Quotes from Neneh Cherry

Being a grandmother is one of the least strange things in my life. It makes more sense than a lot of things... like photo shoots!

I'm a bit of a rebel, and I always will be.

I admire someone like Beyonce. She has amazing commitment. I needed to accept that I probably did not fit into that forum. Doing that 'The Cherry Thing' record was a big part of finding that place where I belong, where I may shine, but I never doubted it was there.

Both my parents were working-class and had dreams of making the world a better place. It's pretty powerful, being able to reflect back their beliefs.

My kids love Ibiza and we feel committed to it because we keep coming back to the same area. People recognise us in shops now and we have a social life here. We cook at home and have friends around.

When me and my brother Eagle-Eye were kids, life was about hitting the road, getting on the bus. We loved it.

I'm 50. And I'm not ever really worried about being trendy.

I don't think I would have made 'Blank Project; if I hadn't made 'Cherry Thing.' I think that was a real rebirth in a way, and a remembrance of how I like to make music best, the most. Like being in a more chaotic place, maybe. Like a place of making and being creative where the mistakes can be left in.

For me, making music is about my whole life. The basics, the components, simple things - family, living, just going to the market and getting new fruit and veg. That's what keeps my blood flowing.

A lot of young musicians in Stockholm are about keeping tradition alive and moving it forward at the same time.

I'm not an amazingly trained soul singer, so with me it's about feeling and energy and spontaneity - that's a really big part of who I am.

I am not super-ambitious. I am not a classically amazing singer or anything.

I'm quite a particular singer, and I need to feel like I can bite into the song, in a way, to make it my own. You want the challenge of the songs having some attitude.

Some people might be groomed for success; I've just always thought I've got a hell of a lot of things to learn and places to go. Creatively, I couldn't stay on the same treadmill. I chose to be off-centre and do collaborative work.

I found my place when I moved to London, where I chose to live, making my own tribe who were all from different backgrounds and places. The class thing is very dominant there, but in the cultural cross-fertilization, I felt a sense of belonging.

I think I've always been slightly addicted to not repeating myself. When you're doing something the first time around, it's often the best time. I think 'Blank Project' is about carrying on. Its that thing where you're making something because you have to, but you don't know how or why.

When I found out I was pregnant, my mother said, 'Dont separate your life, the life that youre going to make with this child, from the things that you are and what you want to do.'

I like Kelela. I like Twigs. I love the more old school; I hate to say old school, but I love Peaches; I love Peaches, I love Cat Power. And there's constantly new things coming up. But there's something so beautifully powerful - for me being a woman, when there's a woman doing something, it really strikes a chord.

I always found very strong images for my songwriting in New York.

Rhythm, that's an essential part of cooking. The sound of a lovely song and the smell of some dish in the oven are equally evocative.

The race is your face. Obviously, I come from a mixed background. Who I am and how I look and being black.

What's sometimes really overwhelming in Sweden is the uniformity. People kind of disappear by all looking the same and wearing the same clothes. There are a lot of great individuals, but it can become a very blank and bleak picture.

I'm allergic to doing the obvious thing.

Frank Ocean is our modern-day Marvin Gaye. In our house, we have nothing but respect for him.