Photographer: Fraser Thorne
Styling: Gemma Baguley
Words: Chris Saunders
If you, like me, first clocked Ledbyher through a Reel or your FYP, chances are you were left with a head full of question marks and a strange kind of pull. That voice—heavy-lidded, unbothered, unmistakably British—floating over cloud-washed beats laced with drill, like it shouldn’t work but totally does. Then there’s the look: flowy skirts, vintage vibes, and an almost fairy-like aesthetic. Nothing about it aligned with the version of UK underground I’d come to expect.
I’ll be honest— my first instinct? Industry plant vibes. My brain did the worst kind of autopilot: assumed affluence, assumed cosplay, assumed someone trying on hip-hop like an aesthetic. A bit shameful, but I wasn’t the only one—the comments had the same coded undertones. But for once, I didn’t let the knee-jerk cynicism win. I fell down the rabbit hole, did the homework, and ended up feeling stupid for ever thinking that way in the first place, especially after meeting the musician herself and hearing her story.
Ledbyher—a name she gave herself after reading a poem titled The Prelude that included the phrase—has seen it all and then some. She’s lived in Germany, Indonesia, and eventually settled in the rural areas of Norfolk, England. Now she’s in London, studying film, making music that feels like dream diaries spliced with UK basslines, still sneaking away to the quiet when she can. She’s experienced homelessness. Spent nights couch-hopping with her sister. She knows what it means to disappear from the system, to feel completely unglamorous and still keep making art.
She had the epiphany at sixteen—that thing all artists secretly hope will strike like lightning – that this is it. No Plan B. Music wasn’t just the thing she wanted to do, it was the only way to be heard, to be real. Her sound draws from all over: SoundCloud chaos, Ghostemane’s dark energy, the rawness of UK drill, the free-fall of psychedelic rock. Her biggest track to date, “DAYDREAMING MADE ME BLUE”, feels like lucid dreaming with its warped vocals and floaty, off-centre production, taking inspiration from all those aforementioned genres. Since then, she’s taken the internet’s attention and turned it into IRL moments—performing on On The Radar, opening for Biig Piig to a crowd of thousands, and garnering support from Skepta.
I understand why people don’t know where to place Ledbyher. She doesn’t slot in neatly. But that’s exactly the point—Ledbyher isn’t asking to be decoded. She’s building her own language. She’s not here to belong to a trend cycle or a playlist algorithm, she’s here to be undeniable. And for her, this isn’t just about expression. Ledbyher is hoping to become an artist who’s taken in all across the world, but also one who always stays rooted in truth. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
So, you grew up in Norfolk? I also read that when you were younger, you moved around a lot of different countries?
Ledbyher: Yeah. I was born in Germany because my mum was pregnant there, and my dad was deployed. He was in the RAF. Then I got moved to Indonesia to be with my Indonesian family while my dad was getting deployed everywhere. Then we moved back to Norfolk. I’d never been there before. I don’t know. My dad said he could’ve chosen London, but he hates the city, so we went to Norfolk and stayed there.
How old were you when you moved there?
Ledbyher: I was about three.
What was growing up in the countryside like?
Ledbyher: It was… very flat. There were only like five police officers, so they all knew everyone. If you got in trouble, it was always the same five that showed up. Everyone knows everyone.
So growing up, were there other people around you doing creative stuff?
Ledbyher: I walked into a music lesson one day and met a boy called Jack. He’s still my best friend. He was the only person doing music, and he had Logic. I went to his house and we started producing. I downloaded FL Studio so I could teach him FL, and he taught me Logic.
It was like an exchange. We did everything together.
Were your parents into anything creative?
Ledbyher: Not really. My dad was an aerospace engineer. He’s just very brainy, insanely intelligent. My mum doesn’t really do much because she’s disabled, but she’s always been supportive of anything I’ve done.
So have they always let you take your own path? No pressure?
Ledbyher: They put me and my sister in loads of classes—piano, singing, all that. My sister stuck with singing for a while. I didn’t like it, don’t know why. I did football, basketball, swimming… and then I started partying, so I stopped the sports. But eventually I found my way back to music.
I read there was a time when you were homeless. Can you tell us about this part of your life?
Ledbyher: Yeah, a lot happened in my hometown that people don’t know. I’m not telling the whole story yet – I’m saving it for my EP. But yeah, it wasn’t even that long ago—like two or three years. There were problems at home, and one day the police barged in. I called them during a situation, and they already had records over the years of stuff involving me and my sister. They removed us from the house. My sister was on crutches at the time. They told us we couldn’t go back, but the town was so small there was nowhere for us to go. My friend walked to my house and helped me carry my sister to his place. We stayed there for three months but there was only one bed. I’d just sleep wherever. I wrote a lot of my CUNCH EP during that time. It’s literally written on the road, in my notebooks and notes app. Then my best friend Christina gave me a place to stay for £100 a week. I got a job. Told my school everything, and they were really supportive. They let me stay enrolled and still get my A-levels, gave me free school meals and I’d go in, get food for me and my sister, and then go to work. Luckily I got my predicted grades as well. My first actual exam was at uni because it was the COVID year.
