Laura Mvula Page 2

British soul star Laura Mvula has revealed that she only found out she was being dropped by her record label Sony in a brief, “cold and cruel” e-mail message.

Mvula claimed that, while her former manager was told the news in a face-to-face meeting with representatives from RCA Victor, a subsidiary of Sony, she was only informed of what was happening in a seven-line e-mail that was forwarded to her.

“I didn't see anyone, I didn't hear anybody's voice. I just read words. It felt so cold and cruel,” the 30 year old singer told the BBC on Tuesday (March 21st). “Not even the fact that I was dropped, the way that the whole thing happened. To be treated like that doesn't feel quite just.”

Continue reading: Laura Mvula Says Sony Ended Her Record Contract Via E-Mail

Tinie Tempah, Craig David and Laura Mvula are set to perform at the MOBO Awards.

The three musicians, alongside Clean Bandit - who will be gracing the stage to perform for the first time - and Chase & Status are among artists who will be playing at the annual awards ceremony, which will take place on November 4 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

The 'Seven Days' musician - who will go head to head for the title of Best Male and Best Song alongside 'Frisky' hitmaker - is excited to be returning to the star studded music bash after he performed there in 2000.

Continue reading: Tinie Tempah, Craig David And Laura Mvula Will Perform At The MOBO Awards

The recent ascendency of grime to the British mainstream has once again been confirmed with the nominations for the 2016 Mobo Awards, with Kano and recent Mercury Prize winner Skepta both receiving multiple nominations.

Skepta, whose album Konnichiwa scooped the prestigious Mercury Prize last week, edging out records by the heavily-favoured David Bowie and Radiohead, is nominated for three awards, including Best Male, Best Album and Best Grime Act.

Skepta following his Mercury Prize victory in September 2016

Continue reading: 2016 Is A Great Year For Grime As Skepta And Kano Dominate MOBO Awards Nominations

Radiohead, Skepta, The 1975 and the late David Bowie are the big names to have been shortlisted for the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Music Prize, with Adele and previous winner James Blake the notable absences.

The 12-strong shortlist, picked by a panel of music critics, industry figures and artists, was announced on Thursday morning (August 4th) on BBC Radio 6 Music. David Bowie’s 25th and final album Blackstar, released just two days before his death in January this year, is already being touted as one of the favourites to win the overall prize when the winner is announced on September 15th.

Radiohead’s recent album A Moon Shaped Pool makes the Oxford five-piece the most nominated act in Mercury Prize history. Their albums OK Computer, Amnesiac, Hail To the Thief and In Rainbows all made shortlists in previous years, and this doesn’t even count lead singer Thom Yorke’s nomination for his 2006 solo album The Eraser. However, they have not yet won the award.

Continue reading: David Bowie, Radiohead And Skepta Included On 2016 Mercury Music Prize Shortlist

This year's Barclaycard Mercury Prize could be one of the greatest lists of nominees in the awards history. 2013's nominees shortlist includes talent old and new, rock, pop, and dance with one thing to unite them all: they represent a selection of Britain and Ireland's strongest mainstream albums released during the last 12 months.

Bowie Looking A Favourite To Win.

It would be almost too easy to say that David Bowie will win: the 66 year-old made a triumphant and unexpected return this year with the critically lauded The Next Day which was recorded in secret over two years. He's also the bookies favourite along with Arctic Monkeys at the moment, with odds that are unlikely to change. Last time Bowie was nominated was in 2002 when he suffered defeat to pop star Ms. Dynamite but this time round there's been such a lot of press surrounding Bowie's come-back that he's been hard to ignore.

Continue reading: Mercury Music Prize List Has "More Good Albums...Than For A Very Long Time"

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominations have come round again, designed to celebrate this year's best British musical offerings. Last year we saw Alt-J with An Awesome Wave take home the coveted music industry prize and have since seen them go on from strength to strength with full UK touring and an extensive festival diary as the indie quartet revelled in the exposure the annual awards had brought them and their infectious, enthralling debut.

Last Year's Winners, Alt-J, Benefitted From The Prize.

This year's nominees, as announced this very evening predictably include Arctic Monkey's AM, Disclosure's Settle, David Bowie's The Next Day, and Foals' Holy Fire. However the other choices include Laura Marling's Once I Was An Eagle, Jake Bugg's self-titled debut, and Laura Mvula's Sing To The Moon - all pleasing choices which will make for an interesting and unpredictable race to the 30th October awards show.

Continue reading: Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2013: This Year’s Nominees For Album Of The Year

Prime Minister David Cameron has promoted young British musicians by giving all the G8 leaders a 10-track USB stick containing songs from Alt-J, Conor Maynard, Laura Mvula and Gabrielle Aplin with a very prominent theme of love.

