The making of… TWISTED GAME
An inside look at the process behind the making of Twisted Game, including the tracks that inspired me and voice notes from the day.
Me, Jake and Matt in Sticky Studios working on Twisted Game
It was June 2024 when I first met Jake and Matt. The session had been set up through management, and Jake came to pick me up from the station. Together, we drove to Sticky Studios, where he introduced me to Matt — the studio engineer.
As with most sessions, we began by chatting and getting to know each other a bit. We listened to some of my latest demos, along with a few tracks I’d been listening to at the time. It’s how we usually figure out what we’re going to make that day. I never really go into a session with an exact idea of what I want to make. There’s always inspiration and a loose vibe that I’ll start with, or an energy that I want to capture. But more often than not, the process takes its own path and that initial idea shifts. So I try to go in open-minded and stay fluid with my intentions.
I always write from a personal place — though it usually takes time and a bit of distance for me to realise that. I rarely walk into a session in the middle of feeling something and think, “I’m going to write about this.” I take a long time to process my emotions, and while I’m in it, I find it hard to make sense of what I’m feeling in a way that I can put into words.
Most of the time, I’ll write something without overthinking it, and only afterwards do I clock what it’s really about. I’ll listen back and go, “Oh… thaaaaats what it’s about.” It’s like my subconscious takes the wheel — and I just let it drive.
These were some of the songs I was listening to at the time:
Back on ‘74 by Jungle was everywhere, I was delving back into Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ album, and I had also recently discovered Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan’s music. Big, alternative pop was dominating my Spotify playlist — and that’s the direction we decided to go in.
I remember feeling nervous — I always am when I work with new people. I’m extremely hard on myself in these situations. It’s definitely, at least in part, imposter syndrome telling me I’m not good enough to be in these spaces. So often, you come out of a session without having written anything — or at least nothing you want to finish or release — and I’m trying to remind myself that that’s okay, and that it doesn’t define my worth as a writer. Sh*t happens (or in this case, doesn’t). We’re all only human. Luckily, this day was one of the easy ones.
Jake began by experimenting with some chords on the piano and we stuck on some that caught my ear. Then Matt put down an absolutely fireeeee bass line and it all started to come alive. While they built up the track, I started writing melodies and lyrics.
Usually, I write in a quiet, reflective way — sitting back while the track plays on loop, letting the music guide my thoughts. I’'ll work through melodies in my head, kneading them into existence — starting with one idea that shifts and evolves until it finally feels right. Only then will I actually sing them out loud to anyone. But there was something about Jake that settled all my nerves and opened me up to collaborating in vocal melodies and lyrics. We defined the story of the song and from there it all just started to fall into place. It feels like it came together so quickly after that, and by the end of the day we’d written and basically produced the whole thing.
The following voice notes show a bit of the process of how I write. I’ll start by humming melodies, and continue to work them out until something sticks. Certain lyrics will start to show themselves at the same time and it gradually starts to come together. At that point its like chasing a feeling, and when you hit on something you kind of feel it and just know.
Instantly something felt so special about this song and I knew straight away I wanted to release it. I’ve been making and releasing music as a solo artist for 2 years now, and while I’ve loved all the songs I’ve put out, it also feels like I’ve been searching for something. Its been a journey of figuring out who I am as an artist and that cliche of ‘finding my sound'. I think you can hear that in the songs I’ve released so far. There are some which are more R&B, some more acoustic, some more indie/pop. Twisted Game feels like I’ve finally found that thing I was looking for. It feels like home, it feels like me. It feels nostalgic but new at the same time. It’s biiiiig production, its got indie influences but also feels soulful. It has such a funky bass line, its got strings, its melancholic and toxic but also upbeat. It makes me want to scream and dance and cry all at the same time. I’m so in love with it and so excited that it’s out and I can share it with the world.
Listen to Twisted Game