After years of teaching herself how to play the piano, working on her vocals and penning lyrics into her journal, Jones finally feels that she's ready to share her gifts with the rest of us. And she does so on her debut album, New Skin, which releases this Friday (October 7) via 37 Adventures. We had the chance to get to know the London singer a little bit better and find out more about the new record.

Hometown: East London, England

You're musically self-taught. Take us back to that time teaching yourself how to play keyboards and practicing singing. What were some of the songs/music you'd play and sing?

I was an only child, so I had a lot of free time on my hands as I was growing up. My mother knew that I loved to sing so bought me a keyboard at a young age; it started from me working out how to play theme tunes that I would hear on TV by ear. Then I'd take the melody line of a song I liked and work out how to play that on my keyboard. In my early teens I started delving deeper into singing and started trying to imitate singers like Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey I wanted to do what they did. When I was about 15/16 I wrote a lot — stories, I also had a diary, I began to turn these diary entries into songs and that's how it all began. I bought books on music theory, learned some basics and started to put chords to the songs I was writing.

London is a very musical city. How did it influence your musical tastes and style?

I love that London has so many genres happening all at the same time. When I would go to open mics around the city when I was growing up I'd hear about people from different backgrounds who each had their own individual style, which I think in the early years inspired me to "find my own thing" too. My mother listened to a lot of soul music and pop so I think this played a strong part in my sound today. It was a mixture of Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Madonna and Bananarama.

What was the first song you wrote about?

It was about unrequited love, which I think is the most written about topic in songwriting. I had an infatuation with someone from my school days but I thought it was love, that was the closest I'd ever been to that feeling and it's something I'll never forget.

You worked with people like Justin Parker and Tourist. What was it like getting into the studio with them? What did you learn from that experience?

They are both brilliant in their own right, and I felt privileged to be in sessions with people who've done such great things. It was exciting, but I was surprised at how comfortable I felt — most writers that I've worked with are really lovely and just genuinely nice people so it feels more like sitting down with a friend and getting some ideas together. I learned not to over-analyze and to go for simplicity.

What is the most memorable moment for you in the studio?

So far that would be when I was getting my album mastered — when everything was written, produced and finished and we were at the final stage. It was a special moment because I was sitting there hearing my finished songs on these incredible speakers in front of this huge desk, and remembering how long I'd dreamed of being exactly where I was now.

What's currently your favorite song to perform?

There is a song on my album called "Waterloo," I've just finished a tour as the support act for HONNE and this was my favorite moment each night. I feel like I really captured a moment and each time I sing this song I'm filled with incredible emotion even though I know what's coming and what to expect. It's hard to explain, but that song just moves me.

Why did you call your album, New Skin?

Well, "New Skin" was one of the earlier songs I wrote for the album, not long after it was written it just hit me that this was what I wanted to call the record. It sums the past few years up perfectly. I'm crafting who I want to be; I'm different from when I was younger and that's what New Skin means to me.

What's "Melt" about?

"Melt" is about love. It's about the moment when two people come together and the beauty of how two separate lives on different paths can merge into one and support each other. It's a feel-good song, and I remember it being the first happy song I wrote for the album, once I'd written this one it seemed to open the door to more songs of a similar mood.

What's next for JONES?

I'm getting ready to go on a UK tour to promote the album and get out to places that I haven't been to yet, so I'm looking forward to that. I will be putting out another single soon so we are planning everything that goes around that. I'm doing a few more festivals in Europe and I'll have some more shows towards the end of the year.