Perhaps the Tory party leader is attempting to up his "cool" factor or seem down with the kids - the voters of tomorrow - having also recently been seen at Oxfordshire's Cornbury Festival and regularly sharing his music taste with reporters. The ten songs weren't selected by the busy PM however, rather the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) assembled the tracklist presented to each of the G8 leaders on a USB stick.

Cameron Taking Some Time Out Of Parliament To Soak Up The Sun At Oxfordshire's Cornbury Music Festival.

Continue reading: David Cameron Gives Romantic Mixtape To G8 Leaders, Who's On It?

Albums of Note... It’s been a long two years since James Blake released his debut eponymous album and now, the pioneering producer returns with Overgrown, album number two. Peppered with quality collaborations, with hip-hop legend RZA and electronic music’s figurehead Brian Eno, Overgrown is the sound of an artist still trying to find his niche, but releasing high quality, accomplished tracks, whilst he’s on his journey. “Blake really is a talent to behold, as his ingenious moulding together of poles apart genres and production wizardry clearly shows… when you're already as accomplished at all manner of musical exercises as he is then it will obviously be hard to focus all this talent and all this energy into one place.”

Splitting opinion like musical Marmite, John Grant returns with Pale Green Ghosts. This album may sound unrecognisable as Grant, to anyone already familiar with his work. He’s hooked up with Gus Gus’ Biggi Viera and has decamped to Reykjavik. As a result, a new reliance on vintage-sounding synthesisers and a nod to club-land has John Grant sounding like an altogether different proposition to the John Grant of days gone by.“Grant's dyspeptic edge may be blunted, but when called upon the man can make a fine ass post-modern disco song, like we ever doubted that he could, and Blackbelt is a tweaked remix away from the transient world of A Lists, charts and chat shows. Cleverly poignant, its way with knock out disses would give Jake Shears something to think about if it proved to be a permanent change of direction…”

Continue reading: A Week In Music - James Blake Still Seeking His Niche, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Triumph With Lily Cole Video, Eels Stage A Love-In In Bournemouth

Live At Leeds - the metropolitan music festival held annually across a variety of venues in Leeds on the first bank holiday weekend of May - has just added some huge bands to its roster. 

Indie fans better take note, as just a portion of the line up includes Rudimental, Everything Everything, The Pigeon Detectives, The Vaccines, Tribes, AlunaGeorge, The Staves, Darwin Deez, Little Comets, King Krule, Laura Mvula, Swim Deep, The 1975 and Peace. LAL continues to enforce its remit of pushing local bands to the fore while providing national acts to draw in the crowds. It's a real music lover's affair, and this year looks set to carry on the tradition. And with tickets from just £22.50, it's affordable too. 

The Pigeon Detectives - having just announced album number 4, Rudimental - will look to bring their uncompromising brand of indie to the proceedings, while The Vaccines will be playing a separate ticketed event on the Sunday of Live at Leeds with special support from TOY and more names to be added.

Continue reading: Live At Leeds Announce First Wave Of Bands For 2013: Rudimental, The Staves, Laura Mvula, The Neighbourhood, The 1975 And Much More

This year’s Brit Awards nominations look as though they were concocted by a group of strangers, with wildly different cultural backgrounds, on a drunken night out. Is this a sign that the mainstream music world is finally starting to accept that it’s becoming more and more acceptable to have diverse musical tastes? Or are the organisers of the BRITS simply trying to spark controversy? have they lost the plot? Or is this an honest reflection of the mindset of a 2013 British music buying public? Let’s take a look at the evidence, and scrutinise some of the more baffling categories…

British Female Solo Artist Nominees – One of the more sensitive and contentious issues, here, in the British female solo artist category. Of the five nominees, only four of them were alive this year. We understand that Amy Winehouse has a lasting legacy in British pop music. We understand that she was – and, in many ways remains - a tour de force. But, for the sake of the awards, we simply have to ask, at the risk of sounding flippant, what has Amy Winehouse done for British music in the last 12 months? Sadly, nothing. Her posthumous album (released in December 2011, we should add), Lioness: Hidden Treasures was politely and quietly denounced for being little more than cuttings from the studio floor. We simply can’t get our heads around her inclusion on this list. With Bat For Lashes throw in as the ‘alternative’ wild card, to lend a touch of outsider cool to the category, it’s between Emeli Sande, Paloma Faith and Jessie Ware to catch this one, we reckon. 

Watch Jessie Ware's video for 'Sweet Talk'

Continue reading: BRIT Awards 2013 Nominees Announced: Diverse? Or Just Weird?