Eska

Born in Zimbabwe and raised in Lewisham, South London, Eska Mtungwazi—known simply as Eska—performs as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose work fuses soul, folk, jazz, and blues while resisting easy classification. She first gained recognition for her versatility by serving as a background and featured vocalist across many projects. Throughout the late 1990s and into the early 2010s, producers and groups including New Sector Movements, Troubleman, the Cinematic Orchestra, and Herbert frequently called on her contributions. With assistance from Dave Okumu and Herbert, she completed the Gatekeeper EP and released it herself on the Earthling label in 2013. Gilles Peterson placed the title track on the tenth edition of his Brownswood Bubblers compilation. Her self-titled debut album followed two years afterward and received a Mercury Prize nomination that year.