It’s been a little while since I’ve shared a conversation from this project, but I’m so happy to be able to come back and share this next one with you. Last month I spoke with Jess Baker, also known as Ugly Ozo - a young and exciting up-and-coming artist from the Isle of Wight. Jess is a session musician and artist in her own right. I met Jess last year at Isle of Wight Festival and have worked with her a few times since, and having seen her tour as far as Australia already by the prime age of 24, she’s experienced things that some would only dream of. We speak quite a bit about touring, but also about the struggles of peformance anxiety and self-doubt, and how she’s pushed past these fears and become the artist you see here today.
For those who don’t know you, could you introduce yourself first of all, and explain how you got into music?
I'm Jess, and I play guitar as a session musician and I also have my own project called Ugly Ozo. Music's been like the love of my life since as long as I think I had a frontal lobe. I studied it at uni, which doesn't really mean anything, but it kind of became my whole life, and then I got really lucky really. I had a friend who's a touring musician (Lauran Hibberd), and she had a position come up for a new bass player. I offered to kind of fill in just for like a few shows, and ended up playing full time with her pretty much for the last three or four years. With that I've been able to tour a big chunk of the world and see a lot of stuff. It's been like the craziest times of my life, spent on the road. I've been super lucky. In the last year I've also properly started my own project as Ugly Ozo, and I've been crazy busy with that, and, I wouldn’t say it’s taken off, but it's had a solid start. It's had some momentum already, and I'm kind of putting all my eggs in that basket and really working hard on that now.
So, you say that this last year you’ve really been putting the work in as Ugly Ozo, but when did Ugly Ozo become a reality? When did you start thinking about your solo work in this way?
It was maybe like 2018-2019, I was sort of thinking about it, and I was making little Garageband demos and things, and they were really, really bad, but it was just kind of like a fun little outlet for me to see what I could do, as well as just part of learning how to use the software and things. I was always interested in producing my own music, so that was kind of a good way to do it, and then when lockdown happened, I had so much time just to myself. It was just me and my iPad, and I would record my little guitar ideas with the iPad mic, and I'd add a little shit drummer in there, and so it was kind of that for ages. Then as part of my degree I got to record a live session, which had to be like 30 minutes or something like that, so I just ended up writing a bunch of instrumental tunes, because I was so scared of singing. I had such a phobia of singing for my whole child to teenage life, which I think stemmed from a music teacher I had in primary school who was really horrible. He'd single me out because I was the shy kid, and he'd be like, “you, stand up, you're going to sing this now” and I'd be crying because I had to do it. So it was always a really big deal for me to sing. So yeah, this was instrumental so I could kind of hide behind that, and again, they weren't very good, but it was just fun. I then got to a point where I was like, fuck it, if I want this to actually be good I'm going to have to sing. I want to do this. All my idols sing, and they're all cool, so I have to do it, and I just kind of bit the bullet and started doing it. So I've been properly writing songs for maybe a year or two now. Two years, I'd say. Before that, it was just diddles.
So the last two years, it's become more of a serious thing for you it seems?
Yeah, definitely. I've actually been thinking about songwriting rather than just what I think is fun.
I have to ask, where did the name Ugly Ozo come from? It's quite unusual!
Well, there's two sides to the story of how it came about. The first was that I wanted something with ‘ugly’ in it, and there's this artist, King Krule, who I love, who has an album called The Ooz, and he had a project before called Zoo Kid, and I liked those words, ooz and zoo, and an anagram of that is ozo. So I took that. The second is another story I sometimes tell because it's way more interesting haha. I was watching this documentary about this hillbilly type guy in South America, and he was out deer hunting one day, and he said he saw a UFO come and land in the forest. He said an alien came out, and it introduced itself to him as Ozo 1, and honestly, I watched that and I was like, oh my god. I was like, that's where it's come from. It's come to me in a dream. That's the coolest story of how it came about anyway - it doesn't really mean anything, but you can Google Ugly Ozo and I’m the only thing that comes up, I think.
© All images copyright of Alia Thomas, 2025 | www.aliathomas.com - please do not use without permission.
You picked a good name then, really. You mentioned you were shy growing up. How did you push past the fear and manage to gain that confidence to become the singer and performer that you are now?
