Eska (singer)

For the Swedish airfield, see Gimo Air Base. For the Polish radio station, see Radio Eska. For the awards ceremony, see Eska Awards.

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.

Eska
Background information
Birth name	Eska Mtungwazi
Born	1971 (age 53–54)
Origin	Lewisham, London, England
Genres	Folk, soul, jazz, dance
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, record producer, session musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, violin, piano
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Earthling Recordings
Website	eskaonline.com

Early and personal life

Mtungwazi grew up in South-East London of Zimbabwean parents who moved to the city with her and her siblings when she was two.^[1] She describes her early musical exposure as "anything and everything. It was a really crazy mixture",^[1] but cites Quincy Jones 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,^[2] while exploring her other musical interests such as Bob Marley.^{[citation needed]} She is also an alumna of music education and artist development organisation Tomorrow's Warriors.^[3]

Life and career

After gaining a BSc degree in Mathematics from the London School of Economics, Mtungwazi became a teacher of Maths and Music^[4] 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,^[5] including Grace Jones and Bobby McFerrin.

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 and David Okumu. The EP attracted worldwide critical acclaim, including BBC Radio 6 tastemaker Gilles Peterson, who called her "one of the most important singers in the UK right now", and Jamie Cullum, who declared the EP's title song to be "an unbelievable track that will be hard to beat in 2013".^[6] The title track from the EP was also selected by Peterson for his Brownswood Bubblers 10 compilation, which was released on Brownswood Recordings.^[7]

In June 2022 Eska provided the support act for Grace Jones who programmed this year's Meltdown festival at London's Southbank Centre.^[8]

ESKA

Mtungwazi released her eponymous debut album ESKA on 26 April 2015.^[9] ESKA was well received by critics, and was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.^[10]

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,^[11] 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, Eska joined as vocalist. Her influence resulted in a new emphasis on pop music for the group.^[12]

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^[13]
• "Coochy Coo" (as En-Core with Stephen Emmanuel) (2000), Ice Cream Records – UK No. 32^[14]
• "Home" (with Uschi Classen) (2000), Earth Project
• "Sunset" (with Nitin Sawhney) (2001), V2 Records – UK No. 65^[15]
• "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/Wall of Sound
• "Monosabio Blues" (with Gecko Turner) (2007), LoveMonk