In the novel High Fidelity, Nick Hornby gives one of the most transcendental affirmations of modern culture: “What came first –the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?” For the main character, music is a compilation of heartbreak, rejection, pain, and misery. Listening to the same sad lyrics over and over culminates in forgoing any chance at happiness. A good example of Hornby’s theory is Adele, the world’s most tragic lady.
Without going to much in to it, I’ll say that songs such as “Someone Like You”, “Set Fire to the Rain”, and “Take It All” are a dagger straight to the heart because of how they allude to the singer’s emotions after being stood up at the altar on several occasions. When we listen to her lyrics it’s quite easy to get swept up in into a miserable self-deprecating funk. And we love it. That’s the key to her success, her tragic life.
However, hidden behind Adele’s wounded shadow, there is a another singer-songwriter that surpasses pop music’s predictable shapes to create incredible music concerning subjects that are even more vital than a broken heart. Eska Mtungwazi is a woman who has endured loneliness, racism, and the longing for a true home throughout her entire life.
Born in Zimbabwe, her parents moved to the UK when she was only two. She grew up as Camus’s stranger, never quite feeling part of this new society, but with a heart overflowing with feelings. Her musical education was quite refined. She started playing the piano by the hand of Schumann, Mozart, and Haydn. Once she learned from the masters of classical music, she began to delve into the world of jazz. Her favorites include Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and Dave Brubeck. Then after succeeding in that area she dived into folk music.
This array of genres makes up Eska’s background and yet, despite her exquisite sound, she still has not received the same acclaim as Adele. It’s strange, isn’t it? The world has first class sounds within reach, colorful, full of texture, and emotion. And still they prefer to continue depressed listening to sad love songs that have only one hue: tragic red.
But we shouldn’t be fooled by the bright lights emanating from her self-titled album ESKA (2015) or Gatekeeper EP (2015). Mtungwazi has lived through her share of pain and tragedy as well. In an interview with Yorokubo, the British artist spoke of the difficulties she encounters when composing music as well as because of her African heritage. She explained that renowned British artist, Matthew Herbet, suggested she wrote music to describe what it feels like to be Eska.It was at that point when everything that seemed to overwhelm her began to take shape. She asked herself, “Who am I? What is my place in this world? Am I making an album of African-American music because they expect me to, because I’m black? Or will I make a record about what it means to be a child of an immigrant family, growing up in a multicultural London, learning Classical, Jazz, and Gospel music?”Eska knows she’s British because it’s the country she’s resided in since childhood. It’s where she grew up and found her voice. But she can’t deny her roots either. “In the UK nobody asks me where I’m from, and if they do, I tell them I’m from London. But, when I’m asked that outside the UK, I say London and they ask me again. It’s then when I realize that that they want to know where I was born [Zimbabwe], but I was only there two years,” she managed to say between giggles during the interview. “Then, if I go to Zimbabwe, they call me white girl.”
Living in constant movement takes a toll, which then becomes a source of inspiration for her music. Eska could bundle up all her issues and give them to her audience like Adele does. Fortunately she’s not like that. She’d rather win over the public in an honest way without recurring to schmaltz that only buries the listeners in pop misery. There are a few places that recognize her work and invite others to listen to this combination of experimental folk, R&B, and Gospel. It’s a magical spell that brings happiness back into our lives.Prior to realize her solo project, Eska had collaborated in 150 productions, next to great musicians such as Bobby McFerrin, Nitin Sawhney, Grace Jones, and Cinematic Orchestra. She was nominated for a Mercury Prize, competing alongside Björk, Aphex Twin, and Jamie XX. All this and contemporary culture still places her beneath Adele.
Translated by María Suárez
