lot of music and the lyrics made me feel less alone and, above all, understood. When I write lyrics, I try to be as honest as possible. I try to transform thoughts into words in a way that no one has ever done before. That's the biggest challenge for me. When I write love songs, I want it to be something that hasn't been said before and doesn't sound like a cliché. I always ask myself: "How can I write a song that sounds the way I love?"
I'm sure it's not always easy to find the right words.
That's true. It's very difficult to express the respective emotional state accurately. I always try to distinguish kitsch from well thought-out statements.
Do you tend to write your songs when you're in a neutral or emotionally charged state?
It depends. When I'm in an unstable emotional state, I can kind of let my emotions run free because I feel the need to let it out. This usually makes the songs more passionate. For example, when I wrote "Hurts", I was very angry and needed to let that anger out. But when you have an emotional balance, you can take a step back and look at the emotions from a different perspective.
That way you can think about who you want to address with it and in what way.
When you were seven years old, you wrote the song "Yesterday Is Tomorrow". Will you ever sing this song live?
I can't remember all the chords. I would love to find my book again and rewrite the song. Maybe I'll sing it on an intimate tour at some point.
Or maybe at Art On Ice?
Yeah. That would be cool!
"Next I want to learn how to skate backwards on ice."
Can you relax while listening to music by other artists?
Sometimes yes. But it's very exhausting. When I listen to song lyrics, I often think to myself that I would have done certain things differently. That takes the pleasure out of listening to music. Sometimes I wish I could go back to listening to songs as a fan and forget about the process of making music.
At the beginning of your career, you only wrote songs. What made you decide to sing and perform yourself?
I've loved singing since I was a child. When you write a song, sometimes you only know yourself how it should be performed. Some songs, such as "Clown", I really wanted to sing myself because it's real and authentic. Regardless of whether it's successful or not.
You visited Zambia, your father's home country. What was that like for you?
It was incredible and helped me to understand myself. It was nice to grow up in Scotland. I had no connection to this half of me in Zambia until then. Of course, I always had my father around, but I never met my grandmother, my father's mother or my cousins. Going there was like coming home for me. I suddenly felt complete. There are a lot of musicians there and it made perfect sense to me. Just being in Africa - I'd never been to a place like that before. It was very spiritual; a moving experience.
Do you regret dropping out of medical school?
No. But sometimes I miss the intensive learning and the challenge to myself. My passion for medicine never reached the level of my passion for music. I am very happy that I have the opportunity to make music.
Could you doctor/diagnose yourself?
That would be cool! I wish I could remember more. I admire my friends who are now doctors for the hard work they put into their profession. Their passion is inspiring.
Are you always nervous before your performances?
From time to time. I want the performances to be great, my voice to work perfectly and everything to go fantastically. That's why I'm sometimes a bit nervous - but not like I used to be. I'm much more relaxed.
