Rare is the occasion when critics feel compelled to invent new classifications of music to categorize a singer. Then again, rarer still, are talents such as Laura Mvula. Born Laura Douglas (Mvula is her married surname), the rise of the Birmingham, United Kingdom native is the stuff of fiction. Raised playing violin and piano (the latter at the insistence of a father whose eventual departure admittedly fueled her creativity), Mvula's pursuance of a career in musical composition indicated anything but a yearning to become a performer herself. However, while at the Birmingham Conservatoire, it was a college professor who initially put forth the idea that not only should she write songs, she should also perform them. Still, it wasn't until Mvula (pronounced "Mmm-VU-la") began to plumb personal tragedies - including her parents' split - that she began to see being a frontwoman as not only a possibility, but as an essential means of eventually dealing with the issues head-on. To that end, following graduation and working as a receptionist at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (where she also served as a supply teacher), Mvula sent out demos to several in the music industry, including producer Steve Brown, who then sent them to manager Kwame Kwaten. Signing with RCA Records, Mvula released a debut EP, She, in November, 2012. A full album, Sing to the Moon, followed in March 2013. Mvula's combination of soul, pop, jazz and classical landed Mvula several awards, including Best Album and Best Female Act, at Britain's Music of Black Origin (MOBO awards). In addition, she was also nominated for Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize, eventually losing to James Blake's Overgrown.