It's really easy to project this whole ideology of what being an artiste is, and I'm just not down with intellectualizing it. I just think, if you feel like doing something, then do it.
I love my music, so I want to produce, write, and serve my music. I've had to learn about EQ frequencies and programming and space and clutter and how to be a better piano or bass player - everything.
I don't know any Beatles songs. My dad never listened to Elvis or Sting or Bowie. Any band name that's on a t-shirt, I probably won't know their music, like AC/DC or whatever. I don't know what that is. As a kid, I would sing along to artists like Tania Maria.
Being beautiful isn't everything... Sometimes it's interesting to show how you feel on the inside on the outside, just through expressing yourself.
I'm a country girl. The more big cities I go to, the more fashionistas and designers I meet who want to dress me, the more I have all these kind of superficial but amazing experiences, the more I just realize that I'm from Gloucestershire.
I've never been into the typical R&B voice, with runs and bluesy sounding words. That doesn't suit me.
I think we live in a culture where it is really difficult to get privacy because everything is so accessible. It's very difficult to maintain your comfortable life with a sort of mystique.
I'm in so many videos. There was a period of about two years where I danced for everyone: Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Taio Cruz. It got to the point where my fees were double the other girls', and I wouldn't even have to audition. They'd call my agent directly and say, 'We want twigs to come in.'
In school, I had a tough time fitting in, and dancing was my way of being in my own element. As a teenager, I became a bit disillusioned with it. Even with competitions, I'd win, but still there would be tears.
Fashion's important to me, but beauty fades. All that stuff is fun while it lasts, but anything can happen tomorrow. You've got to have so much more about you than the way you look or your clothes.
I love things that are harsh and things that are too loud. And I love lulling people into a false sense of security. That's life.
I'm not thirsty. I'm not a pop star. I don't want to reign over all forever... I don't want to be famous! It makes me feel sick, the thought of being a famous person. It's just not me.
Textures apply to everything I do. Even within my music, I like smooth things, and then hard and fluffy things, all giving them their place to shine.
Being a gal, people can be a bit patronizing. 'Oh, look at you using the computer.' They would never say that to a boy. And I don't let them do it to me.
A few years ago, I found out that there's a lot of Gypsy blood on my mother's side. I'm wild in that way - I've been brought up to do my own thing.
I really enjoy the fun of putting something out and people liking it or hating it or talking about it, but vacuous attention, it feels disgusting. It's like a hangover.
I don't know if I'm a tortured soul, but I was born heartbroken. I remember feeling it when I was so young. I was like, 'Mum, it hurts.'
I once said to a boy, 'You're a really good kisser,' and he said, 'You're only as good as the person you're kissing.' I think it's the same with the music.
You have to recognize at some point that even though you have the passion and creative level to be able to do something, you might have to do a lot of prep. Sometimes you just can't do it as quickly as you want to do it.
I was never the pretty girl at school. I'm tiny and mixed-race. I grew up in a white area. I was always the loner.
