Lianne La Havas follows her muse
Lianne La Havas defi es expectations on latest album
Fine. Good. OK.
Those are the usual responses to the somewhat banal greeting of, “How are you?” or, “How's life these days?”
It's actually more of refl ex if anything, sort of fulfi lling an obligation in a social contract with a check mark.
So Lianne La Havas's response, while actually one that seems automatic, is nonetheless diff erent, sincere and telling. How's life? “It's very exciting, very busy and very fulfi lling,” the U. K. artist says from her hotel room on this side of the Atlantic, where she's just embarked on a tour that will bring her to Calgary for a Friday night MacEwan Hall show.
Her comment, actually, is a pretty great indicator of how the 26- year- old La Havas's world and career have been going for the past fi ve years, since signing a major label development deal with Warner Music fresh out of school.
What followed has been remarkable: the release of EPs, appearances on BBC in her homeland, a North American tour with Bon Iver and then the release of her full- length debut in 2012, Is Your Love Big Enough?, which only escalated the attention, receiving accolades, a nomination for the Mercury Prize and earning the iTunes Best of 2012 Album of the Year.
Her folk, soul, R& B and pop hybrid sound that drew comparisons as wide and as varied as Amy Winehouse, Sade and Lauryn Hill also earned her some famous fans, including Prince, who featured La Havas prominently on his 2014 release, Art Offi cial Age, and invited her to appear with him — and some might say steal the show — during his epic Saturday Night Live set that year. He even held a press conference and did a performance in her living room in London.
La Havas's response to having a backer like that in her corner is almost as telling as her opening reply.
“Yes, yes, it is. It's brilliant. But it's no more gratifying than anybody else liking what I do.” She laughs. “Just so you know.”
She will, however, admit to a certain kinship with his purpleness when it comes to artistry and following your muse to wherever it might lead.
“It really is up to the artist, what they want to do. And they,” she pauses, “they have to do it. Artists do it because they have to, not because the record company told them to. It's always because you feel compelled to.
“And he's one of those people who is so great at following that thing and not really caring what anyone thinks.”
Perhaps that's why when it came time for La Havas to record her followup to that acclaimed debut, she took her sound further, delivering with Blood, which was released this summer, an album that not only lived up to expectations but exceeded them.
She acknowledges she was conscious of the pressure, but admits it was easy to put them out of her mind.
“That's going to happen with absolutely everything ever,” she says and laughs again.
“I just sort of had to make what I wanted to make and hope for the best. That's all I could do really, is make sure I was happy with it and I was proud of it. And I don't mind what anyone wants to throw at it, you know? I think that's the way I have to be.”
The album was infl uenced, in spirit, not necessarily in musical tone, by a pair of trips she took to Jamaica, the birthplace of her mother.
She and her mom bonded on that initial journey and she's expressed often how getting in touch with that side of her family, and family in general — her father is of Greek heritage — aff ected her and the record, but more importantly La Havas was inspired by the sites and the people of the Caribbean nation.
It really is up to the artist, what they want to do. Artists do it because they have to, not because the record company told them to. It’s always because you feel compelled to.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places that I’ve seen in my life,” she says simply.
She was also inspired to return and begin writing and recording with dance hall producer Stephen McGregor, who would become one of several producers contributing to Blood. And while only one track from those early sessions would make it to the record — the gorgeous vocal showcase Midnight, which La Havas calls, “maybe my favourite thing that I’ve ever done” — she says it bled into the rest of the record.
That includes just the sense of adventure that permeates the often stunning 10- song collection. Yes, it’s a little smoother, perhaps a little slicker than that first outing, but it also finds La Havas stretching out in all of those earlier directions, delivering something that builds off of Is Your Love Big Enough? rather than copying it. It surprises while satisfying — purposefully and assuredly.
And with good reason. Like her princely fan and friend, she’s hoping to build a career that will defy all of those expectations and follow a path as rich, rewarding and varied. “I get a little frustrated that the consensus is that if you sounded a certain way on your first album that that’s all that you can do and that’s all that you’re like,” she say. “That’s absolutely not the case. And all of the musicians I’ve ever met love loads and loads of things. And I think more people would love to explore and do what they want to do …”
She continues. “I feel like my career will be maybe finding a direction. That’s what I want. I’m always trying to better myself and develop and make the purest version of the sound that I can hear in my brain. So that may take my whole life, but I’m looking forward to it.”