The first thing you'll notice about Jelly Oshen (pronounced 'ocean') is that he's got a natural talent for making music.
Every note you hear him hit is something he figured out for himself, learning to sing and play instruments by ear.The second thing you'll notice is how thoughtful he is. This is the kind of kid who'll tease his sister for looking like Rhianna, even though he knows it's a massive compliment.
In fact, it was his admiration for his siblings that inspired Jelly to start writing music.
"I basically just tried to copy them. . . But it didn't really work until family issues would arise and I realised I could express what I was feeling through music."
Jelly's parents were bandmates long before they even thought about having kids. His mum went on to launch the Kuranda Reggae Festival, which later evolved into Reggaetown.
So it wasn't unusual for industry legends like Nicky Bomba to be playing with Jelly in the park one day and performing in front of a massive crowd the next.
In fact, it was Bomba who first introduced a then seven-year-old Jelly to the stage. "I wanted to be a hip hop dancer, and during one of my mum's festivals I made really good friends with Nicky.
"When he was playing his set, he pulled me up on stage to dance. He held my hand through most of it because I was shy, but then I got confident, let go of his hand and started breakdancing."
To get an accurate picture of this moment, you need to imagine a mini version of Jelly, with a giant afro, popping, locking and vibing with the band on stage.
Each move triggered a reaction from the crowd, and though Jelly claims his performance was "pretty bad" that connection with the audience never left his mind. "I liked seeing something I was creating have such an affect on people."
Driven by this desire to connect, Jelly soon switched from dancing to songwriting.
The stories he weaves into his music are deeply personal, but he keeps the references vague, leaving space for you to bring your own meaning. This allows every listener to take part in a shared yet personal creative process.
Though gigs have been rare this year due to the pandemic, the strict rules have allowed Jelly to explore this story-building connection. He laughs as he explains: "My favourite thing now is actually keeping really weird eye contact with the audience.
"Since no one can dance anymore, I've found that watching people's expressions during a gig is really fun, especially when you keep solid eye contact."
He may have a relaxed attitude about it, but Jelly is looking forward to the day when we can safely say goodbye to lockdown restrictions. "I did enjoy the first few months, just because I got to write a lot of music."
For the most part, though, Jelly describes 2020 as "a weird roller coaster that just took place in my bedroom".
Songwriting was the main thing that got him through the strange, low-key intensity of this year, and he's looking forward to sharing a consistent stream of new music over the coming months.
Big things lie ahead for Jelly Oshen, but for now he's just a chill guy who misses his friends and is often too busy daydreaming to remember everything he needs for gigs.
"That's how I'll know I've made it – when I've got someone reminding me what I'm meant to be doing. That's the dream."
