“I put my heart out in my songs and then, like, even my manager sometimes is like, ‘What is this actually about?’ And I'm like, ‘I don't want to say,’" Ninon says of what it takes to make an album.
For somebody preparing to share some of her most personal experiences with the world, Ninon is surprisingly reluctant to explain exactly what they mean.
It's an interesting contradiction, but one that makes perfect sense when you think about it. Writing a song can be a way of expressing something you're not necessarily comfortable discussing in conversation. And once it's out there, listeners are free to find their own meaning in it.
That's part of the thinking behind That's Just How Things Go, Ninon's forthcoming debut album, due for release on 29 January.
The record brings together 11 songs, shaped by experiences, relationships and emotions that have occupied an important part of her life. For Ninon, completing the album has been both a creative achievement and a way of moving forward.
But getting to this point has involved rather more than simply writing the songs.
Ninon has enjoyed a busy period of live performances, gradually establishing herself as one of Luxembourg's emerging musical talents.
Her relationship with Two Steps Twice has played an important part in that development. Following her appearance at Screaming Fields, the label became involved in helping her turn music into a full-time career.
That support has given her the opportunity to concentrate on developing her own sound and identity, while also navigating the less glamorous business of making a living as a musician.
And with the debut album approaching, the work now extends well beyond the recording studio.
There's artwork to prepare, merchandise to organise, vinyl to produce and a whole visual world to create around the music.
Working with creative collaborator Rari Matei, Ninon has been closely involved in shaping that presentation.
One of their ideas takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, placing Ninon inside a doll's house, a playful, slightly surreal concept that reflects the imagination going into the project.
It's the sort of detail that makes an album feel like more than a collection of songs.
While the visual presentation might be playful, much of the music comes from a considerably more personal place.
Ninon is happy to acknowledge that her songwriting draws on her own experiences. What she's less enthusiastic about is having to explain every lyric afterwards.
It's a distinction worth making.
A song can be deeply revealing without its writer wanting to provide a detailed account of the circumstances behind it. In fact, leaving some of those details unsaid can make the music more accessible to somebody who hears their own story in it.
That approach is particularly relevant to Matches, one of the songs discussed during the interview.
The track draws on difficult family experiences, but Ninon doesn't see that as an obligation to explain every aspect of her private life.
There's honesty in the writing, even where the explanation stops short.
And perhaps that's how it should be. After all, listeners don't necessarily need to know precisely what happened to the songwriter to understand how a song makes them feel.
Finishing a debut album ought to be a moment of uncomplicated celebration.
Eleven songs completed. A release date in the diary. The beginnings of a career taking shape.
But creativity rarely works quite that neatly.
Ninon admitted that, since completing the record, she's struggled to write new material.
For somebody whose music is closely connected to personal experiences, that can be an uncomfortable position to find herself in.
It also raises an interesting question: what happens when the experiences that inspired an album have been written about, recorded and, in some sense, put away?
There's no guarantee that another collection of songs will immediately follow.
And although the music industry tends to reward constant activity, writing doesn't necessarily respond particularly well to deadlines or expectations.
Ninon's openness about that creative block offers a useful reminder that the finished product rarely tells the whole story of how an artist is feeling.
Another recurring theme in the conversation is self-doubt.
From the outside, Ninon has plenty of reasons to be pleased with her progress. She's performed live, found professional support, developed a distinctive creative identity and completed her first album.
Yet recognising those achievements herself isn't always straightforward.
It's something many creative people will recognise: the tendency to focus on what's unfinished, what could have been better or what ought to happen next, rather than acknowledging what's already been accomplished.
For Ninon, learning to appreciate her progress is part of the journey.
And there is something particularly encouraging about hearing an artist speak openly about that uncertainty at a moment when, professionally at least, things appear to be moving in the right direction.
The physical release of That's Just How Things Go is another important part of the project.
Ninon is enthusiastic about vinyl and the idea of an album existing as something tangible, rather than simply appearing among thousands of other releases on a streaming platform.
There's the artwork, the packaging and the pleasure of having a record that feels like a complete piece of work.
For an artist putting so much thought into the visual presentation, that physical connection makes sense.
It also gives listeners another way to engage with the music, beyond hearing an individual track in isolation.
And for Ninon, there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that her first album will exist as an object she can hold.
The title of the album feels particularly appropriate.
That's Just How Things Go suggests a degree of acceptance, of experiences that can't be changed, relationships that don't always work out and circumstances that don't necessarily offer tidy conclusions.
It's also a fitting description of the creative process itself.
There are productive periods and frustrating ones. Moments when everything comes together and others when writing a single line feels impossible.
For Ninon, the immediate challenge is to enjoy the release of the music she's already made without allowing the pressure of what comes next to overshadow it.
Her debut album represents a considerable achievement, but it's also the beginning of another chapter.
And if the songs are as personal as she suggests, perhaps sharing them with the world will be another way of finally letting some of those experiences go.
Listen to the full conversation with Ninon on RTL Today Radio, including the stories behind Matches, Family Dinner and her forthcoming debut album, That's Just How Things Go.
