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Laura Mvula Quotes - IQDb - Internet Quotes Database

Quotes from Laura Mvula


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One of the things I haven't been ready for is how male-dominated the music industry is. I just didn't have a clue.


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.


'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.


I had a very thorough grounding in music; I'd grown up around songs. My parents listened to a lot of music. My dad was majorly into jazz, which was absolutely a big influence on me, even if it was more subconsciously as a kid.


If I'm playing a gig in London, it feels so important. The adrenaline rush here is bigger than anywhere else. I kind of like the pressure that London puts you under.


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 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.


Lots of people think I'm telling porky pies when I say how nervous I get about singing. I was good at working out how music was put together, and I was good at being at the back, but if you asked me to sing up front, then I looked like I was going to pass out.


There's nothing I love more in the world than layering voices.


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.


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


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.


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.


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


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.


Limitlessness is important for me; I want to be able to use every opportunity to push me forward onto the next thing.


I write songs from the heart, and I don't hold back.


I love church buildings, particularly cathedrals, and I like living in spaces that remind me of music or evoke that creative energy.


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