For most of us, discovering our passion is a winding journey, shaped by trial, error, and a series of apprehensive next steps. But for Chelsea Jacotine – who performs under the stage name Jacoténe – it has always felt instinctive. Like the subtle tug of an invisible string, music has been tethered to her for as long as she can remember. It ebbed and swelled in the rooms she grew up in, carried by the soulful voices of Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill.

Jacoténe greets me, virtually, from a sun-drenched London apartment, two neat braids falling over her shoulders and a beaming smile that belies her recent 24-hour journey from Australia to the UK. After a whirlwind few weeks in Australia leading up to the release of her debut EP, Untitled (Read My Mind), we’re now three days out from the EP launch — and if she’s feeling the pressure, she’s wearing it lightly. For the Melbourne-born artist, her recent history has been nothing short of transformative, taking her from the familiar high school quad to signing a record deal on the other side of the world (and all while navigating that delicate time in limbo between adolescence and adulthood).

These enduring sentiments, woven into Jacoténe’s unguarded lyricism, capture the complexity of growth, change and human connection in all its forms. “I’m going into this spot in life where I feel like I want what I say to matter”. (Track 6 from the EP, What Did I Do, stands out as a meditation on vulnerability.) The creation of the EP was a collaborative journey, shaped as much by instinct as it was by intention. “I do this thing where I jam, and my way of describing it is like an [outburst] of all reality and lyric ideas that I have in that current moment, and I just lay it all out,” she explains. When it came to Read My Mind, the process took on a particularly sentimental tone, as if the melodies were waiting to be remembered; “I felt like I was just writing them into existence”.

Defining her visual identity through fashion and film has been as much of an intimate process as her songwriting; Pinterest has become her visual archive. “The things that bring me joy are clothes and music. In the past two years, I’ve started to see myself almost like a scrapbook,” she reflects. “An ongoing art project where I can express myself in any way I like…”But what’s next for Jacoténe? She reels off a slew of stacked European live shows slated for later this year, noting that the joy of performing to a sea of fans and industry alike is not lost on her. “I think that is the greatest connection of all time being a musician. That is literally just the guiding light for me.” For Jacoténe, pursuing music never felt like a conscious choice, but more like a known calling.