With a haunting voice and cinematic sound, Chaouche is already making an impact, despite only having recently released her debut single. Growing up in Swansea and moving to Bristol to attend BIMM music college, Aisha Chauche, going by just her second name now, lists her influences as ranging from Björk to Hanz Zimmer and their atmospheric spirit is clear in her own writing.

Releasing her newest track “I’ll Lose My Head” alongside the first song she ever wrote, “My Friend”, Chaouche has an ethereal quality to her voice and lyricism, creating two heartbreaking and spine tingling hymns that will haunt you long after you’ve finished listening.

Currently finishing off her debut album, we had a talk with the magical musician to find out all about her.

What’s your first memory of music?

I would always know what mood my mum was in depending on what record she was playing downstairs. Sometimes though, it was really hard to tell because she would put on something sad, but uplifting. I remember being in my room, just lying there or staring out the window or whatever, and then all of a sudden Eurythmics – “Here Comes The Rain Again” would come on. I would hear my mum singing along and I would laugh and run downstairs because I knew she would be dancing with all the cutlery in the kitchen.

If you had to go on a night out with an artist, who would it be?

I’d really like to booze it up with Enya, I’ve heard she lives in a castle with like 40 cats so we could pre-drink at hers. Mainly because then I could ask her about working on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Who would you say are your main musical influences?

As usual, it’s varied a lot over time but there have been few stand out artists. Rufus Wainwright has been a massive influence, I just think he and his songwriting is great. As are Bjork, Sufjan Stevens and Elliott Smith but then I’ve also been heavily influenced by some more electronic artists such as Quantic, Orbital and Burial.

You’ve previously said you’re inspired by film composers. What’s your favourite film soundtrack?

Yeah, I love amazing film scores! I’m not sure whether I can pick a favourite but I can give you some honourable mentions. My very first CD purchase was the soundtrack to The Gladiator. I was 12 at the time and remember saving up for weeks to get it. I had to get HMV to order it in because they were like… “wtf?”. Others include The Mission, Donnie Darko, The Last Samurai, Finding Nemo, Edward Scissorhands – all bangers.

Can you tell us about the meaning behind your stage name “Chaouche”?

Chaouche is my second name. At first I was reluctant to use it, because my memories of my father are not particularly positive. He left when I was a young teenager. After discovering my love for music, using my father’s name was the last thing I wanted but one of my mates suggested using the name to turn it into a positive. I tried coming up with all sorts of other trash names. But none of them meant anything, so I thought…“yeah fuck it”.

What was the inspiration for your single “I’ll Lose My Head?”

Over the years, I’ve had a few experiences with people close to me living with mental illness. It can be extremely confusing and difficult at times, however I feel like there are always little pockets of clarity. And so, when I wrote this, I tried to think about that. And to channel those feelings onto Logic pro 9!

What else have you got lined up for this year?

Currently I’m working on polishing the last half of my first album. There’s also another single and some live shows towards the end of summertime.