On that grayish day of July 18th, I was heading to 91 Jermyn Street. No sign saying ‘you are about to enter Forbidden London HQ’. Just a discreet door stuck between two buildings. Glued on it was a note that said: ‘No one enters without James WJ Wilson’s permission’. Intimidating? Hell yeah! I rung the door bell pensively.A tall slim scruffy man answered the door with a childlike enthusiasm.

‘Ah, You must be Melanie, from Paris, for the interview?’

I nodded. James bounced through the corridors of what I can only describe as an unconventional office that looked like it had been undergoing refurbishment work for quite some time. It reflected a quite relaxed and easygoing atmosphere, there was a smell of tobacco in the air and photographic equipment everywhere.

I was nudged in to a huge expanse of a room by Central London standards. ‘I have no chance of being able to stay and talk, we’re filming a new reality show today and the reality is I’m late, as always.’, James half announced before bouncing off down the corridor again.

Ruby Jules sat, deeply sunk in to a brown leather sofa, she wore elegant black trousers and a flower pattern top; she stood as I entered, obviously still grounded despite a buzz that has generated 1000′s of twitter followers before she has even released a record.

Her dark black hair was pulled back, which highlighted her glittery eyeliner. We kissed cheeks.

Nice to meet you, my name is Melanie from Mayfair Highlife Magazine.

Hey, GREAT to meet you!

So, I’m here to talk about your debut album, Princess of the Asylum, which is coming out on James WJ Wilson’s new Forbidden London Music record label.

It’s great you’ve made it, ah, I’ve been recording tracks for the album all morning so pretty tired now. We’re getting there. Fingers crossed, we should be mixing it in October or November, so yeah I’m happy, excited!

How long have you been working on the project?

I’ve been signed to Forbidden for about 18 months, maybe 2 years. James [Wilson - CEO of Forbidden London and my manager] didn’t want to rush things which I understand. It’s an ambitious project, it’s not like anything I have ever heard anyone attempt before. It took us a year to complete the paper work, find producers, dancers, choreographers. We’re 70% there.

Why did you choose to do a narrative story? Is it a part of your writing process?

Right from the start we wanted to do something different and we wanted to do something that said something or made people think. The album tells a true story. James [my manager] must be clairvoyant or there is some kind of fate because one day he said to me ‘Princess of the Asylym’, a story about a girl that kills herself. My sister suffered from mental illness and eventually committed suicide so it was painful when he said it but it the same time it was an amazing coincidence and something I wanted to do, to tell my Sister’s story.

Mental health can be a taboo subject, no one wants to talk about it but we all go through it in some way another; rituals, lucky numbers, superstitions, even lucky pants – it’s all part of the same thing.

As I said, the album is all based on my Sister’s story. A girl who lives in the everyday world, starts going out, gets mixed up in the wrong situations, messing with the wrong boys, going down the wrong route to the point where she just can’t cope any more and she starts to lose her mind. Let’s put it this way, it’s emotional, but not depressing, a roller-coaster. There are highs and lows to everything. Hey we’re human.

So the story is about everyday issues, something people will be able to relate to?

Yeah definitely. It is going to pick up on everyday issues, it is an album about life, people, emotions and a lot of crazy things young people, and even older people, go through but society doesn’t always want to talk about. I’m not saying that everybody is going mental (laughs). But as I had to deal with mental illness through my sister, I want to expose this real issue to a wide range of people. We’ve all got our little quirks and those things can spiral for anyone put them in the wrong situation.

It sounds very personal?

Absolutely, it can be very emotional writing and recording the songs but I feel good about doing it, it’s almost therapy. I’m making the most of something tragic as well as making people aware that this does happen and hopefully opening the door for more discussion.

I honestly believe we have something unique as far as modern pop albums go. We’re telling a tragic story in an entertaining way. It is about real life, modern problems, funny and touching. We have a track about OCD which is f****** crazy.

Where did your name, Ruby Jules, come from?

Well… All my friends, since school, have been calling me Jules (laughs). And Ruby, I don’t really know how it came up; I think my manager suggested it.

Will Ruby Jules be a recurring character?

Ha ha. She is the gist of my inspiration, you have more freedom with a character so yes I’m sure she will be, unless this whole project f**** me up and I end up eating jelly through a straw in some NHS hell hole.

Does it make reference to the precious stone?

Ha ha, if you’re saying I’m precious then yeah why not.

What are your influences on the album?

Good music, just good music. We have something for everything on the album. It’s a tale so there are lots of ups and downs a long the way. There is definitely a club feel, house, garage, grime, dub step. You might here something that reminds you of Queen on there, Michael Jackson. We’re making a classic so put all the greats as influences.

What is then the final purpose of this album?

We want to shock people. Not for the sake of it but because the truth is shocking. Few people know too much about the problems you can go through yet at the same time the majority of us will go through times when we struggle to cope. I want to show that we all have tough times and make it more acceptable for people to talk about what they’re going through if they have to. We’re all a bit cuckoo, it makes us human.

Are you afraid of madness?

Hmm… I’m not afraid but maybe fascinated by it; the difference between things that exist in the real world, in our minds, can you really tell. When I was younger I was always going to be a musician or a psychiatrist. I went with musician but I can be the world’s shrink at the same time. Ha ha.

Last but not least: is the glass half full or half empty?

Full, forget half-full, always full. I think whatever you’re going through there is always tomorrow. I’m an optimist, I love life, I love people, I love music. We’re having fun with this project, it’s not doom and gloom it is inspirational. We’re in the West End, making music, living the life. It can only be a full glass.

Ruby Jules’ debut album ‘Princess of Asylum’, is executive produced by James WJ Wilson with production by Vola and Skilaz.

The album is due for release in December 2011, just in time for Christmas.

Follow Ruby Jules Online: http://twitter.com/RubyJulesOnline