ESKA

ESKA - The Ordinary Life Of A Magic Woman:

Blurring the lines between the mundane and the mystical, ESKA’s latest album, The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman, is a profound exploration of motherhood, artistry, and the delicate dance between daily rhythms and creative transcendence. For ESKA, these aren’t opposing forces—they’re inseparable threads in a richly woven life.

“It’s the sound of a first-generation, middle-aged African British woman living in post-everything Southeast London,” ESKA reflects. “A sonic alchemist crafting in my Deptford studio during the quiet early hours, while by day I’m a home educator to my 10-year-old daughter. Ageing has distilled what truly matters—this need to create feels more urgent and focused now. There’s little time for navel-gazing whilst the world is on fire.”

After two decades of trailblazing collaborations with world-renowned artists, ESKA’s new album stands as her most personal and compelling work yet. A self-directed journey, it sees her embracing her ultimate creative partner: herself.

“This project gave me the freedom to push my ‘voice painting’ approach further,” she explains. “I don’t have a single voice or style. Each song became its own canvas, shaping my vocal and production choices in unique ways.”

Rooted in her eclectic musical upbringing, ESKA pulls inspiration from the sounds and influences that have defined her journey, breaking free of conventional boundaries. The result is a body of work that defies easy categorisation—bold, dynamic, and unmistakably hers.

ESKA: A Genre-Hopping Journey:

ESKA’s eclectic career has seen her collaborating with an impressive roster of internationally acclaimed artists, from Grace Jones and Zero 7 to Tony Allen and fashion designer Rick Owens. Her extensive experience also includes choral directing for luminaries such as Matthew Herbert and Bobby McFerrin.

This rich tapestry of sonic experiences culminated in ESKA’s self-titled debut album in 2015, a Mercury Prize-nominated masterpiece that seamlessly blends experimental and organic sounds. Her artistic curiosity then led her to the stage, where she made her acting and theatre scoring debut in 2021 at The National Theatre with Kae Tempest’s Paradise.

In 2024, ESKA continued her collaboration with Tempest and producer Dan Carey, co-writing songs for the fictional band Fuck The Factory, featured in Steven Knight’s This Town (BBC Production). That same year, she made her film score debut with Leo Leigh’s Sweet Sue (Curzon/BBC Production) and contributed to the score for India Rakusen’s award-winning Child Podcast (BBC Sounds/Radio 4).

Recently, ESKA has lent her writing and vocal arranging talents to albums by Anthony Joseph, Shabaka Hutchings, Dave Okumu and Baxter Dury. Always pushing creative boundaries, she is now writing her first opera, Woman & Machine, commissioned by the Royal Opera House (debuting at Royal Opera House 2027).