Poppy Ajudha
Poppy Ajudha is running late for a production session. "Sorry, I'm so bad at multitasking," she says breathlessly over the rabble of a train station squawks before resuming our conversation about how she got into music. "I always wanted to sing and I always did sing, and I wrote songs from a really young age, but then I guess puberty hit and I started feeling quite insecure about myself."
In truth, Ajudha isn't bad at multitasking at all; for the duration of our 30-minute call the 22-year-old musician is as present as if she were sitting opposite me. "You kind of take on everyone's doubt," she continues. "It took me a really long while to realise that if you don't believe in yourself then who the fuck is going to? I realised that all those things were put in place to stop me from doing what I want to do."
For the last five years Ajudha's soul-infused sound has put her at the forefront of south London's burgeoning jazz scene. "I think people are looking for something more," she wonders aloud. "Anything that's influenced by jazz can offer that because it tends to be hybrid, it tends to be really creative — it takes you on a journey."
Poppy Ajudha is running late for a production session. "Sorry, I'm so bad at multitasking," she says breathlessly over the rabble of a train station squawks before resuming our conversation about how she got into music. "I always wanted to sing and I always did sing, and I wrote songs from a really young age, but then I guess puberty hit and I started feeling quite insecure about myself."
In truth, Ajudha isn't bad at multitasking at all; for the duration of our 30-minute call the 22-year-old musician is as present as if she were sitting opposite me. "You kind of take on everyone's doubt," she continues. "It took me a really long while to realise that if you don't believe in yourself then who the fuck is going to? I realised that all those things were put in place to stop me from doing what I want to do."
For the last five years Ajudha's soul-infused sound has put her at the forefront of south London's burgeoning jazz scene. "I think people are looking for something more," she wonders aloud. "Anything that's influenced by jazz can offer that because it tends to be hybrid, it tends to be really creative — it takes you on a journey."
