Manuela is a 21 year old self-taught Singer-songwriter of Angolan heritage, born and raised in the city of Coventry.
The artist’s passion for music originates from her upbringing where she grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse who were some of her earliest inspirations. Her current musical influences include the likes of Jorja Smith, IAMDDB, Joy Crookes, Cleo Sol, Kaytranada, Ravyn Lenae and Miraa May.
In 2011, Manuela moved to seaside town Bournemouth and at 13, began songwriting as a coping mechanism for a difficult time in her life where she felt like an outcast. Aged 16, Manuela made the decision to share her talent online via SoundCloud and at 18 took a risk and moved to London to study music at University.
Currently residing in London, Manuela is making her name known in the music industry. Her latest R&B and funk fusion release “IF I WAS SPECIAL” which was produced by Montreal based producer NELSON and features New York based rapper G.King, was featured on BBC RADIO 1XTRA’s Future Wave with Complexion. Her debut EP project entitled ‘ENIGMA’ which is to be released on the 7th January 2022 explores themes of infatuation, misjudgement, dealing with grief for the first time and spirituality. Manuela’s unreleased track “EASE AND GRACE” has been announced to play on BBC Solent Radio from 8-10pm on Saturday the 1st of January 2022 just in time to kick off the New Year.
What’s your story as an artist?
I grew up in Coventry and from a young age, I remember being surrounded by music. At home, there was always music playing. In primary school, around year 4, I used to play the flute and I also joined the school choir. Every break and lunch time my friends and I used to make up dances and we honestly thought we were The Cheetah Girls from Disney whilst all of the other kids were playing other games.
In 2009, my best friend Hana and I were Lady Gaga and Beyonce for our school talent show `Stoke Heath’s Got Talent’ and we won the talent show so somewhere out there out names are engraved on a trophy along with other contestants who won years before us which is so cool to look back on.
Music has always been a significant part of my life.
It became more significant in 2011 when I moved to Bournemouth from Coventry. My whole life honestly changed so drastically. Looking back now I was definitely depressed and didn’t know how to cope well with change. I moved from a diverse city to a predominantly white town where I was an outcast. I was bullied for having a different accent, I looked different to everyone else and was the only black girl in my class for so many years before moving to London and so I naturally turned to songwriting as a coping mechanism. I think this was because I was always imaginative from a young age and I loved creative writing in school, like making up characters and stories of their lives was an escape from mine.
In 2013 (I was 13), I picked up a notebook and looked out at nature and started writing lyrics about nature or what I could see in front of me. When I was 13, I made a promise to myself “When I am 18, I am going to move to London and I am going to be doing music”.
I did that for a while until I was 15, one of my close friends, Mack Mintis, who I went to school with and is a rapper (and is finally getting the recognition he deserves) mentioned the concept of type beats to me on YouTube. I remember being so shocked that I could type in any artist’s name who I liked, for instance “Rihanna type beat” and I would find hundreds of R&B and Afrobeat instrumentals which I could write lyrics over, essentially toplining. So I began doing so and I wrote so many songs and I was so passionate about it.
One of my released songs “Words” I wrote when I was 15 and I remember releasing it and sharing it and throwing my phone on the other side of the room being so anxious of what everyone would say. I went into school and people were singing my song and mocking me but I am glad I didn’t delete it!
At 16, I worked during the summer to save up for my first ever microphone, it was a USB one and it didn’t have the best quality but I was over the moon. I started recording my music and using free type beats with tags over them whilst I was singing which is so funny looking back now. I started releasing them on Soundcloud.
At 18, after finishing Sixth Form, I moved to London to study music at University and I remember still being in Bournemouth, working at Tesco in order to afford the move to London and I used to write my song lyrics on the back of receipts. “Merry-Go” is one of my existing tracks I wrote on the back of a receipt. It started raining outside and I just remember being behind the till thinking “I can’t wait to be doing what I really want to do ” so I wrote the lyrics…
“No pain, no happiness
no rainy days, no sunshine”
I am now 21 in my third year of University and I have met so many like-minded musicians and creatives. I have collaborated with Montreal based Producer NELSON who was recommended by me to a friend and we worked together to create my debut EP ‘ENIGMA’ which captures my time in London during lockdown. 2/4 tracks on the EP have been picked up by BBC Radio twice within the space of 3 months which is crazy to me as I used to get rejected so many times whilst still living in Bournemouth. “IF I WAS SPECIAL” played on BBC RADIO 1 XTRA’S Future Wave with Complexion and “EASE AND GRACE” will be played on BBC RADIO SOLENT on Saturday 1st January.
