She dreams of one day performing in China and building more cultural bridges with her music, British R&B and neo-soul singer Mahalia recently told Xinhua in an interview.

by Martina Fuchs

MONTREUX, Switzerland, July 22 (Xinhua) — Speaking at the recently concluded iconic Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, British R&B and neo-soul singer Mahalia said she dreams of one day performing in China and building more cultural bridges with her music.

“Absolutely! All my life I just wanted to travel and do something that would take me to places, that was my goal. I would like to go to China,” Mahalia, who has never been to China, told Xinhua during the 58th edition of the festival, held from July 5 to 20.

Mahalia stressed that building cultural bridges through music is a top priority for her.

“It’s really important. The more I tour and when I go to Australia and America and parts of Asia or Europe, I see that people are enjoying the music,” she said.

“I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come, but I’m also excited about how far I can go. For me, the sky has always been the limit,” she added.

Mahalia, born in Leicester, is one of the leading lights of the British music scene. At the intersection of neo-soul, R&B and hip-hop, she has worked with music superstars such as Burna Boy, Stormzy, Raye and Jacob Collier.

Mahalia was just 13 years old when she signed with a record label. She first performed at Montreux at age 20 in 2018. She called her debut at the festival “incredible” and said she was “really excited to be back at 26.”

Mahalia, who released studio albums including “Love and Compromise” in 2019 and “IRL” in 2023, has received numerous Grammy, BRIT, Soul Train and MTV Push nominations over the years, as well as two MOBO wins for Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act.

“I’m currently working on new music. I have plans to release it this year, which is really exciting. But I’m just having fun,” Mahalia said.

The Montreux Jazz Festival, founded in 1967, traditionally lasts two weeks every summer on the shores of Lake Geneva. Nearly 250,000 spectators attend the festival each year.

This year, the festival will travel to China for the third time, taking place in Suzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, from October 25 to 27 under the theme of the Montreux Jazz Festival China: “When West Meets East.”