The voice behind the hit: Profiling P2J, Ari Pensmith and Jon Shave, whose respective credits sprawl from Charli xcx to Beyoncé, Stormzy to Tyla, Wonderland shine a long-overdue light on some of the brightest minds in music.
Being an artist isn’t a bad gig, is it. It’s your face on the billboards, your hand clutching the awards, your voice swirling around the venues. But behind every hit single and beneath every great album lies an assembly line of brains whose expertise lie away from being in the spotlight: the producers, engineers, musical directors, instrumentalists, and of course songwriters. These lot are the real heroes.
Being a songwriter is a real craft. You must put yourself into the mind of the artist whose music you are constructing. You must use the most effective melodies, and choose the most piercing phrases. It’s about teamwork, consolidation of vision, finding the sonic sweet spots that are perchance familiar but feel not yet fully explored. All-in-all, it’s a specific skillset. Songwriters a bit like buses. Lucky for Wonderland, three have come at once.
Meet P2J, Ari Pensmith and Jon Shave, three of global music’s most revered hitmakers. Between them, the trio have credits that span the biggest names in pop music. From Charli xcx — Shave is the whizz behind Charli’s Ariana Grande collab “Sympathy is a knife” among other BRAT cuts — to Beyoncé — P2J and Pensmith were both involved in “Move”. From Tyla — thank Pensmith for “Water — to Stormzy — P2J’s brilliance can be found on “Hide And Seek”.
“Always be a student of the game,” is Pensmith’s core advice on songwriting success. There’s no room for ego here, just the improvement of your own craft — the industry is counting on it, after all. So how do they do it? Below, the trio of talented individuals reveal all.
Read the exclusive interviews…
Hey P2J! Talk us through your origins in the music industry?
Alongside being part of a group at church, my school friends and I started our own little group. We didn’t have any beats, so we’d just sing acappella—honestly, I’d say that was the real beginning for me. Around that time, I ended up getting kicked out of my History class, and the only subject with space left was Music. So I got transferred over, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because that’s where I really started learning how to make beats. I had a great music teacher who introduced and taught me how to use Fruity Loops and Cubase. I remember making my first beat at around 14, and when my friends heard it, they were gassed—everyone wanted to jump on it. It was such a fulfilling moment. It made me think, how many other people can I make feel like this? So, naturally I continued. My first real entry into the scene was a track called “Hands in the Air”, which dropped during the prime days of Channel U and soon after I started making Funky House and “Tribal Skank” came.
Is there one artist that you’ve worked with that has stood out to you as the most impressive?
I’d like to use the word challenging. A challenge is impressive to me. I’d say Beyonce – she knows exactly what she wants and she will most definitely push you to your limit to get the best, you have to be at your optimum.
You worked on Wizkid’s brilliant 2024 record Morayo. What was the process of making the album? How is Wizkid to work with?
It was a sensitive process that was a journey we had to navigate with care. But, at the same time I knew that we had to elevate the sound so it was finding the fine line with creativity and the sensitive subjects. I pulled from different inspirations and sonics and we really dug deep to make the album dynamic. Me and Wiz have an amazing working relationship, I like that we are always pushing one another and it just works.
You’ve worked with many of the UK’s best rappers. Is that the genre you feel most aligned to? How have you felt watching the scene’s rise over the last decade?
Rap and grime are genres close to my heart, but over the years, I’ve developed a real love for a wide range of sounds. I’ve tapped into so many different genres on my journey, from Afrobeat to RNB to Rap. It’s never been about one genre – As long as I can connect with the music, I feel aligned with it. Watching the UK scene rise over the last decade has been incredible though. Seeing where it started, how much it’s evolved, and how it’s changed people’s lives—especially for the younger generation who now have something to look up to and be inspired by. It’s powerful to see the culture finally getting the recognition it deserves, both in the UK and on a global level.
What are your top tips for any rising producers?
Make what’s true to your heart—create what genuinely makes you happy. When I first started making Afrobeats, a lot of people told me it was a waste of time or that it wouldn’t go anywhere. Now, it’s one of the biggest genres in the world. So trust your instincts and follow your passion.
Take the time to study the great music that came before you—across all eras and genres. There’s so much to learn from the artists and producers who paved the way.
If you can, try learning an instrument. You don’t have to be a master, but even a basic understanding can take your production to another level. It helps you better communicate what you’re trying to bring out in a beat. I didn’t learn to play keys until I was 25, but it completely opened up my mind when it came to making music. If not keys, maybe try guitar—or at the very least, master a piece of equipment. Whether it’s an MPC, Fruity Loops, Logic Pro, or Ableton, knowing your tools inside out gives you balance and control in your process.
Hey Ari! Talk us through your origins in the music industry?
My story starts off with divine timing and follows through with the goodness and grace of God. At the time, seemed like an unsuccessful X-Factor audition is where I met a songwriter called J Warner. We connected and he asked me if I wrote my own songs and I told him yes. I had actually just recorded my first demo at a summer school scheme a few months before. Fast forward a few weeks and he invites me to his home studio. I played him my demo (which was absolutely terrible by the way) but he liked it and from that day onwards we would write together and sometimes I would tag along to his sessions.
