Introducing: Sweets

Newcastle’s rising poet-turned-musician Finn, aka Sweets, crafts songs that cut deep and linger longer. Rooted in raw Geordie grit and sharpened by poetic instincts, his music blends introspection with impact, where every word earns its place. His latest single Hockey Puck—already turning heads on BBC Radio 6 Music—dives into childhood, trauma, and identity with a Buddhist twist, revealing an artist unafraid to get personal and philosophical.

With ADHD fuelling both his creativity and urgency, and ambitions that reach beyond the stage into the political, Sweets is carving out space in the UK music landscape on his own terms. We caught up with him to talk name changes, no-fluff songwriting, and why the gnarliest truths are often the most beautiful.

Your new single HOCKEY PUCK explores the contrast between childhood freedom and adult responsibilities—what inspired this theme, and how personal is this track for you?

 The theme of getting in touch with your ‘inner child’ or whatever came from me learning about Buddhism and trauma during a time of proper soul searching. I didn’t expect it to make so much logical sense to me! It’s been such a sick and wholesome framework for looking at my past and my shame.

You've described Give It To Me Straight as a no-nonsense, “fat-free” body of work. What pushed you toward this more direct, stripped-back approach, and how does it reflect where you are in life right now?

 I don’t think I said that personally, but I’m glad someone did. I tried to remove some fluff from it all. I wanted to keep the substance from my old music but not pull any punches hook-wise. I took some inspiration from “212” by Azealia Banks and tried to turn every section into something memorable as well as meaningful.

Your lyrics often carry what you’ve called a “gnarled beauty”—raw but hopeful. How do you strike that balance between addressing tough topics like mental health, trauma, and resilience while still keeping the tone empowering?

I think that it came naturally to look for ways to keep my head up and encourage people to do the same! No one got anywhere by letting their downs keep them down! But the more I learn, I learn everything beautiful is gnarled, and everything gnarled is beautiful.

You started as a writer before you found your musical voice. How does your background in poetry shape your lyrics, and how has your sound evolved with this new EP?

They are the same thing! But people can dance when I rap and girls like it better, so the choice was obvious.

Artists like Bakar, Easy Life, and Frank Ocean have influenced this project. How do you channel those inspirations into something uniquely your own, especially in the landscape of UK music today?

 I think I take elements that make sense for me from each artist that inspires me! I love Frank Ocean’s lyrics, Bakar’s vocal tone, Easy Life’s melodies and hooks — but ultimately my taste is weird enough that everything I make seems to just sound ‘Swee’.