Get Happy

In light of my new positivity, it's Friday, it's the end of January, the sun is shining and there is fresh snow on the mountains - all good reasons to get happy, and the soundtrack to my good mood has to be Pharrell Williams' brilliant song "Happy" which is featured on the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack and is highly likely to win the Oscar for Best Song on March 2nd.

It is just the most uplifting song and alongside the phenomenally cool Williams, the video features real people dancing and lip-synching, along with some celebrity cameos from the likes of Steve Carrell and Jamie Foxx and the odd minion (the little yellow guys from the movie.) Williams has created a genius website: 24hoursofhappy - the world's first 24 hour music video, which features a whopping 360 versions of the 4 minute song on a loop and allows users to choose whichever time segment they wish to view thanks to an interactive clock. You can never have too much of a good thing and it is incredibly catchy - I really could listen to it all day!

Williams appears 24 times, on the hour and he's quite the style king - has anyone ever looked cooler in shorts and skate shoes? (I wonder if I can persuade English Gent to sport a pair this summer....) He also rocks a good hat, which I like - the vintage Vivienne Westwood Mountie version he jauntily sported at the Grammy's last weekend caused such a stir it had its own Twitter account @Pharrellhat and 16,000 followers by the next day - that's fame for you.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

So thanks Pharrell, for telling us all that happiness is the truth. I'm off to clap along - I defy you not to join in. Have a good weekend everyone.

Sounds of Summer - Laura Mvula

Do you find that sometimes a song just gets into your head and stays there?  Lana del Rey's "Video Games" did that to me - new and retro at the same time, the video was quirky and it played in my head (and in my life) on a loop.

Photo:lauramvula.com

Well this year's song for me is "Green Garden" by the exquisitely cool Laura Mvula and if you haven't heard of her yet, you will, believe me - she's going to be huge.

Photo: lauramvula.com

Her new album "Sing to the Moon" was released in the UK on March 4th and she has already been hailed as "the voice of 2013".  Aged 26 and from a musical family in Birmingham, she trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire for 3 years, and as a student was encouraged to start composing and writing her own songs. But it wasn't until she married the classical baritone Themba Mvula 3 years ago that she found the self-belief to start out on her solo career.  Mvula still seems stunned by her swift ascent into the musical stratosphere, but it only takes one listen to understand why. Her voice is soulful, orchestral, bluesy and full of those Jazz notes that make your head spin and your heart swoon.

"That's Alright" is her latest single and Neil McCormick in The Telegraph calls it "ebulliently confrontational... Billie Holiday in a Thirties flapper romp underpinned by Burundi percussion, Busby Berkley meets Adam Ant." I couldn't have put it better myself - Rockboy can't get enough of the percussion and the rhythm - just makes him wanna dance.

Mvula also has a wonderful sense of style - clean, unfussy, strong, coupled with a still kind of beauty that draws you in and keeps you listening. I think I've fallen under her spell.

White Winter Trees

With more snow on the way here in France, I thought I would share my recent discovery of acoustic folk rock trio The Staves and their latest release "White Winter Trees:

Emily, Jessica & Camilla aka The Staves Photo: Ian Griffiths Jones

The sisters hail from Watford, so whilst English roses all three, they also have a Joni Mitchell 70's vibe to their sound which is quite unexpected. The animation for "White Winter Trees" is really beautiful and unusual and the song seems to stick with you - I've been humming it for days. Their debut album "The Dead and Born and Grown" is out now. I'm off to snuggle up and watch the snow falling...