Other Voices London: Mvula, Marling and musical magic in the air

And so Other Voices made its way to London for the final leg in the current series which has taken in Dingle, the home source, Derry/Londonderry, the northern tributary and now London's East End near Towel Hill and WhiteChapel.

The venue for our three nights stay in London is St Wilton's Music Hall, the oldest of its kind, steeped in history, an address which survived the blitz of war. The building shows its age with creaking beams, cracked stone walls, a wooden staircase, a charming mahogany bar and a venue with twisted brass pillars and high 19th century ceilings.

Dressed up with the now trademark Other Voices hearts by Caroline O'Connor and yellow twilight lighting, the stage looks as cinematic as any music venue can feel.

Which is a perfect place for Laura Mvula, with her striking filmic looks and her polychromatic soul music to grace. Mvula has risen to popularity over the last year with songs from a debut album Sing To The Moon, that burst with psychedelic soul sounds and her Nina Simone style voice. There are plenty of members on stage to reproduce the sound including players of electric harp, violin, keyboard, cello and a drummer who Laura Mvula attributes the title MD, his role is so vital.

Of the songs she plays tonight both 'She' and 'Green Garden' make the most immediate impression. They are lush with harmonies and handclaps and a lot of sonic joy while 'Father Father' lays bare Mvula's emotional side. Striking and supreme in many ways.

In the middle of the bill tonight, Stornoway are a band with even more members on stage than Mvula but they use the core six members (they swell to eight when the trumpets come out) to create a nuanced folk sound through upright bass, violin, harmonium, guitar and hand percussion.

Their English folk music is a world onto its own in terms of melodies and sound but when they play their breakthrough hit 'Zorbing', they sound closer to folk contemporary chart-toppers like The Lumineers in the way they inject pop into their music.

They finish their set by taking advantage of the room's regal acoustics with an a capella version of 'The Ones We Hurt The Most' which becomes the set highlight because the band immerse themselves in the song so much.

And that is something that Laura Marling has no problem doing. Her songs speak from experience of love and loss, common topics, but they translated into song in such a unique way that they don't sound ordinary in any reading. Tonight she performs five songs only from her new album only but we want so much more.

This Marling Other Voices performance was not supposed to be her first. Three years ago she travelled by boat and road all the way to Dingle only to completely lose her voice in the soundcheck despite making the long journey, she never played. A fact now rectified.

Marling is only 23 but performs like a woman who has seen it all but steeled her resolve and made herself stronger. She reminds us of Joni Mitchell in her style but with the folk guitar edge of John Martyn. Her voice undulates from almost spoken word to high melody and takes in many a delicate nuanced note in between.

Her control is so perfect and her performance is commanding. One song has her calling herself the 'Master Hunter' and it'd be hard to disagree that Marling is now a master of her own. Her new album Once I Was An Eagle can't come fast enough.