My dad sound-proofed the shed at the back of our house and converted it into a studio for me - it was 1.5x3 meters and I basically spent all day every day in there for years.  I'd stay there for 24 hours sometimes not realizing that so much time had passed - just writing and recording.  I wouldn't go out with my friends.  I'd just leave the house when I'd have to go and perform.

Mary-Anne

So tell me about the writing process and where you get your inspiration from.

It depends.  Usually I have to be feeling a profound emotion whether it be pain, love, happiness, sadness or anger in order to write.  Looking back on the songs I've written, inspiration has acted as the trigger for me to write.   My inspiration comes from inside me, from my heart and soul, when I really open up my eyes to the world around me.  It makes me see people's experiences, it makes me see my experiences and it makes me see the world around me in a way that makes me want to express myself artistically, whether through songwriting or performing.  Once inspired, the perspiration factor sets in although writing has never been hard work for me, never.   I can recall locking myself in my small studio when I lived at home with my parents.   My dad sound-proofed the shed at the back of our house and converted it into a studio for me - it was 1.5x3 meters and I basically spent all day every day in there for years.  I'd stay there for 24 hours sometimes not realizing that so much time had passed - just writing and recording using my ATARI music computer and the very first version of the Cubase music program which I have now upgraded of course.  I wouldn't go out with my friends.  I'd just leave the house when I'd have to go and perform.  In isolation from everything around me is where I'm most productive. 

How many songs have you written?

Nearly 100.  Some songs just flow and write themselves, like Black Roses, I wrote that song in 15 minutes and I wrote Just Can't Live Without You in about 20 but others have taken days on end to finish and some still aren't finished.  I find that the best songs usually flow out quickly though.

Do you play any instruments?

I began playing piano when I was 8 years old.  The piano often becomes my friend during those lonely times when writing.  If music is ingrained in you spiritually playing an instrument becomes an extension of yourself.  I'd love to learn to play some sort of string instrument and the drums but at present it's just the piano.