My style as an artist has evolved so much and it is constantly changing which is why I identify as a free-form artist. I am always dabbling in different genres of music.
Post-lockdown I aim to be doing more live shows and gigs for sure. But overall my time in London is a dream come true. I am so happy that I followed my heart despite others telling me not to do so because in their eyes music isn’t a stable career option but passion overrides all fear.
What inspired this last release?
My EP ‘ENIGMA’ was created over lockdown from November 2020-November 2021. The reason why I called it ENIGMA was because I have always been obsessed with that word from when I was 16. I heard it one day in school and I fell in love with what it means. Enigma means “a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand”. I just love the ambiguity of it, especially in a world where everything appears black or white, right or wrong, left or right and up and down. I chose ENIGMA because the subject/person in each song is never revealed to the listener.
IF I WAS SPECIAL
Discusses unrequited love. It is about someone who makes you feel like a second option and quite frankly, you are aware of this and have had enough (true story). It is about acknowledging yourself in the present moment, forgiving your past self and having enough self respect and introspection to know when to walk away from a situation because you deserve better instead of pointing the finger and expecting the other person to change.
CONDENSATION
is a 2 minute timed continuous stream of consciousness based on the word ‘grey’ which was given to us as a stimulus for a university task during an online class during lockdown. In this context, ‘grey’ describes the feeling of being uncertain, numb and somewhere in between black and white, not necessarily happy and not necessarily sad. The track captures a confusing time for many of us during quarantine due to COVID.
EASE AND GRACE
Touches on ambiguity & misjudgement and how we often label others around us e.g. strangers on the tube for self validation and gratification based on your own metrics. Whether that is for your own safety, to feed your ego or insecurities… it is none of your business what anyone is doing or looks like. It’s basically a song telling overly judgemental people to spend more time worrying about their own lives instead of being preoccupied with thoughts that look down on others.
Just like the feeling of security some people get from reading a newspaper in the morning which is black and white with fixed headlines and “facts”, the same applies for labeling others to make yourself feel comfortable. There is no need. Although open to interpretation by the public visually, self expression is personal.
SENDING SIGNS BACK
This song is about a beloved one who has passed on and my experience dealing with direct grief for the first time (in my immediate circle). The universe has been sending signs back to earth to remind me that they are okay and recognise my pain. “White feather floating around” was the starting point of the song. I was on the way back to London on The National Express after being back home in Bournemouth and I saw the white feather floating in the air and it was a moment of reassurance that angels are constantly protecting me. From that point, the words flew out of me, I was writing the lyrics whilst crying on the coach and I contacted producer NELSON and he made the beat around my vocals.
As a vessel with a message to share, this song is myself sending a sign back to anyone dealing with grief, loss or going through a difficult time. I hope through my vulnerability and transparency, that I can warm the listener or help soothe the process of healing with my lyrics.
Do you get inspired by other art forms?
Spoken word poetry, films, nature, paintings and life itself have a strong influence over my writing process! I wouldn’t say they necessarily inspire the content of my music but instead inspire a thought which leads to another which leads to another which then triggers the songwriting process, so I would agree that other art forms are the root source of inspiration. I love being stimulated by looking outside of music and I would definitely advise others to do the same, especially as a creative.
Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing this?
In terms of the songwriting process I was very serious as all of the songs I wrote and recorded were done alone in my bedroom with my microphone. However, looking back now, something that is so funny to me is the thought of my neighbours hearing me repeat the same phrase over and over without hearing the instrumental! They probably thought “on a school night? when will this woman be quiet”. I had to do my thing though! It just so happens that I am always doing my thing at night time because I am a night owl and that all my roommates are also musicians so our neighbours must hate us all and be able to recite all of our songs.
What’s your favorite place or environment to write?
