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 Gillian Mtungwazi (born 1971), known mononymously as Eska, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.^[1] 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
Eska in 2008
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

Born 1971, Mtungwazi grew up in Lewisham in South-East London.^[1] She was raised by Zimbabwean parents who moved to London with her and her siblings when she was two.^[2] She describes her early musical exposure as "anything and everything. It was a really crazy mixture".^[2] She 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,^[3] while exploring her other musical interests such as Bob Marley.^{[citation needed]} She is also an alumna of music education and artist development organization Tomorrow's Warriors.^[4]

Life and career

After gaining a BSc degree in Mathematics from the London School of Economics, Mtungwazi became a math and music teacher.^[5] During this time she spent many years as a backup singer on other musicians' projects, and steadily built a reputation in the UK for her featured work with a range of established British artists and bands,^[6] including Grace Jones, Bobby McFerrin, Zero 7, UNKLE, Kae Tempest, Shabaka Hutchings, Nitin Sawhney, Matthew Herbert, and Baxter Dury.^[1]

Following vocal credits on many independent releases throughout the 2000s, Mtungwazi released her debut solo project titled Gatekeeper EP on her own Earthling Recordings label in 2013. The EP 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".^[7] The title track from the EP was also selected by Peterson for his Brownswood Bubblers 10 compilation, which was released on Brownswood Recordings.^[8]

In June 2022, Mtungwazi provided the support act for Grace Jones, who programmed that year's Meltdown festival at London's Southbank Centre.^[9]

ESKA

Mtungwazi released her eponymous debut album, ESKA, on 26 April 2015.^[10] ESKA was well received by critics and was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.^[11]

The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman

Almost 10 years after her debut album's release, Mtungwazi released her sophomore album "The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman" in April/May 2025. In a BBC 6 Music with Gilles Peterson interview,^[12] she stated that releasing the vinyl 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 four digital singles: "Down Here", "Magic Woman", "Human" and "Daddy Long Legs". The album is a mix of alternative rock and electronic sounds.

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
• "Mr McGee," "Medicine Man," "Sleeper" and "The Road" (with Zero 7) (2009), Atlantic