I just like to express what’s in my heart and I sing about things that mean things to me. I sing about experiences and stuff that I’ve been through in life. I don’t go out of my way to write songs in a certain way, it’s just how I write and the way that it comes out.

How long have you been writing songs then?

I’ve been writing songs since I learnt how to play guitar, so I started writing when I was 15 and I’m 22 so it’s been a while. And it became an outlet for all sorts of things. It was kind of like doing art, because there was a sense of release and relief after writing a song. The reason I started writing was because I knew hot to play some chords on the guitar, but I didn’t know how to play any songs so I just started writing my own songs.

Would you feel embarrassed if you had to listen to those songs now?

Ja, I think they weren’t bad for my age but it’s not the type of song I’d be writing today. I think I’ve progressed and I’ve grown in the songwriting sense and definitely improved myself. And I guess time does that to you.

Have you ever felt the need to censor yourself — like if you found that a lyric was just getting too personal?

I think at the end of the day there’s a point where you don’t want to overexpose yourself and whatever you say. You don’t tell things to people on the first date, or whatever. So obviously there’s a boundary. But as long as I know I’m being honest to what I want to say, that’s my most important thing that I’m honest when I write songs. Otherwise people can see through things and people know when you’re being fake. And there’s just no point in trying to fool people. So I just stick to the honesty thing and that’s what I do.

The South African music market is quite small, and there are a fair number of singer-songwriters around already. So what's unique about you?

There are musicians who see that a certain type of music is doing really well so they decide to try that in the hope that they’ll be successful, but I think at the end of the day people know when you’re heart isn’t in it, when you’re not being honest about it. So that’s when you fail and won’t be supported by the public because you’re doing something you shouldn’t be and you’re trying to be something that you’re not.

Was it difficult recreating your personal songs in the clinical studio environment?

Obviously every time you perform a song live, it’s slightly different. It’s like a momentary thing — if you’re there, you’re there and you experience that specific moment. So the album is one moment of my performance of a song, which could possibly change and probably does. From the time I wrote the song it has probably changed slightly here or there to what’s on the album, just over me singing it and me thinking what would work better.

From writing the songs in your home, in your room or in your own personal space and then transferring them to CD, if you can be with the right producer and get it done with style and in a way that you’re happy with, then it is a real gift to see a song come from a skeleton to a fully fledged entity — it’s more complete because it is produced and it’s got backing that doesn’t mess it up but that highlights and improves it. And I think that’s part of the growth of a song and it should happen to every song.

What was it like to hear the completed album for the first time?

It was a beautiful day. The day I got a box of my CDs was the happiest day of my life. I knew that my dream had come true. My first goal in life had happened, a goal that I’d had since I was 16, and that was to make an album. And to have it in my hands after so many years was just amazing.

And hearing one of your songs on the radio?

That’s so weird. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen that movie ‘That Thing You Do’ about a band from the ‘60s that make it, and the first time they hear their song on the radio they’re screaming and they’re running down the road, and they go mental and they start dancing. And I always envisioned that was what I’d do, but I just sat there, quietly listening. And after the song finished I couldn’t believe that that was what had just happened. So it was a stillness in me, instead of a craziness.

Now that the album's out and people know who you are, how have things changed for you?

I have met more people in the past few months than I have ever met in my entire existence. And then people wonder why I don’t remember them, or remember their names, they feel offended. And I honestly have to say that I’ve met so many people that I’ve just been bombarded — obviously in a good way. And it’s been tough. Ever since the album came out my life has been turned upside down. Everything's starting to take off, which is really, really exciting. I’m really excited about the future and what it brings but I’ve also realized how tough it is to do the promo, to get the people to the gigs, to give it your all in a show when there’s not enough people...

And do you see yourself and your music changing as a result of these new developments?

Ja I think there will always be room for that, purely because I’m living and breathing everyday, I’m just a little bigger than I was before. So it just depends on where life takes me. Of course I’m going to try new things and try and grow. That’s all part of the process of life and everyone wants to do that, so obviously I'm going to do that in the songwriters’ sense as well. I’m just going to take each day as it comes, write the songs I need to and see where it goes.