From office receptionist to Britain's hottest new soul queen: Laura Mvula on being compared to Adele, making friends with Prince and conquering her stage fright
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With her deep, sultry gospel-tinged voice, her giant smile and dark feline eyes, singer-songwriter Laura Mvula is the star of 2013
When the leading lights of British soul were serving up an unfamiliar cocktail of orchestral music and R&B at the first Urban Classic Prom last weekend, the experience was a novel one for most of the performers.
But whereas the culture clash broke new ground for singer Maverick Sabre and rapper Wretch 32, one participant was more at home alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Albert Hall’s regular Prom-goers.
Birmingham soul siren Laura Mvula is a classically trained pianist and composer whose music defies simple categorisation.
Her songs reflect both her love of pop and her formal education — and she is no stranger to the Proms.
‘I first played the Royal Albert Hall when I was 14,’ says Laura, now 27. ‘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 was nervous, but I remember enjoying all the balloons coming down when we closed with Elgar’s Pomp And Circumstance. I wanted to savour the moment in case I never returned.’
Given her talent, Laura (whose surname is pronounced Mmm-voola) was destined to return to the country’s biggest stages.
Her debut album, Sing To The Moon, is a bewitching affair that gets more intriguing with each play.
And while she has been lazily dubbed ‘the new Adele’, her complex vocal arrangements and jazzy piano chords owe just as much to The Beach Boys and Steely Dan.
Born Laura Douglas in the Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath (she married classical singer Themba Mvula three years ago), the singer — who sports strikingly long false eyelashes when we meet in her West London hotel — is also a somewhat reluctant star who has overcome chronic stage fright to get where she is.
‘There are always nerves, as I put a lot of emotion into my performances,’ she says.
The 27-year-old, pictured during her live performance at the Tia Maria Music Room event in June, said she has had to work to overcome stage fright and still gets nervous before she sings
‘But that’s balanced by the joy of singing and playing. 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.’
Mvula completed a degree in classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire and worked as a receptionist and secondary school teacher in her home town before landing a record deal with RCA Victor.
‘Teaching was my first job after leaving university,’ she says. ‘It was a challenge, but I enjoyed it.
The composer has been compared to Adele but her complex vocals owe just as much to the Beach Boys
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 also credits her Zambian-born husband, whom she met when they were students, for giving her the focus to succeed.
‘I was wooed by his baritone. We had a similar passion for music. And, while I’m laid back, he is very proactive. He knows where he wants to go.
‘When we met, we had fun sharing music. He introduced me to choral music, and I found myself going to lots of chamber concerts in churches with him in the middle of winter.’
Shortlisted for the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award at the end of last year (the prize was won by Tom Odell), Laura has since seen her debut album reach the Top Ten.
With a new single, She, and a UK tour in the autumn, she is one of this year’s most gratifying, slow-burning successes.
She has also found a high-profile admirer in the American superstar Prince, who took a shine to her when the two played an arts festival in Stockholm earlier this month.
‘I was starstruck when I met him. My mum and I got to watch his gig from the side of the stage,’ she says.
‘Three songs in, he began introducing the members of the band. When it came to himself, he said: “And my name is Laura Mvula!” That was a show I won’t forget.’
Laura Mvula’s new single, She, is out on Monday. The album, Sing To The Moon, is available on RCA Victor. Her UK tour starts on September 30 at the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (lauramvula.com/events).
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