BT River of Music: Beverley Knight & Naturally 7 for London 2012 The squawking debate arising from both Danny Boyle's choice of music for the Olympics opening ceremony and the performers selected for the attendant concerts has revealed yet another area of life where Britain seems undecided about how it should define itself. Are we about classical or pop? Experimentation or tradition? Vera Lynn or Underworld? The obvious answer is of course both - the genius of British music is surely that it has embraced and absorbed all these sounds. A long-term champion for this point of view is soul singer Beverley Knight, who has been a smiling, fiery - voiced ambassador for British soul for the last 17 years. Born in Wolverhampton to Jamaican parents and surrounded by gospel, R&B and reggae styles, Knight grew up listening to records from around the world. For her, British soul, as opposed to the American version it came out of, is a much more eclectic school. If America is the home of making a formula work brilliantly, in Britain we are the home of innovation. We listened to the soul music coming out of the States and we added our own kind of African high life rhythms, Caribbean bass lines, even rock guitars. We are the risk takers. With seven albums, countless music awards and an MBE under her belt, Knight has travelled the world, collaborating with the likes of Ronnie Wood and Chaka Khan, and local musicians in Malawi and Brazil. For BT River of Music, she will be backed by American beatboxing group Naturally 7. Right now I am really into improvising and throwing together different sounds. Whatever it turns out like on the day, it will definitely be up - tempo! Beverley Knight performs on the BT River of Music Europe stage on Sunday at Somerset House.