Imagine the surprise when the phone went at Deep Blue Sound recording studios in Plymouth, and it was Joss Stone's office on the other end asking if they could book a few days to do some recording. Joss, from Ashill near Uffculme in East Devon, is one of British music's hottest properties. She's also huge in America, where she has spent much of her time since her debut album, The Soul Sessions, in January 2004. In fact, she's done most of her work in the States, recording tracks for The Soul Sessions and her follow-up CD, Mind Body and Soul, with producers on the other side of the Atlantic.
 | | Joss, pictured at a live gig in Exeter |
This time, Joss - who turns 19 in April 2006 - has decided to stay closer to home by choosing Deep Blue Sound to record some of her new songs. Needless to say, the studio's owners, Nigel Burt and Dave Puttick, were only too pleased to come to her assistance. But how did it all come about? "We put our name forward to a producers forum," explained Nigel. "And Joss decided she wanted to come home to do some recording. "It's ideal for her - she's only 40 minutes away. "She had a look around and really liked it. She came down for three days two weeks ago, and was here for three days this week (March 15th 2006). "She was great to work with - really easy going." For one of the three day sessions, Joss arrived at the studio with award winning producer Rick Nowels (Madonna, Texas, Dido and Celine Dion are among the artists he has produced).
 | | Joss is recording around 100 songs |
At the other session, she worked with songwriter Graham Lyle (of Gallagher and Lyle fame), who penned Tina Turner's What's Love Got To Do With It. Nigel said: "She's recorded around 100 songs with the intention of going with around 12 of them. She's using a number of studios - this is one of them." So what are the new songs like? "They sounded really good," said Nigel, who's had a sneak preview. "It was exciting stuff." The Deep Blue Sound studios were opened in the late 1990s. There are 17 studios in all, most of them used for education. There are 300 students on the books, studying for diplomas and degrees. They were amazed to spot Joss Stone using the commercial studio - and they may get to see her again before too long: "When Joss came down here the first time, we thought that was it. "But we got another phone call, asking if she could book the studio again. She said she liked the creative atmosphere. So you never know, she could be back again." | 
