Laura Welsh

Before her debut album was conceived -- and way before the highs of signing a record contract and spending her nights locked in a studio with the likes of Dev Hynes and John Legend -- Laura formed the basis of what would later make her a varied collector and creator of musical styles.

Most of her childhood in Staffordshire was spent surrounded by sound: her mother was a local folk singer and from an early age music was already an integral part of her make-up, she says. "It was natural that singing was something that I just could do. It was probably the only time that I didn't have any inhibitions." Inspired by her mother's music and a record collection filled with straight-to-the-core country crooners like Pasty Cline, Laura became obsessed with the art of writing honest love songs, and after stealing her sister's Prince and Michael Jackson albums, she became ensnared by the immediacy of big hooks and a memorable melody.