On Our Radar: Aby Coulibaly talks 'Long Nights', and Chamomile Records

Can you tell me the inspiration behind ‘Long Nights’?

The song is about how some women compete or throw shade at one another for no particular reason, instead of hyping each other up. I was inspired to write it after I had a weird encounter with a girl who kept treating me badly for no reason. 

Which was crazy, because she didn’t actually know me. The last time it happened I was in the studio the next day and I was just like, “Okay, I’m going to write a song about it.”

How has your sound developed and changed since you started releasing your own music?

As an artist it takes time to find your sound. I’ve definitely realised I enjoy making and performing more upbeat music. But I still have a lot of experimenting to do, because it’s early days for me.

What was behind the decision to form Chamomile records, and how has it helped you grow as an artist?

Chamomile came about by accident, really. When we were uploading my first single, it gave us a compulsory option to enter your label, and we had to make one up since we’re independent. We chose Chamomile because that’s the tea I always drink in the studio - we didn’t really think much of it. 

I was then tagged in something by radio presenter Peter Curtain and it read ‘Aby Coulibaly: Chamomile Records’. We saw it and laughed because we didn’t think anyone would pick up on it and it wasn’t an actual label. So we were just like, “Why don’t we actually set this up for real?”

What can we expect in the (hopefully near!) future from you?

A lot more music!

• ‘Long Nights’ is out now.