The making of… TWISTED GAME ACOUSTIC

At its heart, Twisted Game is a poignant, bittersweet reflection on situations I’ve found myself in before. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of uncertainty, indecision, and mixed signals from someone you care about. I wanted to write a song that captures what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that emotional push and pull. It's exhausting, confusing, and in the quietest moments, really sad.

Because of that, I felt compelled to create a version of the track that gave space to the lyrics and emotion. So, we recorded a live, stripped back version of the song to spotlight the real vulnerability and heart of the song.

I wanted to show a completely different side to it. I’ve always been drawn to the idea that there’s more beneath the surface, whether in people or in music. I’m constantly trying to dig deeper and understand the “why” behind someone’s behaviour or a situation’s complexity. It fascinates me how much of ourselves we keep hidden, and how often what we present to the world doesn’t match how we truly feel. Maybe thats why I’m so drawn at the moment to creating upbeat but poignant music. The idea that everything’s perfect when in reality, its not.

Musically, I also find it really interesting how your choices, like a bass line or certain instrumentation, can completely shift the way a song is interpreted. With Twisted Game Acoustic, I felt it was important to bring that emotional layer to the forefront to tell the story of someone pretending they’re fine when, deep down, they’re not. That really resonates with me. I’m naturally quite guarded, and sometimes find showing my real emotions so uncomfortable. Most of the time when I’m going through something I deal with it internally, I really don’t like feeling like an emotional burden, and I don’t know why but always want to seem like everything is okay. Maybe that’s why I connect to music the way I do, because it gives me a way to express what I’m feeling in a way that’s personal, but with a degree of separation.

We shot the video in the Rinse FM studio with a tiny team. Matt, the videographer, I’ve known since I was 11, and Logan (the guitarist) is one of my closest friends. I’ve come to realise how important it is to work with people who make you feel safe to express yourself. It’s can be quite a vulnerable space to be in, especially when you're stripping everything back, so having a team that genuinely gets what you’re trying to say and backs it fully makes all the difference. I’ve definitely fallen into the trap before of doing things the way I think I should, or the way everyone else seems to be doing them, and I always ended up feeling disconnected from the outcome. Mostly frustrated with myself for not trusting my gut and sacrificing my creative instinct in the process.

Anyway, I guess Twisted Game is one of those songs that means more to me the more I sit with it. It reminds me that even the most polished surfaces hold a lot underneath. That’s kind of what I wanted to show with the acoustic version, that there’s power in vulnerability, and beauty in the messiness. If you’ve ever been stuck in that push and pull with someone, or if you’ve ever said you’re fine when you’re definitely not, this one’s for you.

Thanks for reading and for being here. More soon x