I think something that did help me along the way was through playing with Lauran [Hibberd] as a session musician. At the start I had to sometimes mime things, and I then went on to actually sing things. It was only backing vocals, and I could just do, like, a few bits here and there. It wasn't really going to be audible, but it kind of built up my confidence purely in the way of being on stage and approaching a microphone, but I feel like the biggest thing for me was just accepting that I had to do it, because I wanted to for myself. I didn't want to keep myself, you know, shackled by the fear and limit myself. I was like, come on. I spent a lot of time figuring out what I sounded like when I sang because I was scared to even listen to it. I felt so uncomfortable being in that kind of energy with myself, like, “I'm going to sing now.” So I started recording covers of songs on Logic that I liked that I thought were really easy to sing, and I'd just layer up my vocal, like, ten times, and pan it all over the place and put loads of reverb on it so it kind of almost didn't sound like me anymore, but I could listen to it and think that it sounded cool now. I could accept it. So then I kept doing it and just got more confident with singing through recording it and listening back to it, and now when I perform it, I feel more confident in what it's going to sound like and what I'm good at. I've accepted what my voice sounds like, rather than try to change it or anything. Now I use it as something to express how I feel. I always try to tune into whatever I’m feeling at the time to kind of just get it out. I think that's the best way.
It’s really interesting to hear your process of accepting your voice for what it was and growing your confidence with it in this way, as well as the experience of being on stage with Lauran of course and building up that initial confidence with doing some backing vocals for her, because there's going to be a lot of people who struggle with performance anxiety, or the fear of putting their music out there, whether it be on their own or in a band with others. It sounds like you were confident enough playing guitar on stage in front of others, so what was it that differed with the singing in that respect?
I guess it's just so personal, and I'm the only person, I suppose, who's going to sound the way I sound. Everyone's got a different voice, and I think I always really wanted to sound like Courtney Love or Kat Bjelland, you know like, someone husky and angry, but I just don't. I sound like a naive little child when I sing haha, but I've got, like, a very kind of sweet sounding voice, which I don't intend to have. I feel like I always wanted to sound a certain way and I don't, so I kind of wrote it off as bad, but I think, again, just getting comfortable with it myself and starting to find a way to like it myself, which was recording it, editing it and being like, okay, that sounds cool now. Yeah, it’s just the acceptance, I guess, and also being of the mindset of who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks, really. It just doesn't matter.
Exactly. As long as you're having fun and you're happy with what's going on.
Definitely. If I have a bad show, I'm like, “well, you know what? I'm going to just have a good time.” Like, if there's five people there, I don't care. I'm going to enjoy this 30 minutes. That's just what you've got to do, and I feel like it translates to those five people.
Absolutely. I’ve heard so many times that those gigs of five people for example are probably even more important than the ones with a hundred or more, especially when you’re starting out, because if those five people connect with you and your music, they will be the fans you want and really spread the word about you. So if you can have fun in a room of five people and put your music across as best as you can and have the most fun with it, they'll vibe off of that.
For sure, and that produces good things. I think being your authentic self speaks volumes to an audience. You can tell when someone's not being true.
So true. Okay, what's Ugly Ozo about? What inspires your songs, and what do you like to write about?
I think I just always wanted to align myself with the people I really looked up to. Growing up it was a lot of the Riot Grrrl scene. I loved the classic grunge girls, like Babes in Toyland and Hole and L7, and I think they always had something to kind of be pissed off about, and I just loved it. I just loved the juxtaposition of, like, the cute hair and the cute dress on, but then screaming. They’re just undeniably cool. I guess when I write now, I always come from a place of something I've experienced or something I'm feeling because I find it really hard to write about stuff that isn't true to me. I've done it, but I've not been super connected to it because it just feels like words, and I think with Ozo I always wanted to be, like, inspiring to young girls. Maybe it's the big sister in me. I just kind of want to inspire younger girls like I was inspired as a young girl. To be, like, you can feel how you feel and it’s alright. You should be able to be unapologetically annoyed or upset or any of those things, and not have to kind of, like, swallow it down and just get on with it. I'd always want to tell my little sister to just shout it from the rooftops and never kind of dilute herself for anyone.
I think it's really nice when your audience connects with you in that way. I suppose it gives a sense of safety, as if you've got someone who understands, has got your back, and it’s also quite empowering. Now we've discussed that you’re a solo artist as Ugly Ozo, but you do play live with a band, but there's of course the other side of your career which is being a session musician, which you very briefly touched upon earlier, but if you don't mind speaking a little bit more about that, I would love to get your insights into that world as well. So you've sessioned for Lauran for a few years, you've said. How has that been, and how do you think that's helped you in your own solo work as well?
