Last month Eska received some fantastic news – she’d been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize – making her self-titled debut album one of their twelve albums of the year. Eska told me that being nominated for an award for creative achievement, and for her first solo album, meant a great deal to her.
I asked Eska which other nominees she has enjoyed listening to. She told me that “there has been some killer music released in 2015. I’m still listening through this list and beyond! Thus far I’ve found every album pretty dynamic. Wolf Alice is a current fave.”
One of the reasons for her nomination was for her variety across the album. I asked what influences drove her musical writing process. Eska said that “for this record, I was going for a classic sound, so virtually everything was played on real instruments. Each song (apart from the a cappella ‘Dear Evelyn’) contains at least 6 different people breathing life in to the music in some shape or form. It’s chamber music; warm, intimate and human.”
There was a lot of work to turn ESKA – Eska into a release. She told me that “the bulk of the song writing was done over an 18 month period. The process of releasing the music was far more complex; a £20,000 investment of my own money – and that wasn’t raised overnight – A&R-ing the entire project, setting up my own Earthling label, dealing with legal issues and planning the best release approach for the album which included releasing my Gatekeeper EP first, touring… and then I had a baby!”
“The album is a document of these songs so the sound recordings will always remind me of a particular time in my life but the songs in themselves have a life of their own every time I play them. The meaning and feeling can change – that’s the power in a song.”
Eska Mtungwazi’s voice is really unique and gorgeous to listen to; soulful and sustained but with a lightness of touch. I asked how she started singing in the first place. “I started singing in school choir from the age of 11. I’ve always enjoyed making music with others, so ensemble singing seemed like the easiest way to do that. I had absolutely no aspirations of being a solo singer. I ended up singing on my own because every group I was ever in broke up!”
Eska’s recording band line-up was; Drums: Tom Skinner (from Hello Skinny), Bass: Robin Mullarkey, Electric Guitar: David Okumu (from The Invisible), Acoustic Guitar: Al Cherry, Keys: Sam Beste (from Hejira). “In addition, I played a variety of instruments on each track but mainly keys/harmonium/vibraphone on the initial sessions. Several guest musicians contributed in those sessions as well as overdub sessions at a later date.” Her live band line-up is; Drums: Jose Joyette, Bass: Andy Hamill, Guitar: Joe Newman, Harmonica: Philip Achille and she plays cuatro, guitar and keys.
Getting into some detail about the album itself, a real standout track for me is ‘Gatekeeper’. I asked Eska if she could tell me a bit more about that track. “I played a sequence of chords on guitar and the first word I sang was ‘Gatekeeper’; it felt and sounded right although I had no idea what the word was going to mean. I kept the lyrics cryptic by reversing word orders, e.g. ‘Gatekeeper, surely a strange kinda helper to come later’ was derived from, ‘Gatekeeper, surely a kind stranger to help the late comer’ – that was a ‘nod’ to Matthew Herbert.”
It’s hard to describe the album as a single entity as the variety actively defies definition. I suggested that perhaps Eska’s sound could be described as ‘gospel folk’ and she responded “Call it whatever you like, I’m not interested in being reductive about music in that way. It’s music that I made at a particular point in time and I’m not beholden to replicating it, stylistically.”
It’s that sense of freedom that generates a sense of positive energy in each song on the album. ‘Shades of Blue’ is the poppy single at the centre of the track list, but it’s paired next to ‘Heroes & Villains’, with its funky backing track that’s wonderfully ever so slightly reminiscent of The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’. Eska’s voice drives each track and the instruments compliment and blend behind, gently following her progress.
If you’re in London at the end of the month you can catch Eska performing at the Islington Assembly Hall. What can her audience look forward to? “Sexual healing, hot chocolate, tea and biscuits served afterwards. Please bring your own mugs. If none of that happens, we’ll have a good time anyway, I promise.”
The overall winner of the Mercury Music Prize will be announced on 29th November 2015.
Eska plays Islington Assembly Hall on 27th November.
Internew 