Twenty-five-year-old British songwriter Jones is a favorite of Sam Smith and, after making her debut at SXSW earlier this year, is aiming to conquer this side of the pond. Her latest single, “Melt,” was released last week on the heels of her EP, and the full-length album is expected in October. Here, she talks about the one thing she never leaves home without and her favorite artists.
Favorite love song: “A reggae song called ‘Silly Games’ by Janet Kay. Her voice is really, really high — it’s really good.”
One essential for being on the road: “Tea! I bring tea with me everywhere I go. I like green tea with mango and lychee. Quite addicted, actually.”
Favorite artists: “I love Grimes, I love Little Dragon and I love the writing of those artists. Luther Vandross, Bob Marley — I love his message, that he was trying to do a good thing in the world.”
Pre-show rituals: “I just like to stretch and kind of breathe, kind of loosen up the body. And obviously [vocal] warm-ups.”
Story behind your first single, ‘Deep’: “‘Deep’ is kind of written about friends, watching people in repetitive cycles. We’ve all had that friend that is doing the same thing again and you want to tell them to make a change but you can’t really do that.”
Differences between festivals and shows: “With a festival everyone is there and they just kind of want to feel good and dance, and with your own show you can have more dynamics like ballads, which I love to sing and which don’t necessarily work as well with a festival because people just want drums and things.”
New York City bucket list: “I want to try out all the different types of food, and go to Central Park and just walk around. Soak it all in. I took a walk yesterday and I already made some friends.”