'I'd probably describe the EP like a romantic film' muses 23-year-old Greenwich native Laura Jae. Released on the 14th July, Silver Lined Hearts speaks of 'crazy complex past relationships' and dissolved dreams, and sounds like a cave deep underground dripping with tears.
Don't break away/I'll waste away she protests simply on pulsating standout track 'Out Getting Ribs', voice coffee smooth. 'I'm a bit of a dreamer, so I grew up always expecting the whole fairytale happy ending in my relationships and would end up getting emotionally bruised because of expectations I have of my partners.'
More soulful than FKA Twigs' unsettling grace and with less sex than Kelela and BANKS, Laura Jae nevertheless fits into the new class of young female artists making pop interesting again. She counts Aaliyah, Bjork and James Blake as influences; The Weeknd with his 'weird mysterious aura' is her dream collaboration.
She started making tracks whilst studying music at Lewisham College. 'When I was 17 I bought a MacBook and some music programs and a microphone. I started messing about writing and recording music on the Mac.' Her first real studio session was born out of a chance meeting with Rudimental's Desmond on a girls' holiday in Malia. 'I was really a big fan of their sound so we got into a conversation about music and exchanged details. As soon as I got back to London I sent him some of my music and then a week later I had my first professional recording session with them.'
Nowadays, when she's not working at East London's XOYO she makes sketches for songs on GarageBand and sends them to friend and producer Amøur, who composed the EP, to do his thing. Unsigned for the moment, she's been approached by a few labels - including big dog Warner. But the business end of the industry bugs her; 'You have to worry about things like social media, image, being the loudest amongst other artists. It's something that I find a bit tedious to be honest - I don't like to share too much of my private life like that. I'm more comfortable doing it through music. It's more natural to me that way.'
Silver Lined Hearts is free to download on Laura Jae's Soundcloud.