10) Laura Izibor: Mmm(2008)




Laura Izibor  was not the first black Dubliner in music - Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy and Samantha Mumba came before – but  initially her Irish accent sometimes caused surprise. In an interview in 2009 she reported a typical response in America: ‘They've got black people in Ireland? Y'all live there ?'  I  first saw her as support act to the Blackbyrds at the  Camden Jazz Club in 2008: just herself, a portable keyboard, her voice, a lot of hair and an infectious smile. She had a string of great original songs mixing soul, pop and jazz that put me in mind of  a soulful Carole King at times: Don’t Stay, I Don’t Want You Back, Shine.  Her repertoire also included Mmm, a slow, gospel-infused track that has an almost ethereal quality. The live version has audience participation replacing the gospel choir.


Record companies sometimes have a problem with artists that cross a number of genres and some of Laura Izibor’s later work suggested she was being pushed into a more standard and formulaic r ‘n b sound, with her original individuality suffering as a consequence. Nothing has been released since 2012 so she may still well come back with a new body of work.  I hope so. In any case,  her early piano-based soul puts some of her tracks amongst my all-time favourites.


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