Like I mentioned before, I feel like it's just done wonders on my confidence. I think the opportunity came about at a time where I really didn't expect it. I was working my coffee shop job and living in a one bedroom flat with my mum. It was a really weird time of my life where there was lots of horrible stuff going on personally, and the opportunity appeared and I offered to help her out for, like, the next show she had or whatever, but it ended up just kind of sticking. It was one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I thought I'm going to just put everything into it, and I'm going to work so hard, and you know, Lauran's great because she’s just so dedicated and talented, and I can see it paying off over the time I've been with her. I think that's also really shown me that it can happen. Like, it is possible. But, yeah, I've just done so much with her that, like, any stage fright I had, which I definitely had for a long time growing up, is, like, completely gone now. The first tour I did with Lauran was within a couple months of being in her band. I must have just turned 20, and it was, like, on tour with The Vamps, all around the UK doing these O2 Academy shows, you know like, big venues, girls outside every night queuing up and screaming and giving us gifts. It was insane, and I was just suddenly thrust into that life of, like, ‘oh, my god, Brad's in the corridor and I'm just here sorting out my dirty laundry in my suitcase’, haha. Also just trying to learn the etiquette of being on tour, not being the annoying one who's like bugging people. I just think it, I don't know, it forced me to become fearless because I had to, and I think I carry that on now. I don't really get nervous for shows. Well, I mean, I do, but I'm not anxious about how the show's going to go or anything. It’s more just the adrenaline now. I've had a bit of perspective maybe where I'm, like, this is just meant to be fun. If you take it too seriously, the anxiety can kind of overwhelm you.
It sounds like that experience with her has been really positive then - it's clearly helped you with your own solo artistry as well. So I’d love to ask more about touring because, you know, you have done some amazing things already. As you’ve mentioned, the tour with The Vamps was your first one, and that’s not a small one to do as your first tour either, so how did you adapt to the tour life? Was it quite a lot to deal with or was it easy to get accustomed to?
I feel like at 20, I was kind of fresh out of uni and I'd just quit my job and everything was a novelty at that point. So I was just excited to be on tour. It didn't matter what I was doing, I was just buzzing about it. I remember driving and seeing the Angel of the North and thinking, oh my God, I've never been that far north before, you know. Everything was just so cool, and yes it was still so new to me that it didn't really feel difficult, it was just like… wow. I'd just watch what everyone else was doing and you kind of get used to the routine. You know, you load in, you set up, and you go and have some food really quickly. You get ready and then you're onstage. I don't know, you kind of just adjust to it quite fast because it just becomes your life. It's like a weird little second life you just have in a bubble. No-one outside of it really gets it and everyone inside of it, you're all so in each other's pockets that you kind of get to know each other by the smell of their own fart, you know? Haha. People you've met like a week ago are suddenly your new best mate, because it's just so intense, it kind of just happens all at once.
© All images copyright of Alia Thomas, 2025 | www.aliathomas.com - please do not use without permission.
When we were chatting prior to this conversation, you mentioned that you can be introverted at times. You appreciate your own time and space for example, which seems like it would be a difficult thing to navigate on tour. So for anyone who doesn't know what touring is like, and who also may be more of an introvert and potentially struggle with the idea of tour life in this respect, how did you feel going into as more of an introverted person? Did it take much adapting to?
Yeah, it did. I was definitely worried about it because I know what I'm like, and I know that in the wrong setting or the wrong group, I can go completely in on myself and feel really self-conscious and not enjoy it. I can get really in my own head and ruin things for myself, so needing time to myself to recharge as well is a massive thing and it still is now. I still have to sometimes just schedule in, even like one day, just to chill by myself because I get burnt out if I don't. So yeah going on that tour, I think it was kind of okay the first time because it was only maybe a week or two long? It wasn't crazy. At the time, that felt like ages, but realistically, it's not. It flies by because you're having just so much fun. If you've got good people around you, it's just so much easier. You'll just laugh through anything, and if you're having a bad time, they're good people, so you can talk about it and sometimes someone else is having a bad day too or something, and you can kind of take some comfort in that. But, yeah you do have to adapt and you find your own ways of recharging and having quiet time and that is often even when you're surrounded by people, but you can just have your headphones on and just not chat for a bit, or have a nap, and people will understand. It's definitely not the kind of environment where people are like, “well, you're being rude today.” Because it's just not, and everyone has days like that. It's part of being human. So, it's so fine to just check out. No-one is thinking anything of it. It's fine, and actually it's worse to be the other way and not shut up ever. Just being constantly ‘on’, you know?
