Friendships, love, optimism and reflection are some of the topics Hope Tala tackles with her debut album ‘Hope Handwritten’.

Hope Tala is an artist that has the ability to really strike a chord with her listeners by the power of her songwriting and story-telling ability. Her unapologetic candour is the tool she utilises to connect with her audience that evokes sources of inspiration and conversation. 

With three previous EPs under her belt already, Hope has consistently been honing her craft and expanding her audience, which makes this debut such an anticipated body of work. Artistically, she proves that she has been a real student of the artists and the writers that have come before her and uses that to her advantage but also cites many of her current peers as sources of inspiration.

Writing and literature has been a constant fuel for her creative output which bleeds into ‘Hope Handwritten’, setting her apart from many of her peers. 

The rising star that is on the cusp of mainstream success, talks to CLASH about the importance of keeping a strong network around you, the aspiration to bring hope into her life and songs she is really looking forward to performing live. Hope also discusses thinking about changing her creative process in the future when it comes to working with other writers and producers.

Even though she has her own meaning behind the songs she creates, she discusses how she doesn’t want to influence her audience too much, as she believes it is more important for her that her audience find their own meaning within them. With such a loyal fanbase behind her, and with her previous track record, ‘Hope Handwritten’ is sure to become an album that really resonates and sticks with her audience for years to come.

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Leading up to this album that is out in a couple of days, how are you feeling about it, and what does this moment mean to you?

I’m feeling very mixed emotions, mainly excited, but it’s an interesting process, letting go of a creative project you’ve been working on for a long time. I’ve been working on this album since the start of 2021. The thought of letting go of it in a creative capacity and my relationship with it changing, in terms of me now also becoming a listener I think is going to be quite a complex feeling. However, I feel ready for the music to be out in the world.

I imagine it being quite a cathartic experience, but also quite daunting, writing music that is your own experiences to suddenly sharing it to the world.

Recently, I haven’t felt as vulnerable releasing music as I’m not particularly worried about talking about my personal life. I just hope that the people that have been anticipating this album are satisfied with it and can tell how much love and work I’ve poured into it. I think that is the part I am most trepidatious about. 

Your album is called ‘Hope Handwritten’ which is a very clear, direct and effective title. Did the title come before the album process or did it come later?

It came later on; I started working on the album in January 2021, and at that time I didn’t have a title in mind. I think the album title came somewhere in the first draft process. However, for like a year or so, I had kind of discarded it as I had mixed feelings about it being in some way self-titled. On the one hand I thought it was personal in a way that really fit the music, but in other ways I thought I should pick something that felt more universal. However, throughout the process ‘Hope Handwritten’ just kept tugging at me and eventually I came to the realisation it had to be called that.

The title has so many different meanings and I like that it nods to the writing process which is my favourite part of being an artist. Also, in the album I touch on how the art of writing has been in some ways a coping mechanism. I think the crux of the album is struggling to find hope in my life after losing it. Hope is a big theme within the album, separated it from being my name. I like that it holds all those meanings and puts those in conversation with each other.

The singles that we’ve heard so far, have quite an uplifting tone to them, did you go into the album process with clear direction that those are the feelings and emotions you wanted to convey, or did it happen naturally?

It happened naturally, I’m intentional about my writing but I’m not super pre-meditated. When I start working on songs, whether that’s going into a session or just picking up my guitar, I go in with the aim of writing something I connect to. It’s rare that I go in thinking this is the exact story I want to tell. My process is more intuitive, spiritual and random. By nature, I aspire to be optimistic even when I’m not and I aspire to be uplifting and uplifted.  I think that is just the natural byproduct of what I was aspiring to feel in my life and in my creative pursuits, which I suppose trickled into the music. 

It seems like a lot of artists struggle when it comes to recording and releasing music as they have a constant need to go back to them to get just right. Did you find any songs on the album that you kept going back to in order to try and perfect?

I definitely tinkered with some of these songs a lot. ‘Survival’ is an example as I wasn’t happy with the lyrics toward the end. Production wise, ‘Bad Love God’ is a song that took a lot of different drafts to get right. ‘Phoenix’ as well, went through different iterations.

As the years go on, I feel I have become more of a perfectionist about my songs. Particularly with this album, as it is my first album, so I had a very high standard for it. 

This year you are very booked and busy. You’re supporting Halsey on several dates of her tour in America, and you’ve just announced your own headline tour which is very exciting! Are there any songs on the album that you are really looking forward for people to hear in a live setting that you think will translate well and take on a different format?

I think ‘Magic Or Medicine’ will be fun to perform live. ‘Shiver’ is one that I’ve already performed a couple of times on my mini tour back in October, to me if felt so magical as people were singing along and it felt uplifting to perform. I’m also excited by ‘Lights, Camera, Action’ to perform at festivals. I think that will really suit the festival circuit, especially the atmosphere of being outside and in the sunshine. 

