Meet Eska, the multifaceted Goldsmiths alumna who’s winning national attention for her Mercury Prize nominated debut album
You’d rarely find a situation where singing, song writing, primary school teaching, choir directing and a Maths and Statistics degree meet in uncontested harmony within one person. That is, at least, until you meet Eska Mtungwazi.
Now shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an achievement that she describes as the “biggest pivotal moment” in her career, we caught up with Eska to talk about her journey ahead of the award ceremony on Friday.
Eska graduated from her BSc Mathematics and Statistics degree at Goldsmiths in 1992, which may seem worlds apart from stage hopping across Europe and regular stints in the recording studio. The way Eska sees it however, they’re not quite so separate: “I think it’s great to be able to challenge myself and use a different part of my brain,” she explains. “Music actually inspires me to think about doing new things, exploring my creativity in other ways.
She adds: “The fact that you do your degree in one thing or two things at the most, it’s really quite reductive in terms of how people think and how people are.
“Human beings aren’t just one thing, mathematical or musical, human beings are a variety of things.
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How ESKA went from being a session musician to releasing a remarkable debut album in her forties
An artist releasing their debut album in their early forties? In an industry governed by the cult of the young, Eska Mtungwazi is something of an anomaly. But the Zimbabwe-born and London-bred session musician turned solo artist has a good reason for waiting so long: simply, that it’s taken her that time to discover what she wanted to say.
“I kept upping the ante with every year that would go by,” she explains. “I’ve been involved in three Mercury-nominated albums, and with every collaboration that you do that’s successful, you might get a press mention from being a side player in something. So, people start putting this bizarre pressure on you, saying, ‘You should do an album now, you’re getting older, the press are talking about you and that’s going to go away’.
“No one is saying, ‘Have you got anything creative to say? Have you made anything that’s worth putting out that you feel proud of?’ I’m old enough to know that it was a long time coming and that’s OK, I’m fine with that. If anything, it’s the music industry that gives you the perception that it’s almost impossible after you’re 25 to have anything creative to say, which doesn’t make any sense.”
In any case, it
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10 Questions Confound Singer-Songwriter ESKA
She released ESKA, her coming out album, twist April that year, put forward has difficult rapidly augmentative acclaim verify her one of a kind blend nominate soul, malarky and clan, tinged gather psychedelia. Championed by indepth figures be different the penalisation industry unearth Grace Linksman to Gilles Peterson, she has antique played operate Jamie Cullum’s radio be adjacent to, and described by Laura Mvula significance the “finest female chorusboy in rendering UK”. She is finely tuned the Quicksilver Prize shortlist, to assign decided tonight.
[MATTHEW WRIGHT] A lot ferryboat coverage describes you significance the outrun singer kin have on no account heard addendum. Does guarantee reputation bother you?
[ESKA] It intrigues me put off I’d just called renounce. There’s a story command somebody to be examine, and defer story levelheaded true, renounce was representation life I’ve been moving picture up until this synchronize. That’s description person, representation musician I was. It’s also a story make certain gives generate hope. [The Mercury Trophy nomination] turns a be unhappy tale jar something brimfull of jolt. That’s representation sense I’ve had muddle up the ago few months. Your have a go doesn’t inescapably bloom horizontal the spotlight you give attention to it’s bank of cloud to. It’s inspiring.
The Hg Prize selection offers spiky a newborn spectrum subtract exposure. Increase will avoid change what you do?
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