Today,  releases her new album, ‘’, via Little Tokyo Recordings. The 10-track collection sees the London artist return to where her musical story first originated: jazz. Created alongside producer Dave Okumu, ‘Autumn’ is the first of four season-themed records, ‘A Soulful Suite’, each exploring a different genre and musical language that has shaped Nao’s career.

An independent release, the deliberately pared-back approach feeds into the freedom Nao felt creating her earliest EPs. Ranging from traditional jazz, to jazz fusion, to melodica and funky, syncopated grooves – guided by the unique timbre of Nao’s cherubic voice – this is a work that scores the crimson-stained, earthbound feel of the season.

Of what this transitional album represents, Nao says:

“I think autumn is a time for letting go and shedding skin. That’s what nature is doing and I think that’s what we as humans would naturally be doing too if we weren’t living in this sort of capitalist world. We’d be slowing down, nourishing ourselves, being more at peace with where we are in that moment and shedding the things we no longer need.

I think jazz embodies that really well. Jazz feels like a letting go to me. That’s what improvisation is – it’s free-form, it’s letting loose, it’s shedding, it’s a release. So I think autumn and jazz melt together really beautifully.”

Dive in below, then check out an exclusive Track By Track guide after the jump.

These are both short musical interludes that embody what autumn feels like to me. Autumn feels like a deep, warm hug and these are little moments that hold that feeling.

Fly Away is about that turn of season from summer into autumn. The sun disappears, the days change and sometimes there’s that little bit of sadness that comes with it. There’s this temptation to chase the summer – to fly away somewhere sunny, soak in the sun and hold onto it for a little longer. Or you can stay where you are, accept that the season has changed and just exist and be in it. ‘Fly Away’ sits somewhere in that feeling.

‘Burst’ is the embracing of autumn. It talks about how autumn loves and autumn heals and that feeling of just wanting to stay right here. It’s about taking things slowly and enjoying the change in your body, the season and nature, and allowing that change to feel good.

‘Hold Out’ is ultimately about keeping going. Life has its hardships and its beautiful moments, but sometimes the hardships stay for really long seasons, season after season. It’s a reminder to keep your head up, hold out, don’t give up and keep marching on. Everything eventually changes, shifts and moves into a different energy. The season will change.

‘Save the World’ is really inspired by Marvin Gaye’s ‘Save the Children’, but also by those beautiful, slow, still jazz ballads I’d listen to by Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald. It’s about the grief of where we are in the world right now and the state of humanity, and that overwhelming feeling of: What can I actually do to change this?

I think because it feels so overwhelming, we often hope someone else will do the work; the government, the Prime Minister, the people in power. But I think we’re realising more and more that they’re not necessarily going to save us. Ultimately, if we want things to change, some of that responsibility comes back to us, which feels exhausting even saying it. But whatever small bit I can do to help humanity move forward means something, I guess, if we’re all thinking in that way.

‘Living Room’ is about sensuality. It’s putting on music and dancing with yourself or dancing with someone you love in your living room, in the warmth of your home. It’s being in tune with your body, moving, shedding, letting go, and enjoying sex and sensuality.

‘U R Loved’ comes from an experience I had last autumn where my mental health took a left turn, so to speak and I really felt like I had to crawl and scrape my way back to sanity. A mantra that really helped me was, “You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.” It helped me come back to the surface, and that’s what this song is about.

See above.

‘Eugene’ is a song in devotion to D’Angelo, whose full name was Michael Eugene Archer. It’s an ode to him and a thank you.

‘I Believe in You’ is for anyone who has stopped believing in themselves, or is having a moment of doubt or giving up. It’s just a reminder that someone believes in you. I do. Keep going.

‘Autumn’ is out now.