We wouldn’t have Tems without Kate Nash. At least, not the global superstar we know her as today. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Tems attended high school in Lekki, a coastal suburb of the city. School wasn’t easy for her. She found it difficult to make friends and describes herself as an outsider who preferred her own company. Only one person truly understood her: London singer-songwriter Kate Nash, best known for her 2007 hit “Foundations”. 

At the same time Nash released her debut album, Made of Bricks, Tems, then 12, was given her first iPod. Her uncle had loaded it with a random assortment of songs, including tracks from Nash’s album. From then on, Tems’ daily school commute was soundtracked by Nash’s cockney-inflected confessional anthems; songs like “Mouthwash” and “Mariella”. The plucky piano arrangements inspired Tems to teach herself to play. At first, she only wanted to learn Nash’s songs, but eventually she began writing arrangements of her own. While Tems had dabbled in songwriting since she was nine, it was Nash, some 3,000 miles away in London, who helped unlock her musical world.

Today, Tems is known for her uniquely imperfect vocals. Every note she sings is charged with raw emotion, and when her voice breaks and crackles, it only becomes more relatable. Now, with over 30 million monthly listeners and fresh from headlining London’s All Points East festival, fans might not have guessed that her sound can be traced back to Nash. And she’s the first to admit it, too: in recent interviews, Tems has credited Nash as one of her earliest influences, though the pair have never met before. Until now. 

As Nash prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Made of Bricks and returns with new music, we bring the two artists together for the first time. It should be noted that the first minute of the conversation consisted mostly of silent screaming, shaking their heads and covering their mouths in starstruck disbelief. 

Tems: Oh my God.  

Kate Nash: Oh my God. 

Tems: You have no idea. This is my younger self’s dream come true. You are incredible. I’m starstruck right now. 

Kate Nash: I’m so happy to meet you. I love your music. I’ve been listening to it so much. I’m so honoured. Your music has been getting me through some stuff. The universe has gifted me something with this. 

Tems: You have gifted me. A lot of my sound – playing the piano, for instance – I learnt that through your songs. I felt your music on such a level that I was like, I need to learn how to play this song. 

Kate Nash: I can’t believe that. 

Tems: I could cry. This is a dream come true. If I sound wobbly, just imagine a 13-year-old girl. I discovered you when my uncle got me my first iPod. He had put maybe 2000 songs on there. I pressed shuffle, and your music came on – it must’ve been “Mouthwash” [she sings the full first verse in a Dick Van Dyke-esque British accent]. From that day on, you inspired me so much. Learning your songs on the piano is how I started to write my own songs on piano. 

Kate Nash: It’s just so cool. You never know who your music is reaching. I knew who you were, but when you started mentioning me in interviews recently, I was like, “What!?” I started listening to your music more, and I love your album, Born in the Wild. I’ve had the weirdest year ever, and I feel like [from] your words, and even the way you speak in interviews, you know how to take care of yourself and have self-respect. I feel like the first step to loving yourself is knowing yourself, and that’s how your music comes across. It’s really nurturing to listen to. 

Tems: I always felt like you were singing my thoughts. I was growing up in Nigeria, [but] I felt like you were more my friend than so many people. 

Kate Nash: That’s the power of music. Two girls from two totally different places and experiences going through girlhood. I remember when I first put my music on MySpace, the thing that blew my mind was seeing comments from people so far away, in Japan or Nigeria – I was reaching the future Tems!

“I was working at Nando’s, grilling chicken. Then I had heart surgery and realised that I hadn’t lived” – Kate Nash

Tems: How did it feel seeing people connect to your music at that time? 

Kate Nash: It’s interesting now, being 20 years into my career, I’m reflecting a lot. When I was younger, I wanted to be like other artists – I was trying to be like Alicia Keys or Jeff Buckley. I was writing in other people’s voices. I was desperate to go to university, but I didn’t get in anywhere, even my backups. But I also had a heart condition at that time and had to have surgery. Looking back, I think [my surgery] massively impacted how I viewed everything. I was working at Nando’s, grilling chicken. Then I had heart surgery and realised that I hadn’t lived. I wasn’t living. I realised that I didn’t have to be a poet or write about stuff that wasn’t my experience; I just started to write about my life and what was happening to me. When you find your truth and are more honest as an artist, you connect with more people. My open heart, although it’s got me in trouble, is also why I’ve connected with you and other people and their stories. 

