Artist on My Mind: Lianne La Havas

Last summer, I found myself in a bit of music rut. The tracks in my music library were becoming rather repetitive. I needed something fresh, something that would excite my senses. While browsing the interwebz, looking for new tunes to groove to, I discovered British artist Lianne La Havas, and have since been involved in a torrid musical love affair with this folk/soul/jazz singer's sound. 

 

I once heard someone say that a person's name can denote stardom, and Lianne La Havas is certainly one of those names.  A little bit of drama and a little a bit of alliteration, what more can you ask for? La Havas also stunningly beautiful, and has a unique clothing style that compliments her physicality. I quite like that  La Havas embraces her curves and dresses to accentuate  rather than hide them. She also dresses in manner that is tasteful, an unusual trait for a female musician these days.

Sometimes, when a singer labours to bring out notes, it subtracts from the beauty of their art. La Havas sings with an effortlessness that makes listening to her music an extra treat.  Her range is also rather impressive. In her song "Empty", she moves between a deep alto voice and a high soprano with an ease that is quite remarkable.

La Havas is a gifted songwriter and guitar-player, who composes her own music does her own arrangements, another increasingly rare quality in music these days. Her personal connection to her music is evident, as she deliver each note with great emotion.  In "No Room For Doubt", she collaborates with Willy Mason (he'll need a feature of his own soon!) to smoothly fuse folk guitar arrangements with soulful vocals to create quite the refreshing musical experience.

 Images: Google and the Lianne La Havas Facebook fanpage