Laura Mvula Quotes
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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.
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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.
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I like pastels and lighter shades on darker skins. I feel like it lifts everything and accentuates being chocolate.
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London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school.
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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.
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My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining.
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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.
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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.
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I remember listening to Miles Davis in the car with my dad. I had just done my Grade 5 piano exam, and I was quite cocky. I said, 'It sounds like he's played the wrong note there.' I remember the look of horror on my dad's face, and thinking, 'Wow, I have to figure out why that is not acceptable.'
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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. Now I say I just write my own songs. 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.
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I always said when I was younger, I wanted to write film music, and I think that's what my ultimate dream is.
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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.
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Who made you the center of the universe?
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I write songs from the heart, and I don't hold back.
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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.
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I love church buildings, particularly cathedrals, and I like living in spaces that remind me of music or evoke that creative energy.
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