When did you know that being a musician is what you wanted to be?

I grew up in a very musical family – my mother and grandmother were singers and my great grandfather was a composer so I’ve always been around music. I decided to have music as a career fairly early on.

 

At what point did you transition away from the standard forms of pop and begin to experiment?

About three years ago I started to really hone my voice. I was doing backing vocals for a lot of artists and trying to find a way to express my feelings through music. I started soul searching and trying to find what was important to me musically and that’s when I started writing as Puzzle.

There’s a strong visual aspect to your artistry too – where do you draw your inspiration from?

Music and visually as very interlinked for me. I play a lot of video games and grew up playing games like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid and I feel like that’s where I tapped into a different world. The same can be said for the fantasy books I read too.

 

Great forms of escapism!

It’s all about escapism and opening worlds to people. The world is in constant flux which is always changing and I want people to take on those ideas when I make music. Nothing is set in stone and it’s all open to interpretation. It’s not reality, I’m trying to take people to a world of imagination.

Puzzle’s new single ‘Little Black Book’ is out now

 

When you’re a visual artist, how easy is that to transfer to the stage?

The makeup, the costumes and the presentation of my band is the first step. At one point we want to play with projections and play with people’s perceptions depending on where you stand in the room. It’s all a work in progress and for now, I want the people to come to my shows and see something they’re not used to seeing in their everyday lives.

Are you an artist who likes to listen to other musicians or do you try to block all other music in case it influences your unique style?

I believe strongly that every derives from something else and everything has been done to death and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with listening to people who inspire you. From there you can take inspiration from many sources and create something original. For me it’s important to go to concerts and to keep myself amerced in music – it’s something that I’ve always loved.

 

You make a lot of personal statements about love and politics in your music, is it hard to put it all out there?

I believe that for my music to resonate with people, it has to be personal otherwise, audiences can see through it. We’ve all been listening to music our whole lives and when something doesn’t sound like it’s coming from a place with truth, people can tell.

What’s next for Puzzle?

My first EP is coming out in March which is really exciting and there’ll be more singles and videos towards the end of the year.

 

What is your FAULT?

It’s a daily struggle for me to stay optimistic and believe that everything will work out and that everything you do isn’t your best. Every day I try to win the battle and tell myself that everything will be okay and that I can achieve my dreams and I think that’s something a lot of people go through.

 

Puzzle’s Babylon EP release in March!  Pre-order it HERE

PHOTOGRAPHER – STEPHANIE YT  

PHOTOGRAPHER ASSIST – ERICA FLETCHER 

STYLING – KIM LATIEULE –

GROOMING – LILLIE RUSO @ ERA