Britain's
Hope Tala makes buoyantly lyrical pop that combines bossa nova and Latin influences with R&B and soul. She has released several sophisticated and buzzed-about EPs, including 2019's Sensitive Soul and 2020's
Girl Eats Sun.
Born in West London,
Tala played clarinet growing up and participated in her school orchestra and band program. Influenced early on by artists like
Brandy,
Mariah Carey, and
Lauryn Hill, she taught herself to play guitar and began writing her own songs. It was while attending the University of Bristol that she expanded her sound, drawing upon the Brazilian bossa nova of
Astrid Gilberto and the jazzy electronic pop of
Everything But the Girl. She began dedicating more of her time to music, and in 2018 released the Jamal Hadaway-produced Starry Ache EP. A year later, she returned with another Hadaway production, the Sensitive Soul EP, which included the viral track "Lovestained." That same year, she graduated university with first class honors in English Literature and turned down a chance at earning her master's degree from Cambridge to pursue music. In September 2020, she released her third EP,
Girl Eats Sun, which included the Spanish-tinged "All My Girls Like to Fight."
Tala returned in 2021 with the single "Mad" and was featured on
Hauskey's track "One Minute."~ Matt Collar