A FAMOUS British grime star visited a secluded Essex island to write his upcoming album.

Stormzy has revealed he wrote his new album on Osea Island, in the River Blackwater near Maldon.

Whilst speaking to Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 he described the process as a “surreal experience”.

Osea Island is surrounded by 550 acres of gardens, orchards, meadows and salt marsh and can be exclusively hired out for private events.

He said: “We went to Osea Island, a secluded island in Essex that you can only get to when the tide is at a certain time.

“So once you’re on the island, you were basically stuck there and we made a big chunk of the album there…

“We knew what we were doing and we knew what we were making and was like, wow we’re making something quite special. Something with a lot of soul and feeling.”

The rapper told BBC Radio 2 what he and his team got up to when they weren’t recording.

He said: “I keep saying I can’t describe it, it can only be felt,” he said.

“It was a very surreal, spiritual experience, which can always sound like, you know, when people are talking about their spiritual experiences, it’s like away with the fairies, but for everyone who was there, we prayed together, we would play football together, we would laugh, we would talk.

“And these were some of the best musicians in the world, and they’re some of the best producers in the world and some of the best artists in the world.

“So, if you have that kind of bubbling pot of good energy and incredibly gifted people, the music that comes out is very, very special.”

His third studio album, This Is What I Mean, will be released next month on Friday, November 25.

English-American journalist Louis Theroux made his cameo in a music video to Stormzys hit single Mel Made Me Do It last month.

Theroux, 52, made the appearance whilst spending time with Stormzy for his upcoming BBC Two documentary series Louis Theroux Interviews.

Stormzy said: “I love Louis, and I’ve been a massive, massive fan of him from years ago.

“I’ve watched every Louis Theroux documentary. So when I first met him, I was quite taken aback.”

“He was with me for maybe three or four days, and he would just come and tag along, like let’s go to the studio, or he’d come to the show and just ask a few questions.

“But he really disarms you, and then he gets to the nitty gritty, and when I watched it back I was like, I’ve never actually seen my life from this perspective.

“So credit to Louis and his team, it’s a very insightful and amazing watch.”