Ray Laurél

For Ray Laurél, music is an extended part of his identity, and something that they are committed to honouring authentically. While most artists tend to be surrounded by music at a young age, Laurél had to seek it out for himself. The 21-year-old, who hails from North West London, tells me that instead of going for the conventional pop records that their peers were listening to, they were drawn to the UK’s underground electronic scene in the early 00s — a sound, which would later influence their own. Touchstones included the likes of Hudson Mohawke, Sampha, James Blake, and particularly, Jai Paul