Like many debutantes, 28-year-old Swedish songwriter waterbaby has spent a long time working up towards her first album.

"It's been a long journey with a slow burn," she says. "I've always been singing and I always knew I was gonna be a singer. I just assumed that I would not be able to write my own songs, especially not lyrics. And then at 17 I had my big teen heartbreak, and I was like: 'Give me the pen! I've got some stuff to say!'"

Speaking with Anthony Carew of The International Pop Underground for the release of her debut LP, Memory Be a Blade —out on legendary American indie label Sub Pop— waterbaby talks about how she patiently waited years to release any music, and how the use of largely acoustic instruments across her album is out to capture a sense of intimacy.

Feature image: Levi Axene