Hope Tala

Plump cherries ice the whipping cream, a ʻo ko lākou ʻili momona e hūnā i ka syrup opaque e ʻaʻahu ai i nā ʻono ʻono me ka hohonu o ka ʻono hiki ʻole.. ʻOiai ke kiʻi nei kēia kiʻi i ka leʻaleʻa a me ka ʻono, Hōʻike ʻo Hope Tala i nā cheri ma ke ʻano he ʻāina hoʻāno o ka huhū o kekahi, ka hui 'ana o ke kino a me ka mana'o o ke kino. ʻO kāna mahalo nui i ka hua e alakaʻi i kāna Cherries hoʻokahi hou i ka hui pū ʻana me Aminé. ʻO R&ʻAi ʻo B slash jazz tempo i kona leo mālie a me ka mālie ʻoiai ʻo ia e hīmeni ana i nā huaʻōlelo mai Scarlet venom e mālama ai i loko o nā pahu jam a ʻai ka lā i kou ʻili., e nana i ka mokuaina a kakou e noho nei, nā stanzas o nā mea hoʻohālikelike a me nā mea hoʻohālikelike e hoʻopaʻa ana i kāna ʻano pūlima.

Mai kona hoʻomaka ʻana e kākau i nā mele, Ua huki mau ʻia ʻo Tala i ke alo o nā hua, ka mahinaai o Edena, a ʻo ka moʻolelo o ʻAdamu lāua ʻo Eva ke kumu o kāna hana akamai. ʻO kāna makemake i nā mea makemake a me nā kuhikuhi Baibala ua hoʻopau i kāna EP Girl Eats Sun hou., he moolelo o kona hoike ana iaia iho i ke ao nei. Hōʻike ka uhi i ka wahine mele ma ke ʻano he mana kiʻekiʻe o ke ao holoʻokoʻa, ʻo kona poʻo e moe ana ma waena o ka lā a me ka mahina, ʻoiai ʻo ia e ʻaʻahu ana i nā apo pepeiao cherry a me nā kūlana ma luna o ka honua dystopian. ʻO ka paraphrase, inā ʻaʻole hiki iā ʻoe ke lawe i ka wela, e hele i waho o ka lumi kuke, mana ka moʻolelo hope o ke poʻo, a e noʻonoʻo i ke ʻano o ka mea pena kiʻi a me nā manaʻo. E like me ke kaikamahine e ʻai ana i ka lā, ʻAʻa ʻo Tala i nā mea a pau a ʻaʻohe makaʻu.

Ma mua o kona ʻili ʻana i kāna mau papa o kona iho a wehe i ka enigma o kona ʻano, Ua huakaʻi ka mea pena kiʻi ma Lākana mai kona aloha i neo-soul a me R&ʻO nā ʻano B e hoʻohālike i nā ʻano like me ka bossa nova twist a hoʻoikaika i kāna mele me nā palapala a me nā moʻolelo pilikino.. Ma kā mākou nīnauele kūʻokoʻa me ia, hoʻopuka ʻo ia i kona kumu i hoʻokumu ʻia ai i ka ʻoihana a haʻi i kona wā i hala, i kēia manawa, a me ka wā e hiki mai ana.

ʻO ka hānai ʻana, nā manaʻo, ka haku mele, a me ka moniker. Ua hōʻike ʻo Hope Tala i nā mea a pau no ka Magazine Blanc.

TC:
Pehea ka manaʻo e noho ma Lākana i kēia manawa me ka hā o kēia manawa.. he aha kēia? ʻAʻole maopopo iaʻu ka laka i kēia manawa...

Hope Tala:
ʻAe, no laila ua loaʻa iā mākou ka mea i kapa ʻia ʻo ka pae ʻehā, ua like ia me kahi pae koʻikoʻi o nā kapu. No laila ke hoʻi nei mākou i ka laka. Ua pani ʻia nā ʻoihana pono ʻole a pau. ʻAʻole ʻae ʻia mākou e ʻike i kekahi i loko; Manaʻo wau ʻo ka mea hiki iā mākou ke hele e hele wāwae me kekahi kanaka ʻē aʻe ma waho o ko mākou hale ma waho. No laila he koʻikoʻi, he mea kaumaha. Akā ke manaʻo nei au, Manaʻo wau ʻo ia wale nō kekahi o ia mau mea, no ka mea, ua hana mākou i kēia manawa, no ka loihi, ʻoi aku ka maʻalahi o kēia manawa.

TCr:
No hea mai kou inoa? ʻO ia kou inoa hānau, a i ʻole ʻo kou inoa kahua? Like no hea mai ʻo Hope Tala?

