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With her new album Blood, Lianne La Havas delivered one of the finer works of 2015, a rich and searching R&B document that lets her audience in to some of her most vulnerable spaces. Each listen peels back layers of joy and pain and is, in its own way, a discovery. Now, in a new video interview with Wax Poetics, La Havas offers insights into the album's intentions, where it got its name and what it's like for her as a talented female instrumentalist working in today's music industry.
"The title 'Blood,'--I just really like that word, and I wanted to get it into a song title or a lyric of some kind," La Havas says in the clip. Songwriting eventually lead her to penning a tune about her grandmother, and "blood" was the first lyric that spilled out onto the page. As the clip rolls, we learn that a trip to Jamaica was what finally put the 26-year-old in the right headspace to record the record, and working with a number of producers is what made the final product ultimately so diverse.
Things do get bittersweet, though, as La Havas laments that many seem to be taken aback by her ability to play her own instrument. "I find it interesting that it's genuinely quite surprising that I play guitar," she says, remarking that so often, women are presumed to be capable of belting out vocals but not expertly strumming. There's much more to be gained from the interview, so watch the clip below, which comes interspersed with shots of her recent performance at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, plus clips of her performing the beautiful new number "Midnight." Blood is, of course, available on iTunes, and you owe it to your ears to get a copy.
Lianne La Havas 2015 Tour:
Wednesday, September 23 @ 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Friday, September 25 @ Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, September 26 @ Terminal 5 – New York, NY
Monday, September 28 @ Royale – Boston, MA
Tuesday, September 29 @ Corona Theatre – Montreal, QC
Friday, October 2 @ Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
Saturday, October 3 @ St. Andrew’s Hall – Detroit, MI
Sunday, October 4 @ Park West – Chicago, IL
Tuesday, October 6 @ Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
Thursday, October 8 @ Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Friday, October 9 @ MacEwan Hall, University of Calgary – Calgary, AB
Sunday, October 11 @ Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
Monday, October 12 @ Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA
Wednesday, October 14 @ The Independent – San Francisco, CA
Friday, October 16 @ The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, October 18 @ House of Blues – Anaheim, CA
Monday, October 19 @ Masonic Lodge, Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, October 20 @ The Observatory-Northpark – San Diego, CA
Thursday, October 22 @ House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Friday, October 23 @ Emo’s – Austin, TX
Sunday, October 25 @ Center Stage – Atlanta, GA
