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.