Well it seems like things have worked out, you’ve clearly come a long way since then.
Ledbyher: Yeah, it all happened very fast. I think staying grounded helped. I’m still really close with my sister—she’s moved to London too. We’re always together. She’s probably at my place right now. She’s got my keys. She just shows up.
So when did you realise music was what you really loved, like, “this is what I’m going to do”?
Ledbyher: It was maybe a year into producing and engineering. Then I started making songs and videos. I was sixteen, and I stopped one day and thought, “Why am I doing this?” There wasn’t a specific reason—I just couldn’t imagine not doing it. Music was the only way I could express everything I was feeling. It was like an outlet that wasn’t destructive, something I could share. That’s when I realized I loved it.
Who were your favourite artists growing up?
Ledbyher: The Cranberries, Mac Miller, Chris Travis, SeshHollowWater Boyz, Ghostemane… I liked rock. My dad played AC/DC, Pink Floyd, all that. My brother’s a big metalhead—screamo, screaming in your ears. I liked it but stopped at Slipknot. Anything harder, I need to be really angry.
And film’s clearly a big thing for you too. What are your top three favourite films?
Ledbyher: American Honey. Tangerine – I watched that the other day. So funny, and it’s shot on an iPhone. It’s about these two women going wild after one of them finds out her man—who’s also her pimp—is cheating. And then probably Palo Alto. James Franco plays a weird character in that. He’s a weird guy, I don’t trust his face. If he tried to sell me something, I’d ask for a receipt.
So, why film instead of music for uni?
Ledbyher: I did music for A-level but hated going to music lessons. I love music, but lessons were the worst. The amps were terrible and it was so underfunded. I played a chord and the amp literally smoked. One caught fire. So when I came to uni, I thought, “If music doesn’t work out, I need a Plan B.” My mum said I need one too. I’d been editing my own videos and thought maybe I’d want to direct. So I chose film.
Makes sense. Studying something creative can feel restrictive, though. Does it feel that way for you?
Ledbyher: Yeah, I’m in the wrong course. I thought it would be practical, but it’s film studies [laughs]. I didn’t research properly. It’s all theory—like, what does the red apple mean in 1930s Hollywood? Why did they cut here?
Yeah. So you’ve been making music since you were 14. How would you say your style has developed from that point to now? Are there major differences from when you started?
Ledbyher: I think I started off more isolated, but tight now, the way I create music is more collaborative. Like, I meet people here and go to the studio. But for the first three or four years, it was just me in a tiny shed in my bedroom. I wouldn’t speak to anybody about music. I wouldn’t go to school and say, “Oh, I made a beat last night.” It wasn’t like that. It was two years in, I was selling beats, and I met Jack. He made me actually flourish and come out and be like, “Yeah, it’s okay to make music.”
Would you say you were pretty nervous to release music because of putting yourself out there?
Ledbyher: Yeah. I was nervous, but I always had one person in my life at the time who said the right thing. Like, sometimes, when you know something’s gonna go wrong, and somebody just says something at the right time, you’re like, “Oh yeah, okay, it’s alright.” There’s a lot of things that I think are divine timing. I don’t know what it is. And I think whenever I put music out it feels like divine timing.
Do you ever read the comments?
Ledbyher: My friends read the bad comments. They tell me. It’s probably best that way. We laugh about it. I actually called my mum yesterday, because I blocked her from seeing my Instagram because she doesn’t like it. She rang me and said, “I just saw your fucking YouTube. What the fuck are people in the comments saying? You’re from private school and money? What the fuck?” She was like, “I’m gonna comment back.” I was like, “No, Mum, don’t do that.” She was flipping. Then she was like, “You know what? It’s actually quite good if they think that—it means you are well looked after.”
I wanted to speak about On the Radar as well, which you were on. What was that experience like? Was it your first time in New York?
Ledbyher: Yeah. I went once before, but I didn’t have a very good time. Shit went down. I came back for my redemption trip. But On the Radar was cool. The three guys that run it are so on it and lovely. It’s weird, though, because it’s two floors, but now the top and bottom floors are like a drop shipping factory. You’re like, “Where the fuck am I?” Then you go upstairs, and it’s green, and you’re like, “Oh, there we go.” Loads of rappers are there, and then the bottom’s just full of boxes and everything.
What was that experience like, because you’re obviously putting yourself on a massive platform. Do you feel pressure in those moments?
Ledbyher: I feel pressure, but my dad always said, “Pressure makes diamonds.” I feel the pressure when I’m out of my comfort zone but when I’m in my comfort zone, it feels worse. So, when I was nervous to go out to New York, it’s like, “fuck it.” Because it feels worse when I’m satisfied. I feel like I don’t wanna be satisfied until I’m like 40, 50. Because when you’re satisfied, you stop. I prefer pressure. And I wanna bridge the gap between Britain and the US, and what’s going on with international rap, international music. I want to be a transatlantic artist.
