To write, English avant-pop artist Rosie Lowe seeks out the isolation of her family home in Devon. But when she returns to London to polish songs for release—her debut album is out later this year on super producer Paul Epworth's label, Wolf Tone—she collaborates with the capital's most steadfast studio mentors. "I have a special understanding with Dave Okumu," she says, of The Invisible frontman and songwriter who has worked with Jessie Ware and Amy Winehouse, and whose ethereal funk R'n'B sound provides a thrilling platform throughout the album for Lowe's gritty vocals. In the past, Lowe has also called upon a gaggle of electronic maestros for remix duties, from Hot Chip's Joe Goddard to FaltyDL and Pional.

As with much of what she does, Lowe runs to face her fears. "I cannot run faster than 11 kilometers per hour because if I do I start sneezing and can't stop for three days," she says. The condition is called exercise-induced rhinitis, and for a talented vocalist on the verge of stardom it is not be taken lightly. "For years I said to myself you're not a runner. And then I forced myself to do it." In her lyrics too, the 25-year-old addresses emotions with maximum candour. "For me writing is extremely personal and very intimate. I am on my own, up all night."

And what has paid the rent en route to acclaim? "I've done a lot of looking after kids," she says. One of her charges even makes an impromptu appearance on the album, recorded asking her, "Can people rush love, Rosie?" "I have a brilliant image of Erykah Badu with a fat beat playing, and a baby on her knee," says Lowe. "Motherhood and music, that sounds good to me!"