Oz has been a songwriter since her early teens, after her father’s passion for music inspired her immersion in the worlds of bold musicians like The Clash, Dolly Parton, No Doubt and Kate Bush. Her fascination with life’s rough edges is surely inspired by her youth spent in her family’s pizzeria in a pre- gentrified Soho. It was one of London’s best-kept secrets: a centrally-location hideaway favoured by actors and musicians along with drag queens, sex workers, go-go dancer and old-school gangsters. People with stories to tell. Her own story also quickly took shape.
Some of Oz’s early demos attracted attention, which results in her working with producers and writing songs from just 15 years old. Oz penned a deal with a music publisher writing for other artists, before a session with Biff Stannard instigated her new direction. Coincidentally, the producer (Ellie Goulding, Kylie, Spice Girls) was already Oz’s neighbour, living just a street away in Brighton.
As for her choice to record as Oz? “The part of me that’s Oz is my weirder, more left side,” she explains. “Oz has always been the nutter. She’s my protection but she’s also my freedom – freedom to laugh with my mates in the street at 3am with Red Stripe, wear leather, do crazy 70s makeup, do whatever I like. Oz is the part of me who’s never afraid to be exactly who she wants to be”.
