Likes: The sky at all times of the day, compassion, puzzles, coffee, the pursuit of art, sharing food, radical self-love.

Dislikes: Taking yourself a little too seriously, harrowingly windy days, self-righteousness, washing cutlery, thoughtlessness, spiders.

My ears have always been filled with an eclectic mix of music! The soundtrack of my preadolescence was anything from Robbie Williams and Alanis Morissette to the Black Eyed Peas and AC/DC. I quickly discovered that I didn’t just love listening, but I wanted to make music too. After learning guitar and joining choirs I ended up studying classical music at university. But by my third year, I was more interested in the jazz or music therapy class choices than music theory. I also began to focus on my own songwriting more and combined it with my passion for mental health.

These days my listening tastes are much more lyrically inclined and generally lean towards indie folk and modern rock- artists like Noah Kahan, boygenuis, The Lumineers and Bombay Bicycle Club. But I could also never say no to the classic likes of David Bowie, The Beatles and Radiohead.

Music really is a huge part of my existence (also oddly never big enough), but it’s art as a whole that’s my biggest motivator and source of inspiration. I think the creative arts enriches our lives, and helps us make sense of this wonderfully intense and messy life. It has a way of making us feel seen and heard in ways we can’t explain and I can’t stop raving about it.

Thankfully I won’t have to stop anytime soon! Having recently finished my Master’s in Music, I joined IAMUR in search of a new writing experience outside of academia, and is also comes with the perfect excuse to listen to independent artists.