INTRODUCING JONES

While all eyes have been on Adele lately, there’s one lady whose soulful singing is on par, and she goes by the moniker JONES. The London up-and-comer—née Cherie Jones—may only have one EP out so far, but she has us hooked with her powerful, vibrato-infused vocals. The 25-year-old singer only began releasing music this year, starting with a few singles and leading to her debut EP Indulge. A few months back JONES’ voice even caught the attention of singer Sam Smith, who even gave her EP a shout out on Instagram.

JONES’ music falls somewhere in-between Lianne LaHavas and Lykke Li with enough lasting power to break into the commercial pop world. We caught up with JONES about her love for Swedish fashion and people-watching and learned what’s up next for her.

Listen to JONES’ latest single “Hoops” below.

Childhood dreams: I’ve been making music since I was about 15. I converted my diary entries into songs and poems. I’ve always loved singing as a little girl. I always enjoyed performing and singing. Up until this point, I’ve just been learning how to write, developing and becoming who I am now.

On her debut EP: It’s a combination of me observing what’s going on in life and with friends an straight to the song. “Indulge,” it’s a love song talking about feeling obsessed and when that feeling takes over and can control you. “Deep” was about me watching my friends caught up in bad situations and wanting to help but not knowing how to. The song “You” was written for my mother. It’s one of those ‘I’ll always be there songs.’ So, the EP features a range of different things.

Influences: People like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Coldplay, Lykke Li and Little Dragon as well.

Her moniker: JONES is an extension of me. I wanted to find a name that sounded like an ‘observer:’ someone that’s standing alone and watching the world go by. JONES just felt right, and it’s my surname.

On analyzing your mind: I definitely love people-watching, though that’s quite awkward in London. People don’t really appreciate you staring at them.  I also love to observer the mind: what can I do to make myself happier? Is there anything I could start doing to make something better? I think minds can become a prison or a heaven: if you’re caught up in bad habits, it can make life very dark, but if you work on that and try to explore that, you can find that there’s a lot more happiness out there.

Swedish style: I love how Lykke Li dresses—I think it’s very individual. I like to look at some of the Swedish blogs. I think they have effortless, coolness that just oozes out of their style. At the moment, I’m really into boyfriend jeans too.

Dream collaboration: I love the band Tame Impala. They sound very different from me, but I would love to collaborate with them.

Up next: The plan is to release another EP and then hopefully an album next year.