Yeah, I can imagine. Ok I think we need to talk about the fact that you have toured America and Australia, because that's pretty special. How long after The Vamps tour was it until you went to America for the first time?
So, the Vamps would have been, like, end of 2021. I think it was September 2021, and then 2022 we did a lot of touring, but mostly all UK based. We did a big festival season, and then it was 2023 when Lauran had the offer to support All Time Low on their tour, and that was Europe and UK, and it was a month long. So, that was, like, my first time really doing anything outside of the UK, and also the fact that it was a month felt crazy. It sounded like ages. My sister was super sad about me going for that long, saying how she was going to miss me so much, but also, everyone was just so excited for me to, you know, go to France. I'd never done that before. Southampton West Quay was the biggest thing I'd ever seen haha. So, I think we did three weeks around Europe, driving all over the place. We went as far as Warsaw in Poland, and we did the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and everything else in between. It was a lot. I would say that's probably, like, the hardest tour I've done. Purely because the drives were so long and the way it was scheduled meant there wasn't much time to get to places. So, we'd be up at, like, 6am in the van and you hadn't got in the night before until 2am. You're exhausted, and, as well, not to be that guy, but I'm vegan and I can't eat anything in Europe. So, it was savage. Luckily, the drummer's also vegan so I wasn’t alone with that, but we'd just be up in the morning working out what we could get which was most often just a baguette and basically nothing else. So it was very taxing because your body is just, like, what the fuck are you doing to me? At the same time, it was incredible to see so much stuff that I hadn't seen before and every place is so different. Like, all these different languages. I've learnt how to ask for hot water in, like, seven languages now, just so I can fill up my Pot Noodle. It was incredible, and then on the way back we did a show in Dublin, and ended the tour with their one UK show which was at Wembley Arena which was like, the most insane thing I've ever done, because you've just come off this month-long tour where you've made insane friendships and done so much mental shit together, and then you're like, oh, it's all done now and I'm at Wembley Arena, where I saw the Jonas Brothers in 2011. Like, big names are playing these places, you know? I remember just, like, crying because I couldn’t believe it was over. It was the best month of my life.
That's so sweet.
But then not long after that, Lauran had the offer to come support them again on their US tour, and this time it was six weeks, so it was a little bit longer, but of course we were like, obviously we want to do that. Yeah, that was just, again, insane. We were doing it as just the four of us - the three of us in the band and then our Tour Manager, and we did it in a sprinter van, hauled ourselves to every show. It was a lot easier for me and Lauran because we just slept a lot in the van, but the boys did a lot of driving. That was just mental as well. Some of the drives there are just insane, you just want to look out the window the whole time because it just feels like a film over there. You’d see things where you just think, I didn't think they actually did that, but they really do. It was so mental being in the cities and, like, being in New York, because I'd never been. Everything was crazy. You just want to cram everything in for the few hours you get in a day to go and see stuff, even though you're, like, completely exhausted and running on nothing. It was also mental to just be driving through desert for, like, three days. Seeing nothing else but sand and big mountains. Then not long after we'd got back from that, I think we had, like, two weeks at home and then we were off to Australia with them for another two weeks, and that was, like, the most savage flight of my life because it's like 24 hours long.
Did you not do a stopover?
We did a nine-hour layover in Qatar. It was nighttime there, but your body doesn't know what time it is, so you're just, like... all over the place. Just knocking around a big shopping centre for nine hours, basically. I mean, Australia was just beautiful, but I suppose that was the craziest tour because it was only two weeks, and we knew it was like the end of the year we'd just had where I'd just seen so much and done so much and it just felt like I was living, like, an alter ego's life or something. It didn't feel like it should be mine. When we were out there they flew us to every show because there wasn't enough time in the schedule to be driving to all these different places, because you forget Australia is just so big. You don't realise how big it is, really. So there wasn't time in the schedule to be driving, so everyone flew. We were meant to be in separate hotels to All Time Low and all their crew, but something happened up in the heavens and we ended up being put up in the same hotels, which were, like, five-star hotels, in Australia, so we were in Sydney in this five-star hotel. The ATL crew would have their own day rooms for showering and stuff, and when they were finished, we ended up being able to take those rooms, because they were just there, they were paid for. Uninhabited. There might be, like, someone's used towel on the floor, but you're not complaining, are you? It wasn’t planned but we rinsed that because it was just such a treat to have your own room and not be sharing. I don't think I'll ever peak that high again haha.
