SONGS from her debut album charted her early teen years growing up in Sutton Benger but Gabrielle Aplin's new album is very much a grown-up affair.

Light Up The Dark is released on September 18 and the former Sheldon School, Chippenham, pupil says it shows that she has seen and done huge amounts since her cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Power of Love featured on the 2012 John Lewis Christmas advert and launched her music career.

With the experiences and skills she’s gleaned over the intervening period, Miss Aplin is looking forward to publishing her new work.

She said: “I finished the album in March so I would like it out there now. Musically it’s a development of my first album, I’ve experience a lot and I feel it’s musically better. I have been touring for a year and the more you play the better you get, I feel I have advanced.

“I like being involved in every single bit, even the artwork, but writing, for me, is incredibly important.

"I have travelled lots and my inspiration might be a place I have seen, something that’s happened to me or a story, feeling or atmosphere. It could be literally anything I have got to the stage I can draw inspiration from more than the obvious places.”

Despite her busy schedule, and some of her relatives moving down to Cornwall, she still finds time to return to Wiltshire to see her family.

But the 22-year-old, whose first album English Rain reached number two in the UK album chart, also admitted that touring the UK does have the benefit of allowing her to catch up with old school friends, now dotted at universities and jobs around the country.

The singer-songwriter has already announced UK tour dates throughout July, September and October but many have already sold out and her show at the Wilton Music Hall did so in less than 30 minutes.

“The tour sold out really quickly, it’s great to see the fans are as excited as I am. Hopefully I am looking to tour in the UK again afterwards; I have had itchy fingers for a while now,” she said.

“The support I’ve had is amazing it’s not something I had ever expected. Especially going out to Japan, to see how my music fits into the culture. Social media is great too; it’s great to have the platform, I think it’s really fun to interact with fans and it’s a good place to say thank you to them.”

Aplin has also signed on with prestigious modelling agency Storm, but says she doesn’t want to be a model and will only do things that reflect her and her music.

“The best thing about Storm is they know how to say no, it’s about picking the things we want to do and we say no to more than we say yes.”

Arguably Sutton Benger's most famous musician will hope plenty of fans will be saying 'yes' to her new album very soon.