Tems: I can’t imagine what that must have been like. The way I discovered my sound was so similar to your story – it was when I was the most honest. That’s when it felt like me. My goal has always been to be able to make anything I want and not have to think about who would like it. To make music because I have something to say, not because there’s a pressure to make the next hit. 

Kate Nash: I feel exactly the same way. Are you working on any music at the moment?

Tems: I am working on new music. I’m having fun, but I’ve also had a lot of things on my heart, so there’s some heavy stuff. 

Kate Nash: I’ve been working on music that explores my Irish heritage for the first time. I grew up going to Irish-Catholic school and was put into Irish music school when I was little. So I suddenly thought, why haven’t I explored that in my artistry? In your mid-to-late thirties, you start to realise how your childhood impacted your adulthood, and that comes from what my parents went through and why they went through it. 

Growing up in England, we don’t get taught about our history from the perspective that we did anything wrong. With Ireland, it’s very political, because England is this massive coloniser who had such a violent impact on so many countries in the world, but we don’t get taught any of that. And actually, we did a lot wrong. So the new music is coinciding with this awakening in the world. It’s actually the most personal work that I’ve made. But I also think we’re going to see people wanting that human experience more. Especially with the conversation around AI – you want the individual and the imperfections, because that’s what makes it unique and real and raw. 

“I like looking at the view from my apartment in silence. I’m very much a ‘sit-in-silence and let myself get bored’ kind of person” – Tems

Tems: I always felt like Auto-Tune sounded horrible on my voice. That used to be the first thing that lots of producers would do [add autotune] to my voice, but it sounds super robotic. My voice is just weird; it sounds better when it’s raw. When you can hear the cracks. AI is without a soul. I want to hear wrong notes and emotion. 

Kate Nash: Where do you go to find inspiration? 

Tems: I like looking at the view from my apartment in silence. I’m very much a ‘sit-in-silence and let myself get bored’ kind of person. 

Kate Nash: The phone is the death of creativity. How will I hear myself if I don’t sit in silence? 

Tems: When you’re online so much, you don’t realise how much other people’s opinions are affecting how you see the world. 

Kate Nash: It’s dangerous. I don’t think it’s making people happier or calmer. 

Tems: It’s making people miserable, actually. I have a phone cabinet at home. I have two phones – one for social media and one that doesn’t have any apps on it. I put them in the cabinet, and I exist in my house without a phone. Not to be dramatic, but I kind of realised it’s life or death. 

Kate Nash: It’s a global-scale addiction. It’s causing more conflict and dividing us.

“I’m so annoyed that it’s worse now than it was 20 years ago. I wish I were sitting here saying that it’s so much better now than what it was in my day. I feel really angry about that” – Kate Nash

Tems: Do you have any goals beyond music? 

Kate Nash: I really want to change the law regarding how the music industry exploits artists. I don’t feel like you can negotiate with the music industry. I’m so annoyed that it’s worse now than it was 20 years ago. I wish I were sitting here saying that it’s so much better now than what it was in my day. I feel really angry about that, so I’m driven by that anger to see what I can do to try and make a difference for younger artists. 

Tems: What would a Tems x Kate Nash track sound like? 

Kate Nash: It would be a blend. There’s such a gentleness to you, but then on tracks you’re like “I wanna choke you out” [from Tems’ song “Boy O Boy”]. I love that you’ve got that fire in you. 

Tems: I’m a sleeping lion. 

Kate Nash: We could tap into that energy for a collaboration. 

Tems: That would be my dream, actually, just in case you were wondering. 

Kate Nash: It’s actually 20 years of Made of Bricks next year. I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d come to the show and maybe do something. 

Tems: Oh my God! Yes. I’m going to come and be there at the front. 

Kate Nash: Maybe we could do “Mariella” together? 

Tems: I’m blocking the dates out! If I’m on tour, I’m flying back.