That was the raw material and I think it meant I dug a little deeper into my writing. You have limitations, I used to talk about being helped by working within my limitations but I learned that with no one looking I could step over the limitations, I found there was actually a different line. Maybe there wasn't a limitation at all, you step off into the void and find out what else is out there. I'm not saying I've reinvented the wheel, but for myself I've gone a little deeper." When did you feel you could make a record with these songs? "Well when I signed with Anti [ 2010 ], that made a big difference. They didn't even want to hear some songs, they just went: You're Beth Orton! That was pretty nice [ laughs ]. That led me to the fact I was probably going to have to make another record. My husband, who I met around the same time, he was very encouraging. He told me the songs were really good and I should finish them. It just happened quite naturally." What was it like going back into the studio though and realising that the outside world was going to hear your hobby? "I didn't think about it, I was so excited to be back in a studio. It was like giving me a tall glass of water, I just gulped it down! I didn't know I'd ever get back there. The feeling in the room