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" 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

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" I respect hippos. They just look the way they do; they can't do anything about it, but they don't seem bothered. "

" London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school. "

" I've always had this passion to be creative, and wanted to sing or be in bands and make music, but I didn't have ideas as to what format it'd be, or how I'd do it. I'm not very good with plans. I didn't think it would be me at the front, either. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that was something I'd prevent. "

" I first played the Royal Albert Hall when I was 14. I was a violinist with the Birmingham Schools Concert Orchestra, and we travelled down from the Midlands for the last night of the School Proms. We played some pieces from the Harry Potter films, and the violin parts were really hard. "

" I envy those who can wear red lipstick or any bold lip colour, really. My top lip just doesn't seem to take colour - there's nothing I can do to change that, so I usually just use a nude on the bottom lip. "

" There was always a piano in the house when I was growing up - my dad played, and I thought it was cool - and when I was eight, I begged my parents to let me have lessons. After a couple of weeks, I wanted to give up, but my parents were very focused and made me keep going, which I'm very pleased about now. "

" I love my complexion, but like so many of us, in the early years at primary school, I grew up thinking that my dark skin wasn't a great thing. I've found freedom in music and songwriting, which has given me a freedom in how I present myself. I'm glad I've got makeup to celebrate that with. "

" I always start with emotion. That's where I start all of my improvisations, on the piano. I always start with the mood or the feel of where I am in that moment. "

" 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. "

" I don't think I've ever been chatted up, and I don't think I've ever chatted anyone up. The Fresh Prince has the best chat-up lines. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I listen to a lot of choral stuff at home, but I'm also liking Labrinth, Emeli Sande, Tom Odell and Wretch 32. "

" 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. "

" 'Mvula' is my married name, but for some reason my nan calls me 'McVula.' I'm not sure if it's one of those jokey Caribbean things, or whether she's just getting it wrong. "

Laura Mvula

She

Caribbean

" I like pastels and lighter shades on darker skins. I feel like it lifts everything and accentuates being chocolate. "

Laura Mvula

Being

Chocolate

" I come from an African Caribbean background. I've been influenced by a reggae church music style, contemporary gospel, and rock all fused together. "

" My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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

Grades

Instrument

" I don't talk about Amy Winehouse as a 'singer.' She's a pioneer. I listened to her endlessly when I started writing. "

" 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

Whatever

" 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. "

" If I'm uncomfortable on stage, everybody can see it. I'm not very good at hiding it. I like long, loose jacket dresses - anything that I can literally have room to move in - not that I'm a very big dancer, but because sometimes I'm sitting down at the keyboard, and then sometimes I'm standing. It just has to feel good. "

" I always said when I was younger, I wanted to write film music, and I think that's what my ultimate dream is. "

" My aunt is the director of the acapella group Black Voices. I was so struck by them as a child. They sang with such passion and conviction. By the time I turned 15, I had plucked up the courage to ask if I could join the group. Acapella is a different discipline from singing with an accompaniment - it is much more exposed. "

" 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. "