Eki Shola’s music is “Half-time electronic soul for the mind” - Resident Advisor. Featured on PBS, NPR Tiny Desk Contest, KQED and Best of the Bay Editors’ Pick, Eki Shola’s music transcends genre, as she seamlessly draws from jazz, electronica, and soul music to create a sonic landscape all her own. A vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and practicing physician, Eki Shola uses her music as a conduit for healing.
Born in London to Jamaican parents, Eki Shola was raised in a musical family. She emigrated to the U.S. in ’87 and later as a pre-med student at Cornell, she performed in the jazz ensemble under the direction of Dr. Karlton Hester. In 2016, fueled by grief, she was inspired to release her debut album, Final Beginning. Subsequently, after a traumatic escape from the Sonoma County October 2017 wildfires, Eki Shola was further moved to focus more on her music and she composed Pieces, a trilogy, each album portraying a particular stage of reflection and healing.
ASCAP Plus winner and selected “23 people to watch in