Dream pop artist Absolutely is in a world of her own

Throughout history, family has been the key ingredient to some of the world’s biggest artists: The Jackson 5, Sly and the Family Stone, Sister Sledge, The Beach Boys, Oasis, and, how could we forget, The Jonas Brothers. In 2025, a new musical dynasty has risen out of South London and has been slowly infiltrating our airwaves, not as a band, but as individual artists. 

The eldest of four sisters, Rachel Keen, you will know better as seven-time Brit Award winner, Raye. The second eldest is Lauren, known better by her stage name Amma, who released an EP this year aptly titled Middle Child. Then there’s Abby-Lynn, who uses the moniker Absolutely. There’s also 14-year-old Katelyn, who doesn’t have an artist name because she’s too busy studying for her GCSEs. 

21-year-old Absolutely is the youngest of the sisters currently working in the industry, and yet her list of achievements is remarkable. Not only has she been releasing her own music since she was a teenager, but writing for some of today’s biggest pop stars, including Tinashe, Normani and Lisa. Following her 2023 debut album, Cerebrum, she has now announced her sophomore full-length record. 

Titled Paracosm, the album is set for release early next year and is based on ideas of surreal, childlike world-building – inspired by dreamy, transcendent artists such as Imogen Heap, Kate Bush, Caroline Polachek, the Cocteau Twins and Sampha. The black sheep of the family, Absolutely introduces us to her world with this record. Even aesthetically, she immediately sticks out, and deliberately so. If her hip-length copper braids weren’t enough to recognise her, her harlequin-style wardrobe should do the trick (her fashion icon is Helena Bonham Carter). 

To mark the release of her new single “No Audience” and the announcement of her second album, I took a Dazed Day Out with the singer. She planned the itinerary, which included drinking iced matcha in Soho Square, a visit to Victorian haberdashery shop MacCulloch & Wallis, and a fitting for the Glenn Martens x H&M launch party. You can see all the photos from our day together in the gallery above, or read the interview below. 

2025 has been a big year for you. Has it felt like a lot of change all at once? 

Absolutely: My schedule has definitely been a lot more packed than before. I don’t really have much of a social life outside of my boyfriend; it’s hard to maintain friendships or build new friendships when you’re so busy. I’ve been out of my comfort zone a lot. I’m really introverted, but that’s helped me to grow. 

You have a lot of fun with your fashion choices. Where does your love of clothes come from? 

Absolutely: I was actually designing clothes before I started making music. I was always drawing outfits. I used to be obsessed with those TOPModel books, and I loved Harumika dolls. But now I’ve come full circle and I’m designing my own tour looks – it’s my childhood dream come true. 

Before you went into music, you wanted to be a fashion designer? 

Absolutely: Yeah, part of it came from me being shy and part of it came from not wanting it to look like I was copying my sister. I was secretly loving music, but I was open about loving fashion because I felt like that was different to what my sister was doing. 

My younger sister always wanted to be as different to me as possible. Did you experience that with your elder sisters? 

Absolutely: Yeah, I think that’s what it was. But it got to a point where I couldn’t deny it anymore. I was called to music, so I had to go for it. Eventually, I plucked up the courage to record my first cover, which was “True Colours” by Cindi Lauper. 

What’s the inspiration behind your new single “No Audience”?

Absolutely: It’s about freeing myself from being performative in life, and on stage too. Being able to just enjoy my music as if nobody’s watching. It was a very freeing song for me – every time I sing it I feel a release. 

Do you feel like your music is authentic to you? 

Absolutely: Definitely. But it’s hard sometimes with pressures from the label. My team is amazing, but it’s hard to please everybody. I always get stuck when I start thinking about what other people think. 

Is writing a therapeutic experience for you? 

Absolutely: Definitely, it’s like writing a diary. Although I should get a therapist. I haven’t had therapy before, but writing has helped me through some hard times. 

Your second album comes out early next year. Where did the title Paracosm come from? 

Absolutely: A paracosm is a world you create as a child that can extend into adulthood. With this album, I really reignited my childlike wonder. Someone commented under one of my YouTube videos saying, ‘she’s my paracosm‘, and I was like, ‘wait, what’s that word?’ I looked it up and it fit perfectly. A lot of people have said that the music is so immersive that they get transported to a different place when they listen to it. 

It’s hard sometimes with pressures from the label. My team is amazing, but it’s hard to please everybody. I always get stuck when I start thinking about what other people think

You’re one of four sisters and the youngest working in the music industry. Do you think your family is extra protective of you because of that? 

Absolutely: They are protective of me, but I think they trust me because I’ve got my head screwed on. 

I’ve seen people online drawing comparisons to the Jackson 5…

Absolutely: [Laughs] Oh yeah, we get that a lot. 

Do you think your youngest sister (Katelyn, who’s 14 years old) will also become a musician, too? 

Absolutely: She does speak about it and says that she wants to. She loves dancing and performing for herself – I’m excited for her to come out of her shell because she’s quite shy. She’s always doing karaoke in the living room, but she’d never do it in front of people, so hopefully one day she will. 

Do you think all four of you could release music together at some point? 

Absolutely: I think so, yeah. I think we would do an album together one day. 

You’re also going on tour together in the new year. Are you used to spending that much time together?

Absolutely: No, not since we were kids. We’ll have our space. I think Rachel [Raye] will have her own bus, and Lauren [Amma] and I will have to practice taking space from one another, but we’re all maturing now. I don’t expect that we’ll be having any crazy arguments. 

How are you feeling about heading into 2026? 

Absolutely: I’m excited because when I’m on tour it takes the pressure off of social media, rather than me having to try and create videos out of nowhere. And I get to see the impact that my music is making, too. At the moment, the songs just live in my phone, so I’m excited to see how they’ve impacted people in real life.