Saucy, sultry

Hello, hello!

It's been a little quiet, hasn't it? I've been a little busy, but fear not because it is the weekend! That means there's lots of time for me to sit next to the internet and find amazing stuff. And stuff I did find!

First for today is Laura Mvula, who's making waves here in England since the release of her debut album on the 4th of this month. Laura's actually someone I discovered on Facebook a while ago, but the songs she had posted at the time didn't really grab me as much has she herself did. Maybe it's Skin of Skunk Anansie's fault, but short haired, dark skinned women have a bit of sway with me...

Ehem, anyway, as I said nothing I heard at the time stuck and I moved on to other things. Then I heard this track, Green Garden, again on the radio in my mum's car. It sounded great, the vocals are lovely, but it felt like the track was building up to a break or crescendo that never showed up. So I left it again. Today, while I was listening to stand-up comedy on Spotify, the song played in an advertisement and this time, it did grab me a bit.

The song starts with twinkly bells, (Which remind me a little of Strawberry Letter 23. Just me?) soulful vocals with just a hint of distortion and some lovely claps. It already has a very "Old scratchy" feel to it but it manages to still sound modern - It's taking the claps and chimes from old soul and mo-town records but using more recent sounds to create this kind of "Retrofitted" feeling. The vocals have a wonderfully old-fashioned feel to them too, feeling a lot like the great jazz songstresses of the past combined with modern distortion effects. Some synthesised backing ooohs and aaaahs in the background and Mvula throws in to higher pitched vocals before switching back to the sultry, saucy lower tones that make up the majority of the song. Some drums join the mix and the song starts to swell and feel "Bigger." This is where I feel it really needs a break into some faster paced drums and vocals, but instead the song strips down and builds up all over again, up to the end. It's a really, really nice song but perhaps my own expectations are what made me pass it by at first. I still feel like it's a bit of a tease, but it's a tease I like. It took a few listens, but you can ignore a voice like that in a time where incessant warbling and auto-tune are seen as not only acceptable, but are the norm.
Soundtrack to: The end of a garden party