Laura Mvula

The 50 best albums of 2021

And finally – a deserving winner, whose second solo album is a truly relatable, pin-sharp pop classic. We reveal our No 1 album of 2021

Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Laura Snapes

17, Dec, 2021 @6:52 AM

‘You can’t cancel me, I’ve got bills to pay!’: music stars on pop’s strange 2021

Laura Mvula, Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno, Snail Mail, BackRoad Gee, Sigrid and Eris Drew mull over the year’s big stories, from Britney’s freedom to battles over plagiarism and streaming

As told to Alexis Petridis

26, Nov, 2021 @6:00 AM

63% of Black music makers have experienced racism in UK industry – study

Survey of 1,718 performers, creatives and staff reveals microgression, pay disparities and discrimination are rife

Laura Snapes Deputy music editor

13, Oct, 2021 @7:00 AM

Mercury prize 2021: Arlo Parks wins for Collapsed in Sunbeams

21-year-old singer-songwriter adds to Brit award win earlier in the year

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

09, Sep, 2021 @9:13 PM

Laura Mvula review – joyous, keytar-toting pop masterclass

Closing the Edinburgh international festival after years out of the spotlight, Mvula delivers a triumphant evening of lush 80s soundscapes

Katie Hawthorne

30, Aug, 2021 @1:02 PM

Mercury prize 2021: first-time nominees dominate shortlist

No 1 albums by Wolf Alice, Mogwai and Celeste are joined by leftfield artists such as Hannah Peel and Nubya Garcia in race for prestigious music award

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

22, Jul, 2021 @10:16 AM

Laura Mvula: Pink Noise review – an album of overdue fun

Mvula’s renaissance continues with a bold album fuelled by 80s dance pop and letting go

Kitty Empire

04, Jul, 2021 @8:00 AM

Laura Mvula’s teenage obsessions: ‘I thought a briefcase was the most buff thing ever’

The singer-songwriter recalls the life-changing joy of playing in an orchestra, the beauty of her first braids and being empowered by Eternal

As told to Stephanie Phillips

17, Jun, 2021 @1:00 PM

Edinburgh international festival returns with music-heavy lineup

With theatre and dance scaled back, music dominates, including concerts from Simon Rattle, Damon Albarn, Nicola Benedetti and Laura Mvula

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

02, Jun, 2021 @11:28 AM

Clara Amfo, Laura Mvula, David Lammy and more: 'We’re shifting the deadly disease of racism'

Presenters, performers, writers and politicians on whether the protests in the UK in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death will have a lasting effect

As told to Sirin Kale

11, Jun, 2020 @1:00 PM

On my radar: Wendell Pierce’s cultural highlights

The American actor on Lucian Freud’s self-portraits, the music of Laura Mvula, and Labour MP David Lammy

Kathryn Bromwich

03, Nov, 2019 @10:00 AM

'I thought I'd hate it': Bridget Christie on loving the Last Night of the Proms

Laura Mvula was captivating, and I cried when opera star Jamie Barton took to the stage with a rainbow flag. Shame the conductor spent the entire night with his back to us

Bridget Christie

15, Sep, 2019 @2:23 PM