We’ve all woken up in the wee hours, strange, deep thoughts running through our heads. While most of us just go back to sleep, RnB artist and songwriter Richard Osborne used them as the basis for his sophomore EP Late Night Thoughts.

The deeply personal, five-track release is getting rave reviews on Twitter. It was downloaded 1,000 times within four days of its release on January 27 while first single LNT has had 9,000 views and counting on YouTube, featuring on blogs around the world.

“I’ve had radio play in 37 countries with this EP so far and released three tracks. The last single, Love Like That, features the London-based hip hop artist Lekhem, I’ve been a big fan of his for a while.”

Richard, 23, from Claydon, wrote about 20 tracks for the EP alongside executive producer Kris Flava, a former DJ turned acclaimed re-mixer and producer.

“We’d go down to the studio most nights and really just dive in, we’d start hitting keys and drum patterns. My part in the partnership is the melody, the songwriting and I plan out the tracks; but he’s the producer who puts it all together and gives it that warm glow.”

Richard’s only been singing two-and-a-half years and writing tracks for himself and other artists for three.

“It was really the curiosity of songwriting... I was bored one day on the way to work when I was 17 and had a melody in my head. I was like ‘yeah, I’m going to do something with this’.”

But it wasn’t until he was 20 that he decided to really get back into music.

“I’d never sung before. My dad played bass in a band when I was very young and growing up with that I was very interested in instruments but I never kept it going. I remember the chat before I played him a few of my tracks I’d recorded through an old rubbish mike on to a laptop.

“He said it’s a tough industry, gave me the speeches, you know you have to really work, you don’t get nothing for doing nothing. But if you take it seriously it can work.

“There were no instrumentals, it was just me, the odd occasional tap on the desk; he saw the potential, so did my mum and I started showing a few friends. He knew a few guys at a studio and that’s where I recorded my first track.”

Richard, who works for VW in Stowmarket, went on to collaborate with Lexi Lex from De’ Vide and producer Jammy. Looking back, he admits when it comes to the first few tracks he wrote he probably didn’t know anything; learning as he went along.

“I feel like I’ve found myself musically with this EP. It’s different, I’ve really concentrated and tried hard to get my thoughts across in a way I previously probably didn’t know how.”

As well as Kris, he has two other young producers on his team; rapper and singer Life White and Muckaniks. They have been working together a lot recently, with eight tracks ready for Richard and other artists next year.

Late Night Thoughts - featuring LNT, Stay, Love Like That feat Lekhem, Better and Just Leave - is available now as a free download. For details and more about Richard, follow him on Twitter @rdfosborne