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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

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. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

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

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

. She is also an alumna of music education and artist development organisation Tomorrow's Warriors.

Life and career

After gaining a BSc degree in Mathematics from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, 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 Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

and

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

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

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

BBC Radio 6 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

tastemaker

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

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

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

, 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 Oreglo, Ben Westbeech ...

. In June 2022 Eska provided the support act for

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

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

''ESKA''

Mtungwazi released her eponymous debut album '' ESKA'' 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 award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

''The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman''

Almost 10 years since her debut album's release, Eska released her sophomore album "The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman" in April/May 2025. A departure from normal music industry standards, the album was first released on physical media on 25th April before receiving a digital release on 23rd May. In a BBC 6 Music with Gilles Peterson interview, she stated that the vinyl release first was a conscious decision "based on the principle that films go out to cinema first, so why in music don't we do the same?". The album was preceded by the release of three four digital singles: "Down Here", "Magic Woman", "Human" and "Daddy Long Lengs". The album is a mix of alternative rock and electronic sounds.

Vocalist for Zero 7

In 2007, when Sia left

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

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

Discography

Albums

*'' ESKA'' (2015) *''The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman'' (2025)

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 *"Down Here" (2025) *"Magic Woman" (2025) *"Human" (2025) *"Daddy Long Legs" (2025) ;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 (; 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 and other ...

) (2001),

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music and V2 Benelux; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007, sold to PIAS in 2013 and partially acquired by Universal in 2022 (as part of larger PIAS 49% ...

– UK No. 65 *"Rocc It 2nite" (with Quango) (2004), People *"The Way We Like It" (with Natalie Williams & Ty) (2006), East Side Records *"Dirty Basement" (with Elektrons) (2007), Genuine/

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...

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 singer-songwriters English women guitarists English guitarists English record producers English people of Zimbabwean descent 21st-century Black British women singers 21st-century British women singers People from Lewisham Singers from the London Borough of Lewisham British women record producers 21st-century British guitarists UK garage singers 21st-century British women guitarists Tomorrow's Warriors alumni