Essosa: Living on a Dream
Essosa is a 21 year old singer/songwriter, originally born in East London, United Kingdom. Doubling up as a dancer as well, Essosa truly can put on a full performance, as seen in her 2021 visual of her single “Lemonade”, in which she directs, sings, and dances her way through the entirety of the ballad. During this interview she discussed her first ever song she released at just the age of 17, and how she wrote and produced this piece as well from start to finish, across several different instruments.
Singing and music has been something that has always been a passion for Essosa. Beginning with trips to the choir with her mother at a young age, to her melodic performances of today, the London artist has displayed nothing short of evolution and talent. Not only is she herself versatile, but her taste and inspirations are as well, paying homage to the “GOATS” such as Janet Jackson, Beyonce, etc. While also showing love to various “alt” acts from the UK and US, such as a Tribe Called Quest. Her old school inspiration can definitely be felt across her work which gives off some very chill retro vibes.
Sonically her sound is pure, smooth, and intricate. The dedication and time spent on her craft can easily be heard despite the small sample size of distributed music out now on streaming. She promises that she has much more consistent offerings coming in the future for her listeners, as well as many more shows, and a potential trip to the US on the horizon. But as for now, please enjoy the rest of this conversation to get more insight on the wonderful Essosa.
First can you just tell me a little about yourself?
I am Essosa (pronounced “ess-osa”) and I am a singer, songwriter, and dancer. I was born in East London, raised in Toronto, but I’m currently based in London. I’m also a uni student studying pharmacy, so I’m doing both things at once. My main foundation is like neo-soul, R&B, pop, and dance stuff, kind of like a mesh of all of those.
Where does your name come from?
It’s my middle name actually. It’s pretty much a misspelled version of my middle name. My actual middle name is Aiseosa (pronounced “eye-sosa”). But when I was making music, I was worried that people wouldn’t be able to pronounce it, so I just switched it about so that it would be easier to pronounce. But it was kind of pointless because people still mispronounce it.
How old are you?
I’m 21!
Okay cool, and when did you start making music?
When I was younger I used to always sing, even when I was like a baby. I was a pretty creative child. My mum was in the choir at church, I would always watch her sing. Then we moved to England, it was a lot to go through. It was hard as a child to move to another country. But I would get my frustrations out by writing songs. That was when I was about 7 years old, so I’ve been writing music pretty consistently since then. When I was 17 I released my first song, I had a live band play all the music, produced it myself. Since the last year and a half I’ve been more consistent with refining my sound, working with new producers.
Who are some of your favorite artists to listen to?
Oh gosh! Don’t make fun of me, because I do listen to a lot of old acts. I’ll do my old music influences and then my new-school influences. The people I listen to regularly are Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige, that sort. I really like old school hip-hop as well, A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC. They influence more of my production as well.
My more contemporary influences are really random but: Charlie XCX. She makes a completely different type of music but I liked her process of making music, and that’s what inspires me. Charlie XCX, Kali Uchis, Steve Lacy, The Internet, Ravyn Lenae, those sort of more alternative types of artists.
What’s the UK music scene like? I’m not very hip.
You know what, the UK music scene is doing really well right now. If you’re tapped into UK music, it’s been the best it’s been in a long time. It’s so diverse, the most diverse it has been in awhile. Especially because streaming culture has broadened out the culture. We have house, R&B, grime, alternative, alternative rap. There’s just so many different sectors, this is definitely the best time to be a UK artist.
Do you think the music industry there differs from the US?
I mean it’s a lot smaller here. Everyone knows everyone, but the UK in general is quite small. I think the major difference is that it’s just smaller and it seems to be a lot more focused on chart success. But I think the underground scene is growing a lot more now too.
What is it like being Black in the UK?
I love it to be honest. I don’t think I’d want to be anywhere else. A lot of us are first generation migrants, so our parents came from another country. Because they came directly here, we’re still connected to our roots and our culture. It’s easier to bond with other people, I’m African, first generation African. Most of my friends are first generation Africans as well. Then I obviously have my friends with Caribbean roots, they’re still very rooted to their culture as well. The afro-caribbean culture is very intertwined, and it’s just so beautiful because it’s like having your own country in another country. You know what I mean? That’s what I like about it. I went to Nigeria this year, and the music I was hearing there wasn’t very different from the music you would hear in London. I love it.
Going back to your music, what’s your production process like?
I used to actually produce music but I kind of lost my confidence in it. But I’m trying to gain that back at some point. In the meantime I work with my friend who produces, he went to my school. He’ll give me ideas for songs and then we’ll go back and forth, he’ll send me a beat, I’ll write lyrics for it, record in my room, and then he’ll mix and master. I used to study engineering in school, so I know what I want to hear on my own tracks. So I’ll just be like: “Oh we should automate this” or “Pan this”. So I still have a lot of creative control, but I try to leave the production to my collaborator.
What inspires your lyrics?
Oh God! My lyrics, especially the recent songs I’ve been writing are all about my life experiences. I think the music I’ve released so far is mainly based on Black experiences. I’ve been going through a lot of stuff this year, and I think a lot of the music from this year has been about negative experiences. But I do this thing where I make a song and it sounds super happy, but the lyrics are super sad. Like my song “Lemonade”, it was written about a very bad experience I had, but the tempo is very upbeat. If you look at the lyrics, you would think it’s a heartbreak type of song, but even the melody is very very happy. So that’s what I’ve been trying to do, it’s like turning pain into joy.
Interesting. My favorite project of yours is Dreamworld, what was it like making that?
I was in lockdown, in quarantine during that time. We were recording under the strictest measures. That’s when I bought most of my own recording equipment because I couldn’t go to the studio. I wrote most of that when I was out of the city, because I couldn’t get back into London. Everything was shut down. It was quite a bleak time to be honest. I had no job, I just had some beats. I hadn’t met my producer yet but he sent me some beats. Those songs are really my safe haven. The first one, “Belong”, was based on me coming into uni and feeling left out. I always go back to that song everytime I’m feeling like that. I wrote that song in February 2020 and it didn’t come out until April 2020 so I was really just using that as a coping mechanism throughout that time during the pandemic.
If you had to name the sound of your music, without saying “R&B”, what would you say?
Ummmm. I would say Alternative Pop.
Are there any other genres you want to experiment with in the future?
100% Hyperpop. I want to do Hyperpop so bad. I would love to experiment with a mix of that and R&B too. I want to do more Dance music as well. Not like EDM but like the 80’s & 90’s Dance music. Some more Alternative sounding things as well like Alternative Rock. I want to do everything, as an artist I want to do everything but I want to establish a sound first.
What are some of your other goals as an artist?
I just want to be the best. I can’t lie, I want to be the best at everything I can as an artist. I know it’s cliché like: “I want to be famous” or “I want to be a superstar”. But I do want to be a superstar. I’ve been working my ass off so it better be worth it. That’s my ultimate long-term goal.
What’s next for you?
I’m always performing at shows in London. I would love to have an opportunity to perform at a show in the States, because I have a pretty big fan base there. After the UK the US are my top listened to. Other than that just making music, being consistent, making an international fanbase.
That’s really all I got, is there anything else you want the people to know?
I’m going to be dropping music consistently this next year. Other than that not really. I don’t want to make promises like: “Oh my album is going to come out”. But that’s really it.