Your most recent single ‘Phoenix’ is a love letter to your best friend. How important is it for you to maintain those formative relationships with your friends, while you navigate within an industry that can be so hectic and uncertain like the music industry, and what was her reaction to the song?

I sent the song to her a couple of years ago now, and she was very touched by it and really moved which was very nice. To me friendships, family and chosen family are the most important to me in my life. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had a very close-knit village around me. I’ve always had incredible friendships in my life.

I don’t think any of this could have happened without them. Creating music comes from the connection and joy I’ve built with those relationships. The drive I have to connect with them is what really drives my music and my desire to connect with other people creating music. I think like you said, the industry can be really turbulent, so it is crucial to have a strong network around you.

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A lot of your fans really resonate with your story telling ability and the power you hold with your lyrics. What artists did you really connect with in terms of lyrical songwriting?

So many, Joni Mitchell is an artist I came to in my early to mid-twenties and I think she is one of the most talented lyricists of all time. I think Samia is an incredible lyricist, I really loved her first album ‘The Baby’, she is an artist who really inspires me. Lauryn Hill is probably my favourite artist, also Kendrick Lamar is extremely influential for me lyrically. Those four I think are the ones that really inspire me. 

Debut albums really seem to be a staple in so many careers of artists, as they really set the tone for their career path. Are there any artists who you look to and think about their debut album being seen as classic albums? Obviously, we’ve touched on Lauryn Hill who had one of the all-time greats

Oh, that’s a great question! I mean ‘channel ORANGE’ by Frank Ocean is just a flawless debut. ‘Trap Soul’ by Bryson Tiller is one of my favourite albums of all time. Clairo’s album ‘Immunity’ I really love and still turn to. My friend Maude Latour is an incredible pop artist, and she released her first album ‘Sugar Water’ last August and to me I think it is genius pop songwriting.

When you are going into sessions, how do you navigate trying to build a connection with people you’ve never met before and opening up with your lyrics? I imagine it can be quite a nerve-wracking experience.

It can be a daunting process; I did a lot of that through the making of this album. It taught me a lot, even though some of those songs from those sessions didn’t make it on the album, I always learn a lot from working with different songwriters and producers.

The process of making this album has taught me I don’t want to do it like that anymore. I don’t want to meet someone and then be expected to start writing a song with them in 10 minutes. I think in the future, I will tackle it differently and find if we gel together first before seeing if we can create together. It can be quite dehumanising to be expected to talk about your personal life and what you’re going through with strangers. That being said, the process of working with such talented people on this album was so incredible. I feel very lucky to have learnt from people who I consider to be legends in their craft and create songs with them that I love. It has been a real privilege.

You’ve been vocal about literature and reading being a constant in your life. Are there any books that you grew up with and that you see now as books to look for as inspiration?

The first novel I ever finished and then read seven times in a row was Matilda by Roald Dahl. That will always be close to my heart as I think it informed a lot of my personality and life ethics. In terms of books that I return to now, Beloved by Toni Morrison I think is probably the best novel ever written. For me, it is endlessly inspiring and moving.

Poetry has always been very important to my writing over the years. I discovered Sylvia Path when I was 18 which was very transformative. I’m really enjoying Mary Oliver’s poetry at the moment, which I’m finding really inspiring. When I read her poetry, I really feel like I want to create. I also really love Zadie Smith’s writing and return to that a lot for inspiration.

With all the talent that is out there, especially in the UK. Are there any artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future?

I love Little Simz, she’s incredible and would love to collaborate with her. I also love Enny, she’s a phenomenal rapper. I met her at a speaking panel a couple of years ago and she was so lovely, and I think she’s uber-talented. I’m a really big fan of Kehlani, I would love to work with her at some point. There are so many people, but those are three artists who have been really important to me and really inspired me.

Even though this is your debut album, you’ve been working in this industry for several years as you’ve released several EPs previously. I want to know what advice would you give to your younger self who was just starting out in the industry?

I would definitely tell younger Hope that nobody knows better than you. I don’t mean that in a cocky way in the way that I am not open to listen to other people’s opinions. However, I do think in certain points of my career I have been swayed by what the label has been saying. I think I gave too much weight to the opinions of the people who are older and “more successful” than me. I really learnt that I will never have the success that I strive for unless I am completely true to myself. My version of success could be completely different from other people’s version. So, I would say listen to other people’s opinions but always go with your gut.

Lastly, I would love to know is there anything you would want your fans to take from your album?

I don’t feel any entitlement to impose my own desires onto the listeners. To me, I would just love people to connect with it. Whether that means they just switch off and dance around or whether that means they really delve into their emotions. I would just love for people to enjoy it, connect with it and make it theirs and the backdrop of their life experiences. 

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‘Hope Handwritten’ is out now.

Words: Jack Shephard

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