• Interviews

• All
• Music
• Cinema
• TV
• Comic Books

Feb 13, 2025 By Mark Redfern Photography by Gilbert Trejo Web Exclusive

My Firsts is our email interview series where we ask musicians to tell us about their first life experiences, be it early childhood ones (first word, first concert, etc.) or their first tastes of being a musician (first band, first tour, etc.). For this My Firsts we talk to Heartworms (the project of Jojo Orme).

The South London musician recently released her debut full-length album, Glutton For Punishment, via Speedy Wunderground. Labelhead Dan Carey produced the album, which follows Heartworms’ acclaimed 2023 EP, A Comforting Notion, but finds Orme expanding her sonic palette. “With my EP, people kind of pigeonholed me into post-punk,” she says in a press release announcing the album. “I was like, ‘Cool, I can do that, but I can also do way more’—I can do post-punk, but I can also be poppy and catchy, and this album represents that. I think people might be surprised when they hear it.”

For A Comforting Notion Orme embraced military imagery and was clad in uniforms in various videos. Glutton For Punishment’s first single, “Warplane,” continues in this vein and is dedicated to a British World War II Spitfire pilot, William Gibson Gordon, who was killed in action at only 20 years old. “The song ends how I imagine his falling Spitfire sounds to me, like an angel losing its extraordinary wings,” says Orme in a press release for the song.

Speaking of the themes and inspirations behind Glutton For Punishment, Orme says they extend from being treated like an outcast since she was a child. “I’ve been chastised my whole life; made to feel as if I didn’t belong, punished for not fitting into a perfect image of how a growing woman should be,” she explains. “When you’re told something enough times you start to believe it. I often find myself locked into an unhealthy cycle of craving harsh discipline, greedy for the familiarity it brings but terrified of the consequences—better the devil you know. But this album doesn’t just reflect my own experiences; it reflects those of the people in my life and the stories of others that I think need to be heard.”

Read on as Orme discusses her first best friend, early experiences with movies and TV shows, first crushes, and having an amusing reaction to her first concert.

First best friend?

My first best friend was a girl called Niomi or Naomi, I can’t remember, she had a favorite jacket with Minnie Mouse which she wore all the time.

First time you had to go to the hospital?

The first time I went to hospital was when I was born.

First time you fell in love?

The first time I “fell in love” was with Elijah Wood as Frodo.

First time your heart was broken?

The first time my heart was broken was when I first watched Lion King.

First TV show you were obsessed with?

My first TV show I was obsessed with was probably The Paul O’Grady Show—I never knew what was going on but could never stop watching it.

First record your parents played for you?

I remember the earliest song/record my mum played me, I was two years old and staring out through a small window in my bedroom, the sound of cars and their headlights creating polka dots in the distance while “Pure Shores” by All Saints played—the synth in that song was mimicking the twinkling lights. I couldn’t figure out what the song was for many years, until my friend played it at my 18th birthday. I jumped with joy—it was as if I found a giant missing puzzle piece.

First musician you had a crush on?

The first musician I had a crush on was Enrique Iglesias when I was three or four years old. My mum had the CD with his face on the front and I was so shy and bashful that I was scared to look at the cover at all.

First concert you went to?

The first ever concert I went to was Girls Aloud, I wore a sequin denim skirt and fell asleep as soon as they came on.

First instrument?

My first instrument was the cornet in primary school. I hated the sensation as my lips used to tingle so much and I’d get red circles around them. I also used to gag at the bit of the instrument where the spit comes out—I can still smell it.

First professional recording session?

First professional recording session was a college trip to Rockfield Studios. I recorded my first solo song I ever wrote called “Do You Know What I Mean” and got to send my vocals into one of their echo chambers.

www.iamheartworms.com

Subscribe to Under the Radar’s print magazine.

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.