Everywhere. I come up with most of my melodies and lyrics randomly in the shower which is super annoying because I have to run out mid-shower to open up the voice notes on my phone and record my ideas before my mind decides to wander off.
I also write most of my songs on public transport as I am so inspired by my external surroundings e.g. people, conversations and places. I believe each moment is unique and divinely timed so I try to take it in what I can whilst I am in that specific scenario.
A typical writing session for me is during my daily commute to University, work or meeting friends. So you could find me on the top deck of a double decker bus sat by the window or on the underground amidst the noise and the chaos jotting down everything on my notes page. It truly drowns out the noise as I am so focused on what I am doing, in my own little world.
What’s a record that shaped your creativity?
Ooh great question! I would have to say either Thriller by Michael Jackson or Back To Black by Amy Winehouse. I honestly love them both so much and I think from watching them perform on TV inspired me so much. I was honestly speechless and I remember being so young and being obsessed with them. It made me think “wow, I want to do this”. So without having those records and artists to look up to, I wouldn’t be creating music today in the way I am even though our styles are all very different.
Who is an artist or band you look up to today?
I absolutely adore Jorja Smith and I listened to her so much as a teenager! Her voice is so soothing and her tone is so enticing. She grew up in Walsall near Birmingham which isn’t too far from Coventry where I was born and raised. She also moved to London in her early years to pursue music which I found so inspiring as I also moved to London to pursue my music career. Overall, she just comes across as very genuine and humble, like the recognition she now has hasn’t changed her morals which is very rare. Back in 2017, when I first came across her track “Blue Lights” I actually tweeted “Jorja Smith is so underrated” because I really saw her potential and she liked my tweet! Today, I am so proud of her growth and consistency, I am still fangirling haha.
What excites you the most about what you do ?
Honestly, it is knowing that I am utilsiing my life experiences and what was once a bad day for me to make someone else’s day brighter. Being part of a specific period of time in the listener’s life or making up a part of someone’s memory is so special to me. Whether that is helping someone get through a break-up by being on their playlist, making someone dance in their bedroom when no one is watching or sing their heart out with their friends whilst getting ready for a night out. It’s being able to be part of the little transitional moments. I love it when people send me cute messages saying how my song has helped them heal, it means so much to me because it highlights how being transparently yourself and being vulnerable often has a bigger purpose outside of you.
Other than that, I love meeting and working with new people. Seeing how they come up with new ideas and learning about their different approaches to music which explains a lot about how they operate in this world and their different rituals when it comes to writing songs. Without music and the friends I have made through music I don’t know where I’d be.
What is your view on genres and music styles since you mix a lot of them in your music?
I love the versatility. I see music as a canvas full of an array of bright colours and abstract patterns. It is a way to celebrate differences, similarities and ultimately unite us all as one.
As an upcoming free-form artist I want to challenge myself to constantly be evolving and uncomfortable, to experiment as much as I can and show appreciation for the music I have listened to growing up or been exposed to throughout life.
I see genres as different cliques in high school, they are all very distinct. Throughout my adolescence, in school, I was an outcast and never felt the desire to fit in and I always did my own thing and I treated everyone with kindness and respect. That is directly translated in my music because I will do what feels right not follow what is “trendy” or what everyone else is doing or feels my voice would “suit”.
What does music and art mean to you?
Music and art to me are like audio/visual diaries. They enable me to whole-heartedly capture the essence of the present moment. They offer me a sense of unconditional fulfillment and love based on my own standards, meeting my own needs at my own pace. I am in control.
I often ask myself “what message do I want to convey to my audience?” or “how can I bring more of myself to my music” e.g. in terms of personality etc but then I realised I am music. My whole existence is an art form. I already embody all that I desire to be. Every situation which I bring myself into, every song I write is authentically me. The gap between reality and desires is what stops us from expressing ourselves freely. We always think I am not good enough or I’ll never be as great as this person so we don’t pick up the pen, we put down the paint brush and we scrunch up the pieces of papers but we already are more than enough simply by existing.
Music offers me a listening ear, a chance to express myself in a conversation whereas art in terms of anything you define as art, offers me a hand holding a mirror.
How would you describe your act in one word?
Survival.
