One of several CDs that I’m offerring during this fundraiser at KPFK is this debut from UK singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas. There have been some rather fantastic British imports in the last several years, from Adele to Duffy to Michael Kiwanuka, of them all, Lianne La Havas might have the most talent and potential as an artist. Possessed with a flawless soulful voice (and equally flawless beauty), her debut took a while to make it’s way to me, but I’ve been pretty smitten with it since discovering it late in the summer. Whether stripped down or with full instrumentation and a lot of production, La Havas’ voice rings out and demands attention. There’s an effortless quality to her singing, that matches the breezy nature of her songs, but there’s a great soulful depth to those vocals as well, that makes me very curious for what will come next from this rising star.
It seems Lianne spends quite a lot of time here in LA, having played Amoeba quite a few times and even featuring the legendary “Reggae Pops” in her recent video for Age: