Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
I feel like I’m creating my own narrative
LAURA MVULA IS BACK WITH A NEW SOUND AND NEW RECORD LABEL ALEX GREEN HEARS ABOUT HER TUMULTUOUS YEARS OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT
DURING the recording sessions for her 2016 album The Dreaming Room, disco pioneer and Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, who had been drafted in as a producer, offered Laura Mvula this advice: “You should be a megastar. You haven’t found a way to hold people’s hands and take people in.”
Laura recalls this moment as she talks about her latest album, Pink Noise – which combines her muchdiscussed classical sensibilities (she attended the Birmingham Conservatoire) with an inviting sense of pure pop.
“I struggled with that,” she explains. “Because I was tired of hearing from people: ‘Oh, your music is too complex. It’s not going to break through because it’s got too many layers. It’s beautiful but it’s not going to reach a lot of people’ – as though that was my motivation.
“It took a lot of growth to understand I can be absolutely myself and learn the craft of reaching people.”
The composer and songwriter, originally from the suburbs of Birmingham, is one of Britain’s most gifted contemporary musicians.
She has two Mercury Awardnominated albums under her belt – 2013’s Sing To The Moon and The Dreaming Room – as well as an honorary doctorate of music from Birmingham City University and many other accolades.
Laura has worked in theatre (scoring the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2017 production of Antony and
Cleopatra), and performed at the Queen’s birthday party.
Her journey, however, has not been easy. She struggled with stage fright and was unceremoniously dropped by her label, RCA Records, part of Sony Music, in 2017.
However, she says the last few years have ultimately helped her grow. “I feel relieved,” she admits shortly before her new album is released, adding that losing the team she worked with on her first few records and coming to terms with a new one “has been a positive, maybe even a life-saving thing”.
“It’s been an adjustment period and a time to figure out what kind of sound I want to make next.”
During this hiatus she tried something new. “I had got used to tags like ‘orchestral soul’ and ‘classically trained Mvula’ and hadn’t realised I felt almost trapped by that.
“And I had to find my way out of it. Because that was never the whole story for me. I needed to make something that showed much more of who I am and not be so obsessed with sticking to a script.”
Laura was re-born to the public on Graham Norton’s BBC chat show earlier this year. Appearing inside a glowing box and wearing an oversized white suit with shoulder pads, she delivered a performance of her single Church Girl, channelling both Whitney Houston and Prince, but sounding utterly unique.
Laura also recently featured in Google’s Nest Sessions, where disco
DJ Dimitri From Paris and UK producer Romare created re-mixes of Church Girl plus music videos.
“I’m someone that feels things quite deeply,” she recalls of the frantic early days of the pandemic.
“So when the first lockdown got underway I had a huge sense of, ‘Gosh – how are we going to cope with this?’
“I’ve had a thing about safety and security and needing to feel that since I was quite young. And because music has always provided some kind of inner peace, I knew this record was going to be that on lots of different levels.
“I chose an up-tempo vibe because I wanted dance to be a big part of it. I wanted to make something that I would stick on and be able to move freely, with abandon.
“I don’t consider myself a dancer, but that’s the point. It’s not really about that. It’s about freedom.”
Pink Noise is a personal record with songs about romance, joy and loss, but also reflects world events – including the death of George Floyd in the US in May 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Lyrically, I needed some outlet,” she recalls, “some form of expression. It was the time that London was taking to the streets, marching for Black Lives Matter.
“And I remember feeling that very painful pull and a need to not just say something for the sake of it, when things become trendy, but actually re-engaging or engaging with it on a different frequency.
“This is not a new story and I needed to find a way to say something and Remedy was my offering to the struggle.”
At 35, Pink Noise appears to mark a new era for Laura. During the recording process, she worked with other songwriters, returning to and re-writing songs constantly, introducing unfamiliar instruments.
“I was being made aware that I’m someone who needs all kinds of inspiration to make something new. To want to innovate, to take risks, to go places I haven’t been before.”
Importantly, she is taking inspiration from a generation of millennials – singer H.E.R., rapper and drummer Anderson .Paak and pianist Robert Glasper.
“I enjoy the way that there’s a real culture of confidence. The term woke is kind of out of date now, but there’s not much gets past these young people and I really respect that.
“It caused me with this album to not hold back. I used to oversimplify the conversation about, ‘Oh, you’re considered a niche or independent artist trying to do something in the pop world. How does that work? It’s one or the other.’
“I’m not so sure. It’s way more nuanced. And I feel like I’m creating my own narrative now more comfortably.”
Laura Mvula’s Google Nest Sessions music videos are available now on Youtube. Pink Noise is available on Atlantic Records
I want to innovate, to take risks, to go places I haven’t been before