First album you ever bought: ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ by Rihanna
“Funnily, the first album I ever bought was this one, aged 10 from Tesco, with my pocket money I had saved up. I remember how excited I was – unwrapping the cover felt like some sort of rite of passage. I used to play it on my old TV in my bedroom, but I only liked ‘Shut Up and Drive’, ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Don’t Stop the Music’, so I just skipped the rest. It drove my brother crazy!”
Song that makes you want to dance: ‘Insomnia’ by Faithless
“There are so many! I think a song that reminds me of really happy times in Sugar is this one though – I have a housemate who was obsessed with this in first year, and it always just makes me want to jump up and down no matter where it’s playing. When it comes on in a club and we’re all together, it’s the best feeling in the world. I remember being so confused the first time I heard it, but it’s really grown on me in the past year, thanks to memories associated with it.”
Song that reminds you of your childhood: ‘JCB Song’ by Nizlopi
“I have no idea about this one – I just remember being on holiday somewhere cold in a cottage, with a very old MP3 player which only had this song on it when I was younger. During that holiday I listened to this repeatedly, and now it’s just something that I’m always going to associate with being eight years old and lying on a bed not really knowing what a JCB digger was but loving it all the same.”
Favourite ever album: ‘Ceremonials’ by Florence + The Machine
“When Florence released this album, she said she wanted it to feel like ‘succumbing and being completely overwhelmed by something that’s bigger than everything’. It gives me shivers. Every single song on there makes me feel so intensely emotional in good or bad ways – it really is one big explosion of passion and rage with the most beautiful instrumentals too. Particular favourites include ‘Only If For A Night’, ‘No Light, No Light’ and ‘Leave My Body’. She walked past me at Glastonbury 2015 and I actually burst into tears.”
Guilty pleasure: ‘212’ by Azealia Banks
“This song is just a banger, and everyone knows it. It’s on my morning playlist, and on the dark winter mornings, sometimes you need some Azealia to get you up and going. I try to ignore all the awful things she’s said and done – remember those Instagram videos of her sacrificing chickens? Yikes. I do still feel a twinge of guilt telling people, but for those three minutes I’m energised and ready to face the day.”
Song you listen to when you’re sad: ‘Words That Rhyme With Different, Etc.’ by sports.
“I actually have a whole playlist for this, and it’s just full of emo trash and indie sadness. This song just encapsulates everything I feel when I’m upset and spiralling, so listening to it is definitely a counter-productive thing to do, but you’ve got to feel it sometimes! Another close contender was ‘From the Dining Table’ by Harry Styles – that song feels like I’m floating above my own life.”
