Atlantic Records' Briony Turner says Laura Mvula is set for a breakthrough thanks to the creativity of her new album.
The singer-songwriter releases Pink Noise on July 2, marking her first LP for her new label.
“It was like being adopted into a family,” Mvula told Music Week of her relationship with Atlantic. “There were real conversations and we would actually strategise and actually look beyond just the surface things. We were able to discuss who I am as an artist and that it’s not a simple thing to figure out. It’s not like, ‘Just slap this on there and stick her with that producer, and it will work’. It was way more nuanced. But everyone was prepared to be patient. Everyone was prepared to put the work in. Everybody has been creative. I wasn’t just some singer. Atlantic want to help people understand me.”
Atlantic Records co-president Turner agreed a bespoke approach had been key in delivering the artist's goals and that she expected Mvula to reach a larger audience with Pink Noise.
“That was really my aim in signing her to be honest,” she explained, in an interview for the new edition of Music Week. “I felt like more people in the world deserved to hear Laura’s music. She’s a force to be reckoned with and we’re really proud to have her on the label. I’m expecting it to be a highly acclaimed record that is true to Laura’s artistic integrity. We expect fans to absolutely love it and that it will open doors to a whole new audience.”
I wasn’t just some singer. Atlantic want to help people understand me
Laura Mvula
Turner added that the singing of Mvula had been something she had wanted to do since the very beginning of the musician's career and she was pleased they were now finally working together.
“I was talking to her before she signed her first deal, but for various reasons that didn’t pan out," recalled Turner. "So both Paul Samuels, our vice president of A&R, and myself were delighted to have the opportunity to work with her.”
Mvula hit the Top 10 with her debut album Sing To The Moon in March 2013, following up with The Dreaming Room in 2016. Her biggest UK single is Green Garden, which has 132,587 sales to date, according to the Official Charts Company.
Laura Mvula and Briony Turner were speaking to Music Week for our latest issue, which is on sale now.
