Laura Mvula
| Laura Mvula | |
|---|---|
Mvula performing at the #SheWill event for Global Citizen, at The View from The Shard, London, 7 July 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Laura Douglas |
| Born |
23 April 1986 Birmingham, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | RCA |
| Website | www |
Laura Mvula (née Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British soul singer-songwriter from Birmingham. Her debut album, Sing to the Moon, was released on 4 March 2013 with an orchestral re-recording released on 11 August 2014.
Mvula grew up in the Birmingham suburbs of Selly Park and Kings Heath with two younger siblings and was influenced by the girl band Eternal. In her teen years she attended Swanshurst School for girls. Her mother is from Saint Kitts and her father is from Jamaica. In 2005, Mvula sang with Black Voices, an a cappella group set up by her aunt. In 2008, she formed a jazz/neo-soul group called Judyshouse, singing lead vocals and writing material for the band. Mvula was Director of the Lichfield Community Gospel Choir, founded by Black Voices and Lichfield Festival in 2009. She has also previously directed the Alvechurch Community Choir. Mvula graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire at the Birmingham City University with a degree in composition. While she was working as a supply teacher in a Birmingham secondary school, she started writing songs on her laptop. She was working as a receptionist when she sent out two demos to several people in the music industry. One of them, Steve Brown, heard the songs and sent them to his manager, Kwame Kwaten, who would become Mvula's manager. In a 2013 podcast for The Daily Telegraph, Mvula admitted to suffering from "crippling stage fright".
After several showcases, Mvula was signed by Colin Barlow to Sony subsidiary RCA. She released her debut extended play, She, on 16 November 2012. The title track is the first song Mvula ever wrote. Her debut studio album, Sing to the Moon, was released on 4 March 2013. She worked on the album with producer Steve Brown and mix engineer Tom Elmhirst. Paul Lester from The Guardian described her music as "gospeldelia", calling it a new musical genre. The album was preceded by the single "Green Garden", an elegy to her home in Kings Heath. On 6 December 2012, Mvula was shortlisted for the Critics' Choice award at the 2013 BRIT Awards. On 9 December, she was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll and finished in fourth position. On 1 February 2013, she gave her first live TV performance on The Graham Norton Show on BBC One, singing "Green Garden". Mvula stated her influences include Nina Simone, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill.
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