Hey, it'll happen! Did you feel that there was differences between the European crowds, the American crowds, the Australian crowds?
The European crowds go pretty crazy. I thought it would be like that in America, and they do love it in America as well of course. It kind of varies from city to city I think, but in Europe, they just love music so much, and people all want to come out and support it, and they all want to meet you afterwards which is really cool. I guess the kind of tour we were on was for people who just loved it and wanted to go out anyway, so we were very lucky in that sense, but Europe especially is just always a good crowd.
© All images copyright of Alia Thomas, 2025 | www.aliathomas.com - please do not use without permission.
After being away for so long with essentially what becomes another ‘family’, what's it like after touring? I can imagine it must be an adjustment to then come back home, back to normality?
It's really weird because when you're away and you have a bad day, all of a sudden all you want is to just be at home with your mum and your cat, and be able to just have a nice glass of tap water that doesn't taste odd. But then, when you do come home, even though there's the massive sense of ‘okay, I can relax now’ and breathe, have a relax in the bath, you know, you're also going out of your mind, because you've just had so much adrenaline going, so much happening every day for like six weeks, and then it's just still, and nothing’s happening. So post-tour blues are definitely real. After tour we're always in the group chat like, “oh my god I feel like shit right now”, looking back at our photos.
I suppose it's nice that you've got the band to do that with, to share those feelings with.
Oh definitely, but it is savage, though. It's really hard. You have to adjust again and remind yourself that you need to enjoy the downtime because it won't be long until you’re out again. Really, that's my battery charge time.
Yeah of course. There's clearly many amazing things about tour, but there must also be some challenges that go with it. What have you found the most challenging things about touring?
I mean, it's definitely harder in some cases than others. I think, like I said before about touring Europe, that was the hardest because you didn’t have time to sleep properly and when you do, it's in a van, upright. It’s very uncomfortable, very hard. Also your body just reacts differently because you're not at home, not having your normal routine. My skin always breaks out really badly on tour, and I know it’s such a minute problem to have, but it's just something annoying that I've noticed. And you do get homesick. If it's a long tour, you'll have days where you're really feeling it, like, at the start of that US tour, when me and Lauran were going to the airport, we freaked out a little bit you know, like this is six weeks now and we're not even on the same clock, same timezone. You'll message family or friends in the afternoon and they'll be going to bed. You do feel a bit like an alien and sometimes there's days where it's so busy you've barely spoken to your family and it feels like that's your life now, forever, even though you know it's not. It is kind of weird to come to terms with, and it is hard work as well as also being the most fun thing I've ever done. I love it with all my heart and it's what I want to do forever, but it doesn't change the fact that it is really hard and I guess like every night is kind of similar but not the same and you still have problems that you have to overcome. It’s mentally taxing and it's physically taxing, but I just feel like it's always so heavily outweighed by the fun that you have and the memories that you're making, and you just feel so lucky to be able to do it because not many people get to experience that and it's so much better than my job working in a coffee shop or something like that. All the bad stuff you kind of just take it on the chin.
It does sound like a lot of fun, and hard aswell, but as you say the memories and the positive experiences that you gain from it, I mean you couldn't get them from many other things. They are quite unique to touring I suppose. One last question I do have about touring is relating to the crews. I often see a lot of tour crew photos on social media but it’s rare that those crews are full of, or have many women in them at all. What’s your perspective on the experience of this with the tours that you’ve been on?
I feel like as a whole the crew world is definitely very male dominated. I feel like for me, obviously there's me and Lauran in there, but when it's loading time, working with the venue crew, and everything like that, or like at festivals, more often than not it is all men and I'll be the only girl around. I'll be like in my stage outfit totally sticking out, and I'm wheeling stuff in and whatever, and it doesn't necessarily feel like a problem these days, especially in this country I feel like we're a lot better. I’m fortunate that it's not been too often that I've had experiences where I felt like I’ve been shut down by anyone or anything. I feel like in this country, a lot of the industry is changing and we've come to festivals and the stage manager's been a woman and you know, people listen to her and respect her, but there's also been times where I felt like I've not been listened to. There's been times I've been trying to come back into a venue and the staff are thinking I'm a fan or something, not part of the band, and I’ve had to tell them that I've just played tonight. They get kind of weird about it. I think in America it was definitely worse. Noticeably worse attitudes towards women as a whole I noticed while working there, for example I remember at one point coming into a venue and we were all loading in. The house crew completely ignored me and Lauran, not even saying hello, and would go straight to the two boys who we were working with and ask them for all the info. It felt like they completely assumed it was them to go to, when I could’ve answered some questions for them. But I feel like there's also this balance now where a lot of opportunities are geared towards women, and I think that's really positive because people want female presences. I think it's just cooler and I see so many people advertising now for roles coming up and they want ideally female bass player, keys player, and it's really cool to see. I don't know if that's always because dynamically they think that's better, or if it's because they think it's cooler to have a girl as a token, you know. It's hard to read sometimes, but I just think there's so many talented women in this industry, like insanely talented. It’s just so cool to see.
