What Inspires You to Write and Write Music?

Ffour artists who are playing Christine and the Queens’ Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre in London - Sheila Maurice-Grey from Kokoroko Anja Plaschg (AKA Soap&Skin), Django Django’s Vinny Neff and Let's Eat Grandma’s Jenny Hollingworth - where to find inspiration outside of music, how to overcome creative blocks, and what they might be doing in a parallel universe.

Sheila Maurice-Grey is a London-based trumpeter, vocalist and visual artist who leads eight-piece afrobeat, soul, funk and jazz collective Kokoroko. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2019 and their debut LP, Could We Be More, in 2022. They have played across the globe at the likes of Glastonbury, Jazz à la Villette, SIM São Paulo, Boiler Room, and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Anja Plaschg, AKA Soap&Skin, is an Austrian experimental singer-songwriter. She’s released three albums, including From Gas to Solid/You Are My Friend in 2020. You might have heard her music in the TV series Breaking Bad or the film Sicilian Ghost Story, or even seen her on screen acting in the Austrian movie Stillleben.

Vinny Neff is the singer and guitarist from British art rock band Django Django. He’s fresh from cooking up their fifth album, Off Planet, and they’re gearing up to tour this summer.

Jenny Hollingworth is one half of ‘sludge pop’ group Let's Eat Grandma. Last year they released their third album Two Ribbons, and they also scored the soundtrack for the Netflix series The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself.