FEATURE: Spotlight: Hope Tala — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Rosie Matheson

Hope Tala

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I am putting out a fair few…

PHOTO CREDIT: Freddie Stisted

spotlight features, as there are a lot of great artists coming through that deserve some focus. Although Hope Tala has put out a few E.P.s so far, she is still building her foundations and fanbase. I will come to her most recent E.P., Girl Eats Sun, in a bit. That was released in November last year. I really love what the West Londoner is putting out into the world! In 2019, Vogue spoke with Hope Tala about her second E.P., Sensitive Soul (2019). We learn more about a fascinating and hugely talented young artist:

“Most 21-year-olds grapple with the pressures and anxieties of completing a university degree. But West Londoner, Hope Tala, managed to graduate from the University of Bristol with a first class honours in English Literature having spent three years juggling contact hours with professors, attending lectures, adhering to deadlines, all the while travelling to and from London, meeting and working with producers, in an effort to release her first EP Starry Ache and her second EP Sensitive Soul, out today.

Hope speaks fondly and rather nonchalantly about her impressive efforts. “I’m so happy I went to university for academic reasons but also because it enabled me to have the time and space to really develop my music and songwriting,” she told Miss Vogue. “Everything that’s happened with my music – having confidence in myself and putting my music out online all started at university. The timing just worked out really well. Had it had happened a year ago, I think I would have struggled. There were moments that were tough though, especially my single “Lovestained” coming out in April, right at the end of university when I was finishing my dissertation. Having your head in multiple places at once and not being able to concentrate on one thing is really hard. Now I’m glad to concentrate and focus on music”.

“The main reason I ever started making music was to create a sound that I’d never heard before but wanted to listen to – the result is a synthesis between bossa nova and Latin influences, with R&B and soul music too. I’d only ever heard singles like but never a full album. So, I wanted to make music where I consistently use those Latin influenced chord progressions and because it just makes me feel good. I want people to connect to some kind of emotion where my music can be an extension of what they’re feeling or that they can relate to it. I gravitate towards happy music – dancey songs that are fun, like J.Lo, “Get Right”, “Signs” by Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake. I want to make music that evokes that same feeling of happiness – just making people dance."

Lovestained” and the Sensitive Soul EP, evokes just that. Her light, soft vocals amidst the breezy, quintessential, bossa nova hand-plucked guitar melodies and chords, with trinkets of R&B and breezy, ambient neo-soul, captures the Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights romantic, sexy, sultry, hot summer moonlit night feels that can only be illustrated as the woman dancing in a red dress emoji, making it the perfect album to listen to of what's left of this summer.

“Through music – expressing myself, using female pronouns and being open about being gay has really contributed to my confidence in myself. Hearing people’s stories about how they can identify with my music, inspires me to continue being open about my sexuality. I was 14 when I thought I was bisexual and felt I was a part of the LGBTQIA+ community through music, books. Now, I want to be a part of that because it’s important for young queer people to be able to identify themselves with various forms of art”.

I want to bring things forward to the extraordinary Girl Eats Sun. I think that Tala was stunning on her earliest recordings, through last year’s E.P. shows new strengths and layers. In this interview with DORK of November last year, we learn about the connection between literature and Tala’s writing:

“Do songs find you, or do you have to go searching for them?

I search for them in that I’ll go through the notes on my phone and scan any little poems or phrases I’ve written for lyrical fodder. But I think there has to be a sort of equilibrium of energy where the song is out in the universe for me to catch on that particular day, and I’m in the right frame of mind to take hold of it.

Does your love of literature inform your music at all?

The more I read, the better I write. I would never be writing music if I wasn’t a big reader. It’s rare that I consciously start writing a song based on a storyline I’ve read or tried to emulate a particular author or anything like that, but I think subconsciously, and indirectly, my lyrical style has been cultivated almost completely by what I’ve read.

Tell us about the creation of your new EP, was it put together during lockdown?

I wrote ‘Drugstore’ in lockdown, but I’d made the other songs previously in the second half of 2019. All of those songs I wrote from scratch in the studio, which marked a big change for my writing process – every song on my first two EPs (other than ‘Valentine’ from ‘Starry Ache’) I had written outside of the studio, then taken to a producer. I wrote ‘Anywhere’ from ‘Sensitive Soul’ in the library at uni.

It feels really assertive. Are you generally a bold person, or is that something music pulls out of you?

I’d say I’m a bold person. Definitely a very assertive person – I’ve always been that way. I don’t see any way of surviving and succeeding as a woman of colour that doesn’t involve being assertive – of course, assertion is often misunderstood as either bossiness or aggression, which has caused very harmful stereotypes for women – Black women in particular. You can’t really win in that respect. But assertion is a particularly useful trait to have in a studio environment, in terms of protecting my sound.

If you have not checked out Girl Eats Sun, then go and stream it and discover six songs (is hat technically a mini-album?!) that are so arresting and interesting. I love the blend of sounds and the clear strength of Tala’s voice throughout. In an interview with EUPHORIA., she was asked about vocal layering and Latin blends that can be heard through several songs on Girl Eats Sun:

“I hear at least three songs from Girl Eats Sun that are very Latin music centered. Was that intentional?

That was just natural. The same two guys produced those three songs and I think they and I really share a love of Latin music. Also, I’ve always loved R&B music that incorporates Latin guitar, and I think that’s the sound I was trying to create. I’m very particular about my chords and I think that’s why my music has its own cohesive sound. Having a great guitar progression makes writing a song so easy.

When you said R&B songs with Latin guitar, the first one that came to my mind was “Señorita” by Justin Timberlake. But what are some others?

That’s the first one that came to my mind too! I think a lot of Justin Timberlake’s early music embodies that sound. “Señorita,” but there’s also one called “Still On My Brain” from that album which is kind of similar. I think Justified is an incredible album. That came out when I was a young kid and I became so obsessed. Who else? Some of Ashanti’s stuff. But definitely that early Justin Timberlake. He’s the best performer I’ve seen live hands down.

Speaking of your sound, I love how you layer your vocals. Is there a specific way you attack that in the studio?

I think honestly my vocals are so much better on this project then they have been, because the guys who produced most of the songs Baca and Brandon are super classically trained, or they studied jazz or something. They’re such perfectionists so I was in the booth way longer than I have been. Some of my first songs I did one take and I’d be like, “yeah, that’s fine,” because I didn’t know anything about vocal delivery. With these guys, it was a lot of repetition, but it was definitely worth it. It’s them that had ideas for where there needed to be a double or triple vocal take, or where there needed to be harmonies.

I have never agreed with anything more. I’ve seen that you said you are inspired by Shakespeare in your writing. But are there any other more modern novelists who inspire you as well?

That’s the thing my friends make fun of me for the most. They’ll read in some article that I’m talking about Shakespeare and rinse me for it! But there’s loads of modern writers that I love. There’s this French writer called Francois Sagan. I’m pretty sure she’s dead, but she wrote in the 20th Century. I don’t speak French but I read her stuff in translation. I love Zadie Smith, who’s a British writer. I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who’s a Nigerian author. Ruth Ozeki who’s a Japanese American-Canadian author. The best book I read this year is Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Those are the main ones. Maya Angelou…Audre Lorde.

Do any of them also inspire your lyric writing?

They definitely do, but I think it’s kind of indirect and subconscious. I always find that the more that I read the better my lyrics are. I’m not the type of person who hears a lyric in music or hears a chord progression or reads a line of writing and I’m like, “ok let me use that, or adopt that in some way.” Everyone obviously creates art in different ways. But it’s through osmosis that I consume stuff and then expel it. I don’t think it’s a conscious thing. However, I would say that Sylvia Plath is one of my all-time favorite authors and her poetry really inspired me to start writing poetry. So I think a lot of my early writing is really informed by her in a more direct way. I was talking to you before about writing about the body in the way that I do and rib cages and skin. She definitely writes like that. Her poetry collection Ariel particularly informed the fact that I write like that”.

I appreciate so much about Hope Tala’s music. Her lyrics, to me, are her strongest asset. The intelligence and poetic nature of her lyrics are sublime! One can listen to an E.P. like Girl Eats Sun and you will appreciate the vocals and compositions the first listen. You will come back just to experience the strength and depth of the words. In an interview with gal-dem, we discover more about Tala’s lyrical approach:

“Her love of words helps explain her uniquely creative lyrics, which are often vivid, dramatic and almost Shakespearean in nature. In ‘All My Girls Like To Fight’, for example, she sings “I lick their hands clean of bark and bite/so they can sleep deep at night” while in ‘Eden’, she cleverly rhymes “You want me to sing you a song of sixpence/Write you another rhyme/I would open my bones for you but I just don’t have the time/So the stories in my veins will have to do.” Her lyrics strike an impressive balance of feeling both deeply personal and open-ended at the same time. The artist wrote ‘All My Girls Like To Fight’, she says, about being in a relationship with someone who can fight while she feels too timid, but says that she doesn’t want the original meaning of a song to colour a listener’s interpretation.

“It’s important to me to write music that queer people can see themselves in, but I don’t want to force my own narrative onto anyone,” she says. “When I write I’m just doing what feels natural to me, but I’m happy that my lyrics are a bit open ended. I don’t think I can tell someone a song means one thing when they feel completely differently and have shaped it to fit their own experience. Once I’ve released my songs I always say, ‘these have nothing to do with me anymore.’”

‘Cherries’, one of the most popular songs off the Girl Eats Sun EP, is a prime example of how Hope’s words can take on several meanings. True to form, the tune is chalk full of fruit imagery and nature metaphors. The songs opening bars, “The cherries in your mouth spill stars/Scarlet venom to keep in jam jars,” endear and intrigue the listener in equal measure: while the image of cherries in jam jars suggests the song is shaping up to be a sweet love tune, the phrase “scarlet venom” introduces another, darker layer to the narrative. The rapper Aminé, who has supported Hope’s work since she started posting music on Soundcloud, is also featured on this track, and his bars help elevate Hope’s quiet sensuality to overt sexuality.

he fact that Hope can collaborate with both rapper Aminé and sultry singer-songwriter Raveena, is once more a testament to her artistic versatility. The artist has long had an eclectic musical taste. Growing up, she took clarinet and piano lessons and later went on to teach herself guitar. At home, Hope was fed the greats of R&B by her mother – Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo – while her dad, whose music tastes Hope describes as the most “controversial” of the family, would often play rock and funk hits by the Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the like. Her music tastes remain wide ranging today: “I’m listening to Ariana Grade’s new album every moment of the day,” she tells me while scrolling through her Spotify, “I really love the new Fiona Apple album, I’m loving the Skullcrusher EP. I don’t listen by genre at all, I just listen to whatever I think is good.” Her listeners are similarly diverse: Hope has recently garnered the attention of musician Ellie Goulding and even former US president Barack Obama.

Despite all her success, Hope remains steadfastly humble. “I appreciate that,” Hope remarks when I ask her what it’s been like to blow up as an artist, “but I definitely feel like it hasn’t happened yet.” Though her audience is steadily growing, Hope’s “undiscovered gem” status may just be part of her appeal to listeners.

2021 is set to be big for Hope Tala, who hopes to put out an album this year – though, as she says, “I don’t want to put crazy pressure on it.” If covid precautions allow, she also hopes to go on tour across Europe and North America. “I’ve never gone on tour so I’d love to this coming year,” she said. “I’d say releasing more music, going on tour, collaborating, and going to other people’s shows, that would be the dream.”

The future may look uncertain right now but one thing is for sure: now that Hope has chosen to pursue her music for sure, she can take the heat in 2021 and beyond”.

I am going to finish up with a review for the Girl Eats Sun E.P. The past year or two has seen more E.P.s released than any other time by the look of things. I am not sure why there has been such a rise. It is a good way to put material out before an album. I do wonder if we will get an album from Hope Tala this year. With each E.P., we get new colours and stories from a sensational artist. This is what The Tufts Daily wrote when they reviewed Girl Eats Sun:

“In terms of subject, Tala mostly writes about love and breakups. She frequently uses motifs of fruit ripeness, the body and sunlight which span from single songs like “Cherries” to the title of the EP itself. While beautiful, her metaphor-rich lyrics sometimes sound like a slam poetry writer presenting flowery metaphors as overly profound. This is particularly true in this album, where her attempts to comment on female power in relationships come off as less nuanced than in previous songs. For example, her earlier song “Eden” (2018) explores patriarchy and unequal power dynamics, even in her own same-gender relationship, through the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Another previous song, “Lovestained” (2019), looked at both the positive and damaging effects of love with interesting implications for expectations of female purity. By contrast, “All My Girls Like To Fight” defies traditional gender roles by presenting women as aggressive and unapologetic, an undeniably important message but comparatively obvious.

This is surprising considering Tala’s love of analyzing traditional English texts and modern music alike. Tala received a degree in English literature from the University of Bristol and turned down the opportunity to get her master’s at the University of Cambridge to focus on music. She even wrote her dissertation on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015), and in a VICE article she admired his complicated political messages.

However, she commented that she doesn’t see herself as equally capable of writing music about politics. It’s perfectly understandable if she prefers to write about other topics, but the fact that her new EP continues the same musical and content-related themes without adding anything new makes it seem like she is not stretching herself to evolve. Clearly, she has much room to grow if she hopes to achieve her ambitious goals, reported by Refinery29, to “win a Grammy [and] be a professor.”

That said, her career is still relatively young and she is off to a strong start. We can still appreciate the pleasant simplicity of “Girl Eats Sun” while we wait to see what Tala does next. In fact, a Dork article quotes her saying that the lightheartedness of the love song “Crazy” is intentional; with such serious matters like COVID-19 threatening the world right now, Tala knows that listeners hardly need anything more serious weighing on their minds. As we anticipate both Tala’s next release and the end of the pandemic, “Girl Eats Sun” is well worth a listen, even if just for the romantic daydream of a post-COVID-19, care-free summer day on the beach that it provides”.

Go and follow Hope Tala and listen to her fantastic music. I am looking forward to seeing what comes next. I think that she is going to be a big artist of the future. In a packed music industry, it can be hard to determine which artists are worth backing. I feel Hope Tala is someone everyone needs to get behind. She has started her career with very strong releases and hugely original music. I think, as she continues to release new music, she will get…