I feel like you do have a very British-inspired sound, but there are so many influences that can fit in everywhere across the world. I feel like the whole underground has that Britishness about them, but it can still go super global. How do you feel about the whole scene right now?
Ledbyher: The British scene? Yeah. Wow. We’re going crazy. I’m having fun. That’s the thing, like, when you go to the events and all this, everybody is actually genuinely enjoying what they’re doing. And it’s not, “Oh God, we need to release,” or, “Oh go do a show.” It’s everybody’s gassing each other up. And the craziest thing is, it’s like all Teebo and Young Eman, all them, they show so much love. And I don’t do the style of rap they do, but they knew that I love their rap. And then they found my stuff, and showed so much love. Even though everybody’s in parallel with each other and doing their own thing, individuality right now is so rich in the artists. Like, every person has their own thing going on, and it’s so colorful, the whole thing. And it’s not just London, but like, obviously people from up north. Like, it’s actually the first time I feel like you don’t have to be in London to… Obviously, there are people from beforehand, but it feels so organic right now and everyone’s doing their own thing with their own style.
Speaking of shows, you’ve done quite a few recently. How important is that side of things for you?
Ledbyher: I love to perform. To be honest, I like performing with a band more. Because I did the majority of my shows, except for the ones recently, with the band. I have a full band—sax, keys, guitar, drums. But I know what I need, which is the mic. So it’s like I’m adapting and I’m learning every day. Like, every time I sit on stage by myself with just a mic, I’m learning new things, and how I interact with the crowd. Yeah, like, my performance experiences and… like, full bags.
You recently did a couple of shows with Biig Piig as well—they were huge.
Ledbyher: So, it was like 3,000, I think, for one of them. It was just like two days back-to-back. I just flew back from New York two days before and then got on a coach after Bristol and we, like, at Heathrow randomly. We were there at four in the morning, like on the trolleys, just pushing each other around, and went and played the Roundhouse the next day. What is life?!
Do you have anything you like to do before a show to get you in the right mindset?
Ledbyher: I like to do my makeup sat down on the floor with a big mirror. And I like everybody to be there partying in the background, because that hypes me up. Every single event I ever do, I bring all my friends. They’re all around, bored with loads of drinks, just partying in the green room. I’m just there dancing—I’m the most chill. And then they’re getting kicked out of the green room, getting put back in. I love my friends. My friends are crazy [laughs].
And you had your first headline solo show last year, right? Did that feel like a moment where you were like, “Damn, this is real. I’m doing something here”?
Ledbyher: To be honest, that was like the greatest experience for me because we ran it. It was me and my best friend that ran it. We were turning 21. The whole team that did it was 20 or under. We sorted the lighting, the equipment, the mics, we got the sponsors, we set up all the merch tables. We had to do all of that while in uni. And it was also my birthday. It was literally just me and my best friend… we do everything together. But we just turned up, ran our show, and left. It was sick. It was a really cool venue, and my parents had never seen me live, so…
You’ve obviously got some pretty cool co-signs recently. The big one being Skepta. How did it feel seeing him commenting on your music?
Ledbyher: I threw my phone, and now my phone is smashed!
That’s a reasonable reaction, I think.
Ledbyher: I was very emotional, especially amidst all the other comments and noise. Just to have a legend pop in and be like, “You’re sick.” It just gives me more reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
And if you could collaborate with anyone right now, who would you choose?
Ledbyher: Probably Skepta.
That’s a good answer. You mentioned some aspects about your next project, is that something that’s still in the works?
Ledbyher: I’m finishing it right now, or at least figuring out the final touches. It’s got a mix of sounds – people are calling it “majestic jerk” with some bedroom drill vibes. It’s eight tracks, and I’m really excited because it feels like the right time and sound. I can’t wait for it to drop. I want it out now, but I know it needs time to be perfect.
Yeah, I suppose sometimes you feel like you just need to release it before you overthink it.
Ledbyher: Exactly! I tend to overthink everything, so it’s hard to pick the right direction. But I’ve learned to just go with it and not stress over the options. It’s hard to choose sometimes because everything could work, but in the end, I want someone to just decide for me!
I get that. I was wondering, because I get this vibe from your aesthetic, do you consider yourself spiritual?
Ledbyher: Yeah, I was raised in a spiritual environment. I’ve read the Quran and the Bible, and I’m still figuring it all out. I practice gratitude—saying thanks for everything, writing it down, praying. I’m not sure if I’d call it spiritual, but it’s my way of connecting.
And is there anything else coming up this year you’d like to share?
Ledbyher: I want to head to LA. There are so many people I want to see there, and I think it’s time to do the whole American thing. I went when I was younger, and I didn’t like it then. I think it’s time to give it another go.
Listen to Ledbyher’s latest single “WRONG” below and follow her on Instagram.