There really are. Have you come across many girls in other roles within the crews?
A few. The female crew I have come across, I remember them all, so it can't be that many because I've got a terrible memory. There's always men doing the jobs and they're usually great, but there's a few women who I have met and who sometimes pop up at other venues or festivals. We definitely need more of that. It's sick to have girls in crew roles, like having lighting techs, stage managers, sound engineers, everything. It's just so cool.
© All images copyright of Alia Thomas, 2025 | www.aliathomas.com - please do not use without permission.
Do you feel differently when there's more female crew around than when there’s a lot more of a male presence in the crew?
Yeah, I think maybe it's me just kind of like imposing my own worries or whatever, but I know what it can be like when there's lots of men in one environment and no women, and how conversations can go and how misogyny can become so normalized. I’ve also had it a couple times where crew members will just be in your DMs after a show, which just isn’t very professional. I feel that when there's a woman around that kind of workplace it kind of makes you feel like okay, misogyny can’t really breed around here- at least I'd hope!
Okay we’ve spoken a lot about touring with Lauran, but there’s a lot more coming from Ugly Ozo. You released your single, ‘Remains’, last year. What can we expect from you this year?
I’ve been buried away at Rex Studio’s all winter and I’ve just finished recording something I’m super proud of and can’t wait to share. I can’t say too much yet, but it’s definitely the biggest thing I’ve made to date and I absolutely love it. I have this one song I’ve written about my sister and it’s my favourite song I've ever made. It makes her cry. We also have some shows coming up, Wanderlust in Southampton, Outer Town in a couple weeks in Bristol, and we're doing Ceremony in Bedford which has a cool line up. So we've got a couple but I'm kind of trying to lay the foundation so that when I hit ‘GO’ it’s for real this time… We’re ready.
Lastly, are there any words of wisdom that you would share with aspiring young girls who were looking to get into the industry as a musician?
I know definitely from my own personal experiences, being from the age of like 13 when I started going to music clubs and playing in bands and stuff, I know that throughout those years there were always boys who would either subtly or just very explicitly tell me that they thought I was shit or like I wasn't good enough. Or if I touched a guitar they told me I should just play bass because “you're better at bass really”, and they'd try to kind of reduce me almost as if I should just stand back and let them do that. I had so many boys questioning my decisions on things or just making me feel like they know better. There's a lot of that I think, more so in younger people, but there's also a lot of adult men like that too. Now I look at what I've achieved and what I'm doing- the confidence that I've grown and everything I've done has been due to working fucking hard for it, and you know, I must be good at something if I've lasted this long. Through my own project as well, everything I've got there is just off my own back and being dedicated, and working hard, and I just think if you want to do it, you know that it's not always easy but it's so worth it. I just think the more girls that are in it, doing it, persevering, and showing that we’re capable, the better really. Even though it's better nowadays, it's still not an even balance. I think above everything else though, being a really nice person is the best thing you can do. It goes a long way, and regardless of gender or anything, however you present yourself, if you're a dick, people know straight away. There just isn't really room for ego, unless you're a massive artist like Beyonce or something. You're in confined spaces with people for long periods of time and you just have to be nice. That's the main thing. Just do your job and be lovely. I would probably add authenticity to that too. If you're putting on a facade and being fake people see through that as well and it just becomes grating!
A big thank you to Jess for sharing her openness in this conversation. I’m sure it’s one that many will be able to relate to regarding the anxieties of performing and singing in front of people, let alone on stage, and also being introverted in this very loud industry. If you’re curious to find out more and get a feel for Jess’ music (if you haven’t done so already), you can find Ugly Ozo on Spotify and Instagram, and catch her at Wanderlust Festival in Southampton this Saturday (3rd May) playing Heartbreakers.