- * * * "A true original...a confident, soulful performer" The Guardian
“Here is a star definitely on the rise” MOJO
“Gifted song-sculptress…our very own Joni Mitchell, without the protest but with the sensitivity” DJ Ritu (A World in London)
Fusing the folk and urban traditions of her Zambian homeland with London’s eclectic music scene, Namvula blends African sounds and rhythms with Latin, jazz and folk into uplifting and emotive songs. Crossing boundaries with a refreshing honesty and evocative lyricism, Namvula’s music transports listeners into different worlds, whilst staying firmly rooted in African soil.
Her debut album Shiwezwa was released in 2014 to critical acclaim, and was selected as one of the Top 100 Records of 2014 by The Sunday Times. The album release was followed by numerous radio and TV appearances, including the BBC’s Focus on Africa (TV and Radio), Jazz FM, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 3’s World on 3, and Zambian national TV and Radio, as well as repeat airplay on various stations including Late Junction and World Routes. She toured the album extensively, playing in the UK, Europe, southern Africa and the USA.
This was followed on by her sophomore album, Quiet Revolutions, released in 2017 to equal critical excitement, and hailed "a contemporary masterpiece" by Jazz FM. A concept album, it delves into aspects of femalehood, tracing an arc of stories from ancestry through girlhood and adulthood, into death. Both albums were produced by Mercury-nominated Liran Donin, and engineered by MOBO / Mercury / Grammy-nominated Sonny Johns.
Namvula has been named as one of 13 voices for the future of African music by Rede Angola alongside artists including Fatoumata Diawara, Jupiter & Okwess International and Sidiki Diabaté, and has been harkened to the likes of Cape Verdean diva Maya Andrade and legend Joni Mitchell.