Hello Bex how are you?

I’m doing well thanks! It’s so good that Spring is here (finally) and I’m enjoying the sun!

Congratulations on the release of your EP Dear People how does it feel?

Thank you! It feels so great to get the EP out – quite emotional actually! I’ve been sitting on these songs for quite some time, and for people to finally be able to listen to them feels amazing.

What’s your favourite track from it?

Wow – that is a hard question, and it has changed a few times since I wrote the songs, but overall I usually come back to ‘deep breath’ as my fave. There’s something about it that makes me cry, and for me, that’s a good thing in a song.

What was the easiest and most challenging part of recording it?

The easiest part was writing the songs, for sure – they wrote themselves pretty easily, which was really beautiful. The hardest part of recording was probably getting the vocals how I wanted them to be. Sometimes my voice just doesn’t do what I want it to do which is frustrating – the vocal sessions were a bit tough and I drank a lot of hot water!

You’re an artist from Brighton, how did it all begin for you?

I grew up in a really musical household. I started piano lessons when I was 4, not because I was forced to, but I was so desperate to play! I was classically trained on the piano and a few other instruments, and my dream was to become a concert pianist when I was older! I loved practising, and performing, and I wrote my own songs from when I was really young. As I got older I was involved in all the music at school…every band, every concert, and I really loved it. Reading aloud in class was my absolute worst nightmare, but to perform a massive piece at the piano in front of hundreds of people was my comfort zone!

Then when I was a teenager I ended up at a youth club where they had these band nights – they were amazing events, and we were all forming bands with the sole purpose of playing at one of these gigs and being able to invite our mates along. My brother and I used to have band rehearsals in our parents’ garage – zero sound proofing on that, but neighbours didn’t seem to mind too much. I ended up playing keys and also bass guitar in a few bands – if you’re musical in Brighton it’s almost impossible not to end up in bands. It was a really exciting time. We were writing, doing gigs, photoshoots…recording some songs if we were lucky…happy days.

What did you listen to growing up?

I listened to music pretty much constantly in my teens…quite an eclectic mix, though….there was a lot of Radiohead, Muse, Foo Fighters, Reef, Supergrass, and then more chilled stuff like Carole King, and Gemma Hayes, and I have been super inspired by Imogen Heap over the years.

You have a fondness for Casio keyboards and drum machines, what’s your favourite piece of gear?

Well it’s got to be the humble and quirky Bontempi AZ 9000. I wrote all of the EP on this, and I love it.

If you could get your hands on one piece of vintage equipment what would it be?

It would be a dream to own a Juno. We used the Juno-106 quite a bit on the EP because Jonny Bird (producer) has one in his Bristol studio.

You’re also in the cinematic duo Heir, tell us about it.

Pete Coggan an old friend from Brighton approached me in 2014 and asked if I’d be up for writing an piano-based instrumental album with him, under the artist name of ‘Heir’. It was a no-brainer for me – Pete is one of those very special talents that the world needs to know about, and he writes inspired music. We released our first album ‘Years’ in 2015, and the second album ‘Cocoon’ in 2024. It’s been a beautiful ride, and hope to release some more instrumental music for the soul over the next year or two.

Being from Brighton a city renowned for its artistic scene what are your three favourite things about it?

An evening at the beach when it’s a super low tide, the vintage shops in the North Laines, and I love how anything goes in Brighton. There’s a freedom unlike many other places I think.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I do flit around quite a bit, but I’m enjoying a Scottish duo called Quiet Houses, Hailaker, and I love the vibe of Yumi Zouma

What are you looking forward to doing in the next 12 months?

I am really excited about recording a second EP for Dear People. I’ve written a couple of tracks for that already…..and I’m just working on my solo set-up to do some live shows.

Words: Del Osei-Owusu/@platinummind