Born in Bermondsey, south London, Aria Wells releases psychedelic R&B as Greentea Peng, a name inspired by a box of Green Tea Seng she bought in Peru. Her first studio album, Man Made, came out in 2021 and earned her a spot on the BBC’s Sound of 2021 list. It was followed last year by Tell Dem It’s Sunny. In 2020 she was awarded the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Award for breakthrough act of the year and collaborated with the Streets. Earlier this year, she contributed the song Helicopters, produced by Ezra Collective, to the HELP(2) compilation album organised by War Child Records to raise funds for children affected by conflict. She performs at the Womad festival, 23-26 July, in Neston Park, Wiltshire, and at the Jazz Cafe festival in Burgess Park, London on 2 August.

I really am not a fan of modern cinema any more. I enjoy going through YouTube and finding old world cinema, and my favourite era, I’m gathering, is the 50s. Black Orpheus is an adaptation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: when she died, he was so heartbroken that he charmed his way to the underworld with his lyre. In this adaptation, it’s transposed to 1950s Brazil and set around carnival. I watched it before I went on tour in Brazil, and it was quite sad in the end, but it’s really cinematic, the colours are amazing, and there’s lots of dance and song – obviously: I mean, it’s Brazil. The film’s full of rhythm.

Jumbi is a really intimate space – it probably doesn’t need any more hyping up. It’s run by Bradley Zero, who’s a great DJ, and Nathanael Colours, who also runs Colour Factory. The decor in there is gorgeous: it’s the perfect lighting for me, which is very low and red and orange. There’s a bespoke sound system and really nice wood and beautiful sofas. A couple of weeks ago I did a listening event there for the fifth anniversary of my first album, Man Made. It was almost like I invited loads of strangers to my front room. It’s a really vibrant place – perfect for listening to records.

I live between Lisbon and London, and this is my favourite park in Lisbon. The trees are almost prehistoric. The roots are ginormous – you can get lost in the bowels of the trees. The midday sun is extremely hot here, but you can find shelter underneath the trees – you can find a little corner and take yourself back in time. There’s often a random peacock walking around. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a pterodactyl flying overhead. It’s a beautiful park, and it’s a nice place to go and get lost in a book or in some writing.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in London. They have two branches, and the one in Peckham Rye is like an oasis. You can go and eat beautiful Indian-inspired vegan food cooked with love: my favourite dish there is the masala dosa with coconut chutney. They have their own brand of hot sauce, called Raja Bonnet, which is amazing – they do all different levels of spice, but real flavoursome. They also sell fresh drinking coconuts – it’s not often you can just buy a coconut in London and feel like you’re on the beach, especially in this weather.

I have this book on my person all the time. It’s really small, so it’s the perfect handbag book, and it’s really profound, which combines two of my favourite things: tiny, profound wisdom. It takes the form of questions and answers. It’s about an intelligent and revered character who is awaiting the day to be taken back to his motherland by a ship, so when the day comes the people in the village – the weaver, the astronomer, the mason and so on – consult him on various topics. You can open it to any page and receive some knowledge and guidance. I love this author: he’s eloquent and romantic and spiritual.

I deliberately don’t listen to current music, because I don’t want things to leak into my head while I’m in a state of creation. But there’s a cool song that my daughter and her dad released together, which is pretty sick. He also makes music, so he made the beat. Rumi is three years old, so the lyrics aren’t too complicated – mainly just expressing her love for giraffes and crocodiles. I’m kind of jealous he got there first, to be honest. I sampled her on my last album, but he’s the first one in there with a full track. It’s a really cute, heartwarming song. I’m excited to get her involved in some more music shenanigans.

Interview by Kathryn Bromwich

Greentea Peng plays Womad festival, 23-25 August in Neston Park, Wiltshire, more info and tickets here