Twickenham-based singer-songwriter, Liz Arcane has "always loved" music and began doing music on a more professional basis when she was 15 and had her first gig.

Arcane began getting into music at a young age by learning to play the violin, but she was "terrible at the violin".

She told Twickenham Nub: "So, I managed to do an exchange to get an acoustic guitar and learnt how to play from my uncle.

"But my story really begins with mimicry and writing songs.

"I've always found that I'm doing nothing but singing, and if I'm not singing or song writing, I don't feel like myself, so I think it's a big part of my identity."

"And I come from the musical theatre tradition, but I think also just listening to artists I really love like Donny Hathaway has helped.

"He is one that kind of bridges jazz with Soul, which is a main genre for much of my music."

Arcane has always pursued music as a side hustle alongside other various jobs, given how difficult breaking the music industry can be, but began pursuing it solely during the pandemic when she realised the importance of "living over being at work all the time".

She said: "I found more and more over the last year or two that all I really wanted to do was sing and write songs, and the songs, in turn, improved and got more catchy and more relatable."

Arcane grew up "in that period in Twickenham when there was that kind of "indie Sleaze" genre" and has lived in locally since she attended St Mary's University a "very, very long time ago".

Her song 'Take Time' is about "going to Fullwell Station everyday and seeing people on the train and thinking 'oh I know you' and wanting to wave at them, but realising you don't actually know them, you just see them on the train every day."

Arcane has also worked closely with James Mason at Island Farm Studios based in East Molesey and an artist called Hamilton Hound "who's very local to the area".

Earlier this year, Arcane released an album called Honest Soul and she has also just released a Christmas album called Supernatural Hibernation.

The Christmas album includes covers of two Christmas classics, including Frank Sinatra's 'Have yourself a Very Merry Christmas', and six original songs written by Arcane.

Arcane covered Sinatra's song in "quite a kind of jazzy, wintery way".

"So it's meant to be quite atmospheric," she said.

The singer is currently releasing a new song from the album each week with 'West of the Moon' coming out either next week or the week after.

'West of the Moon' is about how "we're there's just too much going on, like just in life for everybody," says Arcane.

"There's just far too much going on. And we all just kind of want to be left alone to some extent, but in like a nice way, in a positive way. And then there's some parts about things I love and a bit more about winter and Christmas."

Speaking about the inspiration behind her Christmas album, Arcane said: "I love Christmas. I know everyone loves Christmas, but I really I have a bit of an obsession about it.

"Whether it's watching A Christmas Carol every year or whatever, and I just love Christmas songs as well.

"Obviously they're really cheesy, but it's a nice period of relaxation and freedom, and you can spend more time listening to music and being yourself and spending time with family as well.

"And I think those are the things that really make it speak to me.

She continued: "In the past, I've released a single for Christmas, and during lockdown, we had a small Christmas album with the band I was working with then.

"But what I'm kind of going for with Supernatural Hibernation is a bit of a folksy vibe because Christmas is quite an odd holiday if you look at the pagan roots and that kind of thing."

 The singer has also been inspired by the Christmas Jazz album on the film Peanuts.

She said: "I know it sounds like a kid's film, and it is a kid's film, but musically it's just one of the best albums ever written. So, I think that is a huge influence on me."

Arcane plans on releasing Supernatural Hibernation on Bandcamp next week.

She said: "Bandcamp is just quite a nice way of sharing the album, and it's a bit more of a community.

"I'm putting it onto all platforms as well.

"I usually put my music on Bandcamp first for a bit of time, maybe a week or two, and then send it to people on Patreon with some links to download it free or at a reduced price, and then put it onto the main platforms because it sort of has to be in both places at once, really."

Arcane currently plays small gigs, with her last being in Staines for the launch of Honest Soul, but she hopes to one day perform worldwide on sell-out tours.