Joss Stone was inspired by nature while writing her new album 'Project Mama Earth'.

The 'You Had Me' hitmaker has collaborated with an all-star band - made up of Nitin Sawhney (guitar), Étienne M'Bappé (bass/guitar), Jonathan Shorten (keyboards) and Jonathan Joseph (drums) - as she explores a sound influenced by the music and traditions of the Mangambe and the Bikutsi.

Discussing the impact Mother Earth had on her lyrics, Joss told Billboard: ''The point of the song is about how we walk around incredibly arrogant, as though we can affect Mother Nature in a way that is irreversible. And, if she wants, she can just shake us off at a moment's notice.

''I think that she'll let us be here for as long as she wants, and then, when she's done, it will be disastrous for human beings - but perfectly fine for Mother Nature.

''What the album is really saying is 'Get over yourselves. Yes, don't put plastic in the ocean, because that's a horrible thing to do. Turn off the lights. We know how we are affecting the world.' But, at the same time, don't think that tomorrow is promised for human beings - because it's not. We are tiny, a speck on a speck. We are very insignificant.''

The singer went for a more ''laid-back'' approach to the project, letting each musician focus on their own parts without too much input from the other artists.

And Joss was keen to relax while recording with the pressures of constantly being in the studio.

She added: ''They would go in the studio, and I could pop in when I wanted, and add my bit. So, that's what I did. It was nice. They had their fun playing around in the studio, and I had my fun in the kitchen, as well as in the garden at home, and do some writing on the river. It was really mellow.''