One of the first sessions he invited me to was with P2J. I remember it like it was yesterday. He asked me if I could play any instruments and I said, “piano and I sing” and I did a rendition of John Legend’s “Ordinary People” (which was also terrible) but he liked it & whenever he and J had a session moving forward, I would pull up and just sit and observe the process. When I had finally saved enough money from my part time job at Nando’s, I bought equipment for my first bedroom studio set up so I could make my own demos at home. Everything after that is the snowball effect and the results of prayer, putting God first, trial and error, hearing a million no’s or nothing at all until you hear a yes, giving up, trying again, collaborating, travelling all over the world, stepping out of your comfort zone and the journey of finding your purpose and surrounding yourself with people who God will use to ground you if you ever lose sight of it.
What, for you, is the core skill set of a songwriter?
Study the greats and walk into every room knowing that you can learn something. Understand the importance of melody and words and the power that they both hold respectively. Be as well rounded and adaptable as possible. You can walk into a room expecting to write and the artist may need to vent and need someone to just listen & sometimes the best concepts come from those conversations or you can walk into a room expecting to write a pop song and the artist’s direction may have changed so always be ready to pivot.
Your collaboration list is stacked! Is there one artist that has stood out to you as the most impressive?
Beyoncé’s humility and attention to detail definitely inspired me to stay humble at all costs and go every detail in my songs with a fine tooth comb.
This year has seen you gain credits in the K-pop sphere with JENNIE and Lisa. What provoked you to explore the genre?
It’s always been a dream of mine to be an international songwriter/producer/artist. So whether it be K-Pop, Afrobeats, Reggaeton or whatever, if I hear the sounds and I connect with it, I just wanna help whoever I can.
As a songwriter, how do you measure your own success?
In terms of success, I know that my gift of creativity comes from God so everyday that I wake up and can hear melodies and words – I AM SUCCESSFUL.
Hey Jon! Talk us through your origins in the music industry?
My teenage dream of becoming a songwriter/producer felt quite far-fetched as I grew up in the countryside, outside of London, writing songs in my bedroom with no connections to the industry. At 21, I spotted a Guardian article about music business recruitment agencies, sent off my CV to one of them, and got an admin job at a music law firm. From there I spent all my evenings and weekends building a collection of writing demos. After about 18 months I finally played them to some colleagues, and they helped connect me with other producers. One of them was Brian Higgins, who took me under his wing. That’s where everything really started.
You’ve been a major songwriter for over 20 years. How have you maintained your career in it? What has been the most difficult thing about it?
I spent quite a few years earlier on in my career working for a producer or within teams where I got to learn so much invaluable stuff from people who were more experienced than me. Now I try to balance bringing experience to a session without ever feeling like I know it all.
The hardest part is probably dealing with the uncertainty. Even after all these years, there are still projects that fall through, or songs you really believe in that don’t end up seeing the light of day. I try to find a way to stay positive and keep showing up, even when it’s tough.
You had a central role in the making of Charli xcx’s summer phenomenon BRAT. Describe how you helped create this unique sonic universe. How was the process of making the album?
BRAT was such a fun concept to jump into – even just talking about it early on in the sessions felt exciting. Charli came in really prepared, with a strong idea of the lyrical style and how she wanted it to sound, which made everything move quickly and feel very focused. I worked with Charli, Finn Keane, and A.G. Cook over a few different sessions across a few months. The songs came together pretty fast. The tracks I worked on (“Sympathy is a knife,” “So I,” “I think about it all the time,” and “Spring breakers”) somehow ended up showing a more emotional side of BRAT. I think I’m probably more naturally drawn to the side of brattiness that is a shield for more complicated and vulnerable feelings, and I guess that came through in those songs. In terms of production, I brought in some rough musical ideas to get things started, and then AG and Finn were amazing at shaping everything into the world of the album. The whole process was super open, playful, and creative. It was one of those rare projects where you could feel from the start that you were making something special, and also just having a lot of fun doing it.
You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in pop. To you, what makes a good pop song?
It can be anything, really, as long as it makes you feel something. The best pop songs always feel like they matter in the moment. A good test for me is if a song makes me want to plan a journey just so I can listen to it on loop at top volume in my headphones. It’s an exciting time for music, where creative freedom is celebrated, and that’s incredibly inspiring.
How have you noticed pop change in the last 20 years—in the way it’s written, recorded and consumed?
It’s changed immeasurably. Writing and recording is now much more collaborative and open than it used to be. The process has become available to anyone with a laptop, which means ideas can come from anywhere, and reach an audience instantly without having to rely on a select few gatekeepers.
As for consumption, streaming has completely shifted how we experience music. Songs can be released, consumed, and sometimes forgotten almost instantly. But it also means there’s more room for diverse artists to reach global audiences without the traditional barriers.
