Tawiah
Tawiah is a British alternative-soul signer and songwriter based in London.
Tawiah | |
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Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
Genres | Alt-soul, neo-soul, jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | Lima Limo, Warner Bros., Bush Girl Records, First Word Records |
Website | tawiahmusic |
Early life
Tawiah was born to Ghanaian parents in Battersea, South West London, where she grew up with her two brothers on the 18th floor of a council estate. She describes her childhood as filled with church, laughter and playing out on the block. Tawiah was raised in a Pentecostal household honing her early singing capabilities as a young praise and worship leader in the Gospal Choir. Inspired by jazz, soul, rnb and Gospel she also learned to play the piano, guitar and clarinet. She attended Burntwood Academy for girls singing in their classical choir, she was nominated by her music teacher for a place at the BRIT School, which she was successful in gaining alongside her contemporaries Amy Winehouse, Adele and Jessie J.
Musical career
Tawiah [pronounced Taa-We-Ah] has a well earned reputation as a trailblazer in the world of alt-soul as one of the UKs finest singer / songwriters and as an exciting live performer.
Over the last decade, Tawiah self-released award winning EP In Jodi's Bedroom (Bush Girl Records) and Recreate on Lima Limo Records. In 2019, she released her debut album Starts Again on First Word Records. In 2018, she toured Recreate with Moses Sumney and in 2020 Starts Again with Michael Kiwanuka.
Tawiah has also worked in collaboration with artists including; Blood Orange, Kindness, Mark Ronson, Cee-Lo, Kano, Wiley, Ghostpoet, Zed Bias and Eric Lau. Most recently co-writing and performing the Cinematic Orchestra’s latest single Wait for Now.
Her work has received acclaim and coverage from OkayPlayer, The Fader, Afropunk, The Guardian, iD Magazine, Complex, Stylist, Refinery, London In Stereo, Bandcamp and Time Out, to name a few, and personal accolades have come far and wide over the years, from Quincy Jones to Adele, Jeff Goldblum and Queen Latifah.
Discography
EPs
- In Jodi's Bedroom (2007)
- Freedom Drop (2013)
- Recreate (2017)
References
- McFarlane, Josie (12 June 2020). "Artists announced for Resonance: the Lockdown Edition, for BAME music-makers". Keep The Faith ® The UK's Black and multi-ethnic Christian magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Kolomiets, Valeria. "Album Review: Tawiah - Starts Again". EARMILK. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Terich, Jeff (14 October 2019). "Tawiah : Starts Again". Treble. Retrieved 2 July 2020.