Eska Mtungwazi (born 1971), known professionally as Eska, is a London-born British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Following her inaugural release as a solo artist with her 2013 ''Gatekeeper EP'', her eponymous debut album, ''

ESKA Eska Mtungwazi (born 1971), known professionally as Eska, is a London-born British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Following her inaugural release as a solo artist with her 2013 ''Gatekeeper EP'', her eponymous debut album, '' ESKA' ...

'', was released on 27 April 2015.

Early and personal life

Mtungwazi grew up in South-East London of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an parents who moved to the city with her and her siblings when she was two.Clark, Alex
"Eska Mtungwazi: 'I deferred my life for years'"
''The Guardian'', 8 November 2015. She describes her early musical exposure as "anything and everything. It was a really crazy mixture", but cites

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

as being particularly influential at her young age. With the assistance of her teachers, she began learning the violin, earning herself a scholarship at

The Conservatoire The Conservatoire (formally The Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts) is an educational charity in Blackheath, on the border of the London boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham. The Conservatoire of Music and the Arts took on its curren ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

,Brown, Helen
"Eska: the finest female vocalist in the UK"
''The Telegraph'', 15 April 2015. while also exploring her other musical interests such as

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Life and career

After gaining a BSc in Mathematics from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, Mtungwazi became a teacher of Maths and MusicCornwell, Jane
"Eska interview: 'Feeling like you’re not the right size or shade gets to you'"
''The Evening Standard'', 10 August 2016. During this time she spent many years as a backing singer on other musicians' projects, and steadily built a reputation in the UK for her featured work with an eclectic range of established British artists and bands, including

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

and

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

. Following vocal credits on many independent releases throughout the 2000s, in 2013 she released her debut solo project titled ''Gatekeeper EP'' on her own Earthling Recordings label, which featured five original tracks and was co-produced by producers

Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. Career Mat ...

and David Okumu. The EP attracted worldwide critical acclaim, including

BBC Radio 6 BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

tastemaker

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

, who called her "one of the most important singers in the UK right now", and

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

, who declared the EP's title song to be "an unbelievable track that will be hard to beat in 2013". The title track from the EP was also selected by Peterson for his ''Brownswood Bubblers 10'' compilation, which was released on

Brownswood Recordings Brownswood Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Gilles Peterson in 2006. The label has released an eclectic range of music, reflecting Peterson's diverse musical taste. The roster includes Ben Westbeech, Ghostpoe ...

. In June 2022 Eska provided the support act for

who programmed this year's Meltdown festival at London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

''ESKA''

Mtungwazi released her eponymous debut album ''

'' on 26 April 2015. ''ESKA'' was well received by critics, and was nominated for the 2015

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Second album

On 18 August 2016, it was announced via ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' that Eska would be one of 18 emerging artists to receive #Momentum funding from the PRS Foundation Speaking on her selection, PRSF said "Eska’s restless inventiveness will continue to be explored further on her sophomore album and in her live performances which have become legendary showcases for this inimitable artist.

Vocalist for Zero 7

In 2007, when

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

left

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song "Destiny" stayed ...

, Eska joined as vocalist. Her influence resulted in a new emphasis on pop music for the group.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2015)

EPs

*''Gatekeeper EP'' (2013)

Singles

;As main artist *"Rock of Ages" (2015), Earthling Recordings *"Shades of Blue" (2015), Earthling Recordings *"Many People of the Songbird" (with Jesse Hackett and Louis Hackett) (2016), Gearbox ;As featured artist *"What U Do" (with Colours / Stephen Emmanuel) (1998), Inferno – UK No. 51 *"Coochy Coo" (as En-Core with Stephen Emmanuel) (2000), Ice Cream Records – UK No. 32 *"Home" (with Uschi Classen) (2000), Earth Project *"Sunset" (with

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian ...

) (2001),

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

– UK No. 65 *"Rocc It 2nite" (with Quango) (2004), People *"The Way We Like It" (with Natalie Williams & Ty) (2006),

East Side Records Almighty Records is an English electronic dance music record label established in 1989. Almighty Records specialises in pop song remixes, dance-pop, and hi-NRG. The label's record producers, Almighty Associates, have remixed such performers as R ...

*"Dirty Basement" (with Elektrons) (2007), Genuine/

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

*"Monosabio Blues" (with Gecko Turner) (2007), LoveMonk

References

External links

* – official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eska 1971 births Living people English women singer-songwriters English women guitarists English guitarists English record producers English people of Zimbabwean descent 21st-century Black British women singers People from Lewisham Singers from London British women record producers 21st-century British guitarists UK garage singers 21st-century women guitarists