"It’s a special feeling when you look into people’s eyes and connect with them."

To sing is to make one’s voice heard. For singer-songwriter Cherie Jones-Mattis, performing also means broadcasting her inner voice. And that’s no mean feat for a woman who prides herself on introspection. Yet despite her shyness and default setting of British reserve, Jones-Mattis’ complete commitment to music and burning ambition to be the strongest version of herself has carried her into a profession she’s dreamed about since childhood. Shortly after the release of her debut album, New Skin, she talks to us about quashing some roadblocks she encountered along the way.

Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote?

It was called “I Wish” and I wrote it when I was 15. It was about unrequited love and was definitely a starting point, let’s put it that way.

How did you...