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Get To Know: JONES

From dancing on stage with Pharrell Williams to being on the same line up as Tom Jones, this week we Get To Know the dreamy sounds of JONES!

If you’re after a soulful, summery bop, JONES has provided it with her new track ‘Giving It Up’. The East London singer makes beautiful soulful pop music that has gained her fans including the likes of Sam Smith and Radio 1 DJ’s Clara Amfo and Greg James.

There is an effortless sense of class and style to her voice that is just so easy to listen to. After teaching herself to sing by delving into the catalogues of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston and growing up “on a diet of old soul and classic R&B from my mum”, her voice echoes those classic R&B legends combined with her wistful and descriptive lyricism.

Alongside music she loves to read, saying how much it inspires the more visual elements to her lyrics. Her music videos are also a visual treat, with her latest atmospheric video for ‘Giving It Up’ being particularly dreamy. With having brought out the track to accompany our summer, we can’t wait to see what more there is to come from JONES!

Get To Know JONES
Get To Know JONES

1) For those who don’t know about you and your music, tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from…

I'm a singer/songwriter from East London and I make soul/pop music, I like to make dreamy music with at times strange lyrics disguised as love songs - from chocolate addiction to giving birth... When I'm not doing music you'll most likely find me with my head buried in a book - my favourite author right now is Haruki Murakami - I like to think of it as research as I think it helps sculpt my ability to write visually descriptive lyrics.

2) Describe your sound in three words…

Dreamy, classic, introspective.

3) Who inspired you to start a career in music?

It's been my dream for as long as I can remember, my mum has tapes of me singing from before I was five years old so I'm not sure where it came from but was always in me!

4) Who are your biggest musical influences?

When I was a teen I listened to endless Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston and that's how I learnt train my voice. I grew up on a diet of old soul and classic R&B from my mum - Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley so these have been massive influences on me. It's been so heartbreaking to read about the Michael Jackson allegations as whether true or not I just can't enjoy his music anymore...

5) Tell us about the writing and recording process for your new single/album…

I've worked very closely with an artist and producer called Fyfe and we have sculpted the majority of songs together. The process has been incredibly organic, happening in a number of ways. I'm constantly writing at home in my bedroom studio and sometimes I will bring in one of those ideas to studio session and build it that way - and sometimes just start writing to a piece of music the producer has shown me and do it that way. There's no set formula. I deeply enjoy writing lyrics and melodies and like to be in control of that side of things.

6) What can we expect from your live shows?

I'm a fan of audience participation - I like to feel like the crowd is in it with me, makes it more special for me (and sometimes quite emotional!)...I like to talk a bit about the songs inbetween. There is always a part of the set where I tell the audience to hug the person standing next to them - I think people are naturally quite reserved so it's good to provide a space with different rules of what's 'normal'.

7) What has been your biggest career highlight so far?

I'd say my biggest career highlight has been performing on Jools Holland the night that Tom Jones was also on the line up. That was my first TV show and I will never forget it. Performing on the show I used to watch as a kid with my mum was incredibly surreal.

8) Have you met anyone and been totally starstruck?

Yes. I was an obsessive Pharrell Williams fan and got the chance to dance with him on stage at a N.E.R.D show - it was like an out of body experience and I had screamed so much during the show that I lost my voice. I couldn't believe it.

9) What’s on your playlists that people wouldn’t expect?

I really enjoy the first The Strokes album'Is This It', that song 'Someday' just gives me beautiful feelings of nostalgia...

10) When can we see you live?

That is TBD after everything going on with the coronavirus pandemic...but hopefully as soon as possible.

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