Hope Tala:
ʻO Hope koʻu inoa mua maoli, akā ʻo Natasha koʻu inoa waena maoli. Ua makemake au, akā, ʻaʻole au i manaʻo maoli ʻo wau nō ia. I kekahi lā, Ke nānā nei au ma ka pūnaewele, e like me nā inoa kapakapa o Natasha, a maopopo, He inoa Lūkini ʻo Natasha, a he inoa kapakapa no ka inoa Natalia. A manaʻo wau ma Rusia, e like me kekahi inoa kapakapa o Natasha lāua ʻo Natalia ʻo Tala. A ʻike wau i kēlā, a ua like au, ʻŌ, He inoa nani kēlā. No laila ua hoʻohana wale wau i kēlā, a ʻae, Manaʻo wau i kekahi lā e hoʻololi maoli wau. ʻaʻole maopopo iaʻu, akā, manaʻo wau he kūpono ia iaʻu.

TC:
ʻAe, he inoa maikai. He aha kou ʻaoʻao? No hea mai ʻoe, no West London ʻoe?

Hope Tala:
Mm-hmm. No West London wau, a ʻo koʻu ʻano lāhui he ʻeleʻele koʻu makuakāne, a he Jamaica kona mau mākua. Ua neʻe lākou i ʻaneʻi, ua hānau ʻia ʻo ia i ka makahiki 1960, a he keʻokeʻo Pelekania koʻu makuahine.

TC:
He aha ke ʻano o ka ulu ʻana i kahi ʻohana hui like?

Hope Tala:
Ua maikaʻi loa koʻu ʻike. ʻo koʻu manaʻo, Laki wau i ka noho ʻana ma kahi ʻokoʻa loa, a ʻaʻole loa au i manaʻo e like me ka ʻeha ʻana, a ʻaʻole wau i manaʻo ʻo koʻu ʻohana ka ʻohana hui like ʻole. No laila, manaʻo wau ua laki maoli wau i ka loaʻa ʻana o kēlā.

Hope Tala:
Ua noho mau koʻu makuakāne ma ʻaneʻi. He's visited Jamaica a couple of times, but he's definitely a Londoner and a British person. And so I think it would be different if he had been born there. He has two older siblings who were born in Jamaica, but I think he has a different relationship with Jamaica to them, simply because he was born in the UK.

Hope Tala:
But no, I've always had a very wonderful experience, and I think I just grew up with the kind of mentality and the message that it's just amazing to have kind of exposure to multiple different cultures. I spent a lot of time with my Jamaican grandmother. She lives in London, and I spent a lot of time with her growing up and my cousins from that side of my family and my aunts and uncles, and similarly with my mum's family. A he mau kaiapuni okoa loa lakou, aka, elua loa, ʻO nā kaiapuni aloha a me nā kaiapuni kahi aʻu i aʻo ai i nā mea he nui a hoʻohuli maoli iaʻu i ke kanaka ʻo wau.

TC:
He aha kou pilina me ke mele e ulu ana?

Hope Tala:
Ua aloha mau au, aloha, mele aloha. Hoʻomanaʻo wau i ka loaʻa ʻana o kahi iPod no koʻu lā hānau. He ʻeiwa a ʻumi paha koʻu mau makahiki, a makemake loa au i iPod. Ua makemake au e loaʻa kaʻu mele ponoʻī ma ke ʻano no ka mea aia mau ke pāʻani mele. Aia i loko o koʻu lumi, e like me nā pāʻina hula a me nā mea, a ua nui nā mele a puni, a he ʻāpana wale nō ia o koʻu ʻano. A ua laki au i ka loaʻa ʻana o nā haʻawina mele i koʻu wā kamaliʻi. A manaʻo wau ua manaʻo koʻu mau mākua e loaʻa iaʻu ka manawa e loaʻa ai nā haʻawina. A hoʻokani wau i ka clarinet mai ka ʻewalu o koʻu mau makahiki, a hele au i ke kula mele i kēlā me kēia Sābati. A no laila, hoʻokani au i nā mele kahiko, he mea kupanaha a kumu; Ua hoʻohana au i ia mau mākau i kēia manawa.

TC:
He aha ke ʻano mele āu i makemake ai? He aha kāu hui punahele a i ʻole kahi hui e ulu ana?

Hope Tala:
Ua loaʻa iaʻu nā mea like ʻole, akā i kēia manawa, Ke noʻonoʻo nei wau e lawe i kēlā. Aloha au iā Stevie Wonder i koʻu wā kamaliʻi. Ua aloha nui au iā Michael Jackson. ʻŌ, Aloha au iā Beyonce. Ua like loa au, makaʻu nui iā Beyonce mai waena o nā makahiki ʻeiwa a like 14, a ʻae, ʻoiaʻiʻo, Kuhi wau, kino kino. ʻAe, he kanaka maoli ʻo ia, nui loa iaʻu ia manawa.

