Phillipa Zawe

Philippa Zawe is a Yorkshire based singer-songwriter. She is of Ugandan heritage and her songwriting is inspired by the rich stories that are told around her and that lie within her.

“Philippa has a fantastically controlled vocal style which conveys an enormous amount of feeling and meaning in every single word.” (Ryan’s Gig Guide, 2018) Her songs are rooted in the genre of Folk with an infusion of Soul. Her inspirations vary from the likes of Terry Callier to Joan Armatrading, Nick Drake to Laura Marling. Her music has been described as “audio self-care at its finest” (Two Story Melody, 2018).

In September 2017 Philippa Zawe released her debut EP Road of Hope; a tale of loss, grief and hope found along the way. Shortly after that in May 2018 Zawe then released a full band EP titled Disadvantaged. 2020, a year of ups and downs, Philippa Zawe took us on an introspective journey full of hope and contradictions through her releases Dark Am I, Yet Lovely and Lay It All Down.

The vocals are earnest and soulful, the guitars are gentle and romantic, the strings are lilting and hypnotic.” (Two Story Melody, 2018)

She has performed across Birmingham (UK) whilst making a few appearances in Sheffield and London. In 2019, she made her first appearance at Moseley Folk Festival. In 2021 she performed at the 3rd Edition of Musika Na Kipaji in Goma DRC. In 2022 she graced the performance spaces of Hadisi Urban Festival and co-produced and performed in ‘Les Narratrices’ at Goma’s L’institut Francais.

Would You Lean is the most recent single by Philippa Zawe from her upcoming EP – Shudder Pt. I. “‘Zawe’s expressive and eloquent vocals are backed up by a who’s who roster of Birmingham musicians for a result that wows the listener from the first note.” (Glide Magazine, 2022)