Für Fans von: Funk & Soul.
genre_page_link
Laura Mvula is something of a late bloomer in the current pop landscape, at least compared to the likes of Lorde, Adele and Taylor Swift. Despite releasing her debut album after she was old enough to drive in her home country, she has more than made up for lost time by packing a whole career’s worth of success into the three years she spent promoting her debut album. Mvula was born in the suburbs of Birmingham, not exactly the most inspiring of surroundings but still, she sought out ways to feed her passion for music. By the time she was 19 she was singing with Black Voices, an a capella group set up by her aunt and soon afterwards she had formed her own band, a Jazz influenced group called Judyshouse.
Mvula continued to focus on music, directing a number of gospel and community choirs before graduating from the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition. This, of course, meant that she took up a job as a supply teacher in a Birmingham secondary school, as the demand for composition degrees in today’s job market isn’t exactly rabid. However, it was at this time that Mvula started writing her own songs on her laptop, and in 2012, she began sending the demos out to the few contacts that she had made in the music industry. One of the contacts she had made was fellow composer Steve Brown, who was so impressed with what he heard that he passed it on to his manager Kwame Kwaten, who was just as impressed and offered to become Mvulas manager.
She gladly accepted his offer and Kwaten started organizing showcases for Mvulas talent. These led to a record deal with RCA, and Mvula had such a backlog of songs that her debut E.P “She” was released in November of the same year. The E.P generated massive amounts of acclaim, leading to her first BRIT Award nomination for the 2013 Critic’s Choice award. With Brown in the producers chair, the duo got to work on her debut album soon after Mvula’s first round of proper touring, and on the 4th of March 2013, “Sing To The Moon” was released to yet more critical acclaim and a top ten placing on the U.K album chart.
Ever since then, she’s netted two MOBO Awards, released an orchestral version of her debut album and got nominated for two further BRIT Awards for British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist. It’s kind of incredible to say that this is just the beginning for Laura Mvula, and when she hits the peak of her powers, she’s going to be unstoppable. For that, she comes highly recommended.
I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it is that keeps me listening to Laura Mvula. I suppose it must be that she surprises me. With crisp simplicity, the glockenspiel, and upbeat hand-claps, she crafted a whimsical picture of a “Green Garden”, and then caught me unaware with her swinging, soulful voice. I could almost feel the beat in my bones. But seconds later, I am surprised again. Perhaps it is that while Laura Mvula’s music is majestic and uplifting, it also possesses deep emotional gravity. I am at once lifted and grounded, finding myself– together with an audience that held its breath – in suspension. With “Sing To The Moon”, Laura Mvula lulled my racing mind adrift with her liquid sound. Mvula wafts between the genres of jazz, R&B, and orchestral pop, creating a unique sound with an almost soul-to-soul intimacy. She doesn’t lose the magic of her live performances outside the concert hall either. In her debut album “Sing to the Moon”, I found her track “Can’t Live With The World” a personal favourite. The soft, dreamy sounds of the harp never grew tired as they found harmony with the stronger brass undercurrents. In gentle waves, Laura Mvula convinced me that this is the perfect soundtrack for my contemplation – or an idyllic romance.