Hope Tala:
Ua loaʻa iaʻu kēlā ʻono ākea, a i koʻu mau makahiki ʻōpio, Ua loaʻa iaʻu nā ʻano like ʻole i ka mele neo-soul a me R&B. A laila manaʻo wau i nā makahiki ʻelua i hala, it's widened out again, which is nice. And I'm into more indie stuff now and rap and different genres.

TC:
Hm. How would you describe your music to someone who's never heard it before?

Hope Tala:
I would say that it's alternative R&B with pop influence, definitely some bossa nova influences. And I would say that I think the lyrics are really important and I like to tell stories.

TC:
Talk to me about the stories you tell, how you find your influences, and your inspiration? Is it from your life?

Hope Tala:
ʻAe, I think I got a lot of inspiration from my daily life or things I'm going through. In the conversations I have, someone will use a word or a phrase that I like the sound of, or I will, and I'll write that down in the notes on my phone to save for a rainy day in the studio. And so yeah, the conversations I have, a lot of the things I go through.

Hope Tala:
I've always been a really big reader. A lot of the books and the poetry that I read inform what I'm writing in a way and help me structure a story, maybe more, directly inspired the stories that helped me in terms of structure and form.

TC:
How has this past year affected the way you make music?

Hope Tala:
I've been a bit more introspective with my lyrical writing, which is on this EP that I've just put out, which I wrote during lockdown called Drugstore. And I think it's a vulnerable song. And I think that stems from spending a lot more time alone than I usually would. I'm looking inwards, perhaps a lot more than I'm looking outwards, because none of us are necessarily out. We're not as active, and we're not doing as much as we usually would.

TC:
If there were one thing that you could take away from 2020, any ways that you've grown or changed, what would you say that would be?

Hope Tala:
That's interesting because I think the positive thing that I've got from 2020 is the ability to go with the flow a bit more. Being a little bit less focused on the outcome and more focused on the journey and what I'm doing, a bit cliche but less achievement-focused and just live in the moment more. And I think I worry less about trivial things because there's so much going on in the world on such a large scale.

Hope Tala:
I think negatively though, I think I've become a little more socially anxious, and I'm more of an anxious person because I'm just not used to hanging out with people anymore and stuff like that. You know, I would love to say like, Ua ulu maoli au, a ua aʻo au i kēia mau mea a pau, a ua maopopo iaʻu, akā, aia kekahi mau mea i loko 2021 Ke hoʻāʻo nei au e hana a hoʻāʻo e ʻoi aku ka wehe a me ka launa pū e like me kaʻu maʻamau. He paʻakikī ka launa pū ʻana i kēia manawa, akā, e like me ka hilinaʻi a me nā mea ʻē aʻe no ka mea ua lawe ʻia kēia makahiki, Kuhi wau, ma kēlā ʻaoʻao oʻu.

Hope Tala:
ʻAe, i kekahi manawa ua paʻa koʻikoʻi mākou ma UK, ʻo ia hoʻi ʻaʻole hiki iā ʻoe ke ʻike i kekahi. I kekahi manawa hiki iā ʻoe ke hele wāwae a me nā mea. A ke manaʻo nei au he ʻano ʻano ʻē aʻe kaʻu ʻōlelo ʻana i kaʻu mau ʻōlelo, a ua like au, Auē, pehea wau e haʻi aku ai i kēia? Pehea wau e haʻi aku ai i kēlā? No ka mea, ʻaʻole wau i maʻa hou. Kupanaha loa. Ua loli nui ke ʻano o kā mākou kamaʻilio ʻana a me ka launa pū ʻana me nā kānaka.

TC:
He aha kāu e kali nei no kēia makahiki?

Hope Tala:
Manaʻo wau e hoʻopuka i nā mele hou, hiki ke hele kaapuni. Manaʻolana, ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke kali e hiki ke launa hou me nā poʻe a hele, paha. Loaʻa i nā ʻike hou.

Hope Tala:
Manaʻo wau ua emi iki kaʻu mau manaʻolana no ia mea, he mea maikai paha ia, a emi iki ka nānā ʻana i kēia mau mea nui e hana nei a me ka hana ʻana i nā mea maikaʻi loa no ka mea ua hoʻomaikaʻi kekahi mea mai ka makahiki i hala.
Laki loa wau i ke ola a loaʻa i koʻu olakino a hoʻomau i ka hana mele a ola wale i koʻu ola. E like me ka nui o ka poʻe i paʻakikī loa, ʻo koʻu manaʻo, hauʻoli wale no ka makahiki hou. ʻAʻole maopopo iaʻu ka mea e lawe mai ai inā he ʻokoʻa, aka, ua hele na manamana lima.