Laura Mvula

Used for the vocals in Snarky Puppy's arrangement of her song "Sing to the Moon" (off of Family Dinner - Volume Two), as can be seen in the music video starting at 0:17.

Featured in this June 5, 2016 Shure interview with Mvula's FOH engineer, Cliff Brothers.

Over the past few years, I've used several industry standard microphones with Laura Mvula, always coming back to the trusty Beta58. The main reason for this comes down to how the artist behaves, and how comfortable they are with said microphone during their performance. Again, it's a sort of 'tried and trusted' thing.

That being said, it's always important to try new things, and when I was given the chance to test out the KSM8, I was immediately intrigued. It was a no-brainer to try it with Laura, and she is always keen to try something new as we've worked together for many years. She knows where I'm coming from, and we often mutually decide to change things up a bit.

I noticed her using the KSM8 microphone in a very musical way; it gives her an extra edge, it enables a very solid vocal performance. This new element unquestionably enhanced an already detailed vocal construction; we were so confident in the characteristics and build of the microphone that I had no qualms in using it for Laura's Graham Norton Show performance.

In terms of sonic characteristics, I feel the KSM8 is very similar to using a Beta58, only easier; it has a similar feel but with fewer lumps and bumps that you might normally expect from a cardioid dynamic microphone. The amazing thing is the proximity effect; Laura often sings off and on the mic in quick succession. The KSM8 has helped smooth out her performance, and the transition, importantly, was almost seamless.

The KSM8 also has a very flat response. I was able, therefore, to run a flat EQ with a little high-pass rolled in — using the EQ in a musical way rather than as a 'trouble-shooting' tool.

As can be seen in this July 7, 2016 Wikimedia Commons photo from Mvula's Global Citizen performance at The View from The Shard, her KSM8 is wireless and in the black finish.

Featured in this June 13, 2015 Twitter post by Laura Lewis.

It was rad to meet & photograph @lauramvula this week. She had a fab shure 55 mic! #shuremicrophone #musicphotography

The photograph shows no switch on the mic, evincing a Super 55.

Used for her features on Becca Stevens' "Venus" and "Well Loved", as can be seen in this August 6, 2016 Instagram post and this November 24, 2016 Instagram post, both by Stevens.

@lauramvula tracking vocals, HER WAY. @troy__miller