Support Women Artists Sunday: Lianne La Havas

La Havas was born in London, England to a Greek father and Jamaican mother. She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents following her parents' separation as a child. La Havas began singing at seven and cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. Her mother played with Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige, and her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11, but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. Lianne attended Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Croydon, where she studied art A-level, and planned to take an art foundation course; however, she left college to pursue a career in music full-time. Although born Lianne Barnes, her stage name is an adaptation derived from her Greek father, Henry Vlahavas's, surname.

While attending sixth-form in Croydon, a friend of La Havas', singer and songwriter Allan Rose, (who attended the Brit School) introduced her to other musicians who assisted La Havas in the recording of her first demos. Through that same friend, 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. At the end of 2012, Is Your Love Big Enough? was named iTunes Album of the Year.

via wikipedia

Lost and Found

Gone

Lianne La Havas on iTunes: