7. Edith Piaf

I like Edith Piaf for similar reasons [to Umm Kulthum], the directness of her Frenchness. She always bears her soul in this rough and very interesting way, and I love that about her. She doesn’t try to be sophisticated, and there’s something special in that voice; she’s like a little urchin. That has always influenced me heavily, that rising sort of little urchin vibe. I have nothing, but what I give you is my soul, this absolutely deliberate move.