Alexandra Lilah Denton, known professionally as Shura, is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She is best known for her work in the genres of electropop and synth-pop.
Career
2011–2016: ''Nothing's Real''
During night shifts at her workplace, she watched YouTube tutorial videos on how to use music production software. Her single "Touch", co-produced with Joel Pott of Athlete, drew positive notice from internet blogs during early 2014; its music video was co-directed and edited by Shura herself. Two other singles, "Just Once" and "Indecision", followed the same year, and Shura produced a remix of Jessie Ware's single "Say You Love Me". Shura was longlisted in the BBC Sound of 2015 poll. Shura is also signed to Universal Music Publishing Group in the United Kingdom. She released the single "2Shy" in March 2015, followed by "White Light" and a performance film titled Three Years in June 2015. An EP titled White Light was released in the United States in July. The same year, Shura performed at music festivals including Bestival, Festival N°6, and Latitude. In December 2014 she was named as one of the nominated acts on the longlist for the BBC music poll Sound of 2015. Mumford & Sons have covered her song "2Shy". Shura's "Touch" was released on 18 February 2016 alongside a version featuring Talib Kweli. The Original Mix was released on Record Store Day 2016 as a limited 12" single featuring remixes from Canvas and Delorean. Her debut albumNothing's Real was released on 8 July 2016 via Polydor Records.
2017–present: ''forevher''
In 2018, she was reported working in the studio on new music with frequent collaborator Joel Pott, as well as Tourist and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. In 2019, she made a comeback after three years of silence, when she collaborated with British musician Tourist on the song "Love Theme", which was released on Valentine's Day through his second albumEveryday. Tourist explained that the song was a concept originally written by Shura and had a piano demo that was sent to him by her with the lyrics "I don't want to be the centre of attention, but I want your love". The following month, Shura announced her comeback single, entitled "Blynldn", alternatively titled "Brooklyn London". It was premiered by Phil Taggart on BBC Radio 1 on 10 March 2019 where it was revealed as the "Chillest Record". Shura's album Forevher was released on 16 August 2019 via Secretly Canadian. Shura announced the album on 12 June 2019 with the release of single "Religion ". In a November 2019 interview with The Guardian, Spice GirlMelanie C revealed she has been working on her eighth studio album with Shura.
Personal life
Shura grew up in Manchester. Her mother is a Russian actress and her father is an English documentary filmmaker. Her parents divorced when she was three. Shura has two brothers, including a twin, Nicholas, who has starred in three of her music videos: "Touch", "White Light" and "What's It Gonna Be?". She began playing the guitar when she was 13 years old and started recording music at 16. Shura had been a promising footballer in her youth and played for Manchester City from under 11 to under 16 level. Shura is an out lesbian and an atheist, despite a long-standing fascination with religion. In summer 2014 she experienced a severe panic attack, which she described as "feel like I dying." Her stage name comes from a short form of her first name in Russian, a language Shura is fluent in.
Artistry
Shura's music has been described as "infectious but melancholy electropop" as well as "slow-burning synth-pop" but has said that pop music "didn't represent" her. The singer has said that "missed opportunity, regret, nostalgia" are some of the main themes in her work.
