Lianne La Havas
Nov 5, 2012
Lianne La Havas is an English folk and soul singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll. La Havas began singing at seven and cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. Her mother played Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige, and her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano.
La Havas was also introduced to British singer, Paloma Faith; she later sang backing vocals on tour for Faith. La Havas was co-writer and performer in 'The Paris Parade' alongside Christian Pinchbeck (who designed the artwork for Lost & Found) and also is now part of the duo 'Elephant' (Memphis Industries). They had a short career but it began La Havas' career in commercial music. In 2010, Lianne signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing music publicly.
Her first EP Lost & Found was released on 21 October 2011 on the Labour of Love label and featured Willy Mason on the opening track, "No Room For Doubt".That same month, La Havas released a live EP, Live From LA, which was made available for free download on her website. La Havas made her television debut on 21 October 2011, broadcast of BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland, a programme that also featured Wisconsin folk band Bon Iver.
Her official debut single, "Lost & Found" was released in the UK on April 30th, and her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough? was released on July 9th in the UK on Warner Brothers. On September 24th, La Havas supported Alicia Keys at MTV 'Crashes' Manchester; the performance was live to 1,000 people in Manchester Cathedral and was broadcast in 164 countries.