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" I don't talk about Amy Winehouse as a 'singer.' She's a pioneer. I listened to her endlessly when I started writing. "
Laura Mvula
Writing
Started
Singer
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" London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school. "
Laura Mvula
School
Reputation
Cool
" I write songs from the heart, and I don't hold back. "
Laura Mvula
I Write
Songs
Write
" My parents were quite strict; we couldn't just listen to whatever music we wanted. It was very much like they monitored what we listened to. "
Laura Mvula
Listen
Like
Whatever
" I thought I had to help people get me, but I don't think they need to be spoon-fed. If you connect with me, that is cool. I don't need the whole world to feel like I am a soul angel. "
Laura Mvula
Cool
People
Soul
" Lizz Wright is my favourite singer. Her voice moves me and takes me to another place. She also grows her own food, and that inspires me. "
Laura Mvula
Voice
She
Place
" The first time I sang in church, when I was ten, the applause was so overwhelming that I started to weep. My mum had to rescue me from the stage. "
Laura Mvula
First Time
Church
Me
" My parents encouraged us to commit to things, so if we wanted to learn an instrument, it was all the grades and all the theory. "
Laura Mvula
Us
Grades
Instrument
" My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining. "
Laura Mvula
Which
Songs
Write
" I think, when I started writing songs, my voice just became another tool. It wasn't something that I was going to try desperately to woo a listener. As long as I'm using my voice in a way that helps people understand what I'm trying to say, then I feel like I'm doing all right. "
Laura Mvula
Think
Writing
People
" I have a younger brother and sister who actually play in my band, and we were always into Disney music, big time. The first time I heard myself sing was when I recorded myself singing a Disney song. I remember it because it was awful, and I didn't expect to hear that. I think it was 'A Whole New World' from 'Aladdin.' "
Laura Mvula
Music
Brother
Time
" I grew up playing in youth orchestras, so they were my most treasured memories, so to be in front of an orchestra playing my own material would be incredible. "
Laura Mvula
Memories
Youth
Own
" Taxi drivers used to ask me what kind of music I did, and I'd say, 'Well, it's kind of jazz, soul, classical' - but that makes no sense to anyone. "
Laura Mvula
Soul
Kind
Jazz
" Fame hasn't really affected me. I have a really close knit group around me, and my sister is always with me, so it's like a bit of a travelling circus. "
Laura Mvula
Circus
Always
Fame
" I come from an African Caribbean background. I've been influenced by a reggae church music style, contemporary gospel, and rock all fused together. "
Laura Mvula
Rock
Style
Together
" I bumped into my cousin after she'd shaved her hair very short, and she looked incredible. She seemed so effortless and cool, and I wanted that. And, I've had it like that ever since. "
Laura Mvula
Like
She
Short
" I really love jazz, but I will never be a jazz musician as much as I dream. But, I think that the jazz music I love is there in my music. "
Laura Mvula
Jazz
Dream
Love
" I like pastels and lighter shades on darker skins. I feel like it lifts everything and accentuates being chocolate. "
Laura Mvula
Like
Being
Chocolate
" I don't think I always look in people's faces, like, as - I think especially when I'm doing my more intimate songs that are quite personal, I always feel it's a bit accusing if I stare in someone's face when I singing quite a personal lyric. "
Laura Mvula
People
Think
Look
" I love church buildings, particularly cathedrals, and I like living in spaces that remind me of music or evoke that creative energy. "
Laura Mvula
Creative
Like
Love
" There's nothing I love more in the world than layering voices. "
Laura Mvula
Voices
World
Love
" I regrettably wasted time at university by being overwhelmed and intimidated by the talent of other composers. I felt stuck and didn't know what I was doing there. I enjoyed my experience, but I didn't grab it in the way I would now. "
Laura Mvula
Doing
Experience
Know
" For me, a wake-up playlist completely depends on what mood I'm in. If I need to get into action pretty quick, it will be between Beyonce and Miles Davis. I'm a massive Beyonce fan, and all of her anthems will do it for me. And Miles Davis, because I grew up hearing his music because my dad played it a lot, so that will always be special to me. "
Laura Mvula
Music
Special
Me
" Limitlessness is important for me; I want to be able to use every opportunity to push me forward onto the next thing. "
Laura Mvula
Me
Forward
Opportunity
" You don't have to aim to be the best of everything, thinking that one day you're going to be the top of the world; I don't think it exists. "
Laura Mvula
World
You
Thinking
" Teaching was my first job after leaving university. It was a challenge, but I enjoyed it. Some of the kids were disruptive, but I could deal with it because I was only 24 at the time, and my own school memories were still fresh. "
Laura Mvula
Challenge
Time
Job
" Being a pop star is something I don't think I'm very good at. I'm worried it's making me too paranoid, because all of a sudden, life has become this constant assessment. When you put something out there and people get to hear it, then those people react to it, socially, culturally. "
Laura Mvula
You
Think
Good
" I always said when I was younger, I wanted to write film music, and I think that's what my ultimate dream is. "
Laura Mvula
Dream
Always
Film
" What I wear is everything - from how I carry my hair to what I'm wearing on my feet. I have to feel comfortable on stage, so I like to wear things that have room. My mood changes a lot, so sometimes I wear 6-inch heels, and other times I'll perform in bare feet. "
Laura Mvula
Feet
Hair
Sometimes
" I got into the habit of filtering out all the good in my life, focusing on only the negative. I'm not sure why I did it, but it's a pretty depressing state. "
Laura Mvula
Habit
Good
Life
" Topshop is one of my favourite shops, and I love shoes by Giuseppe Zanotti. There's a graduate fashion designer called Kate Falcus who makes me beautiful commissioned pieces - one of my favourites was the white Glastonbury dress she made me with the puffy skirt. "
Laura Mvula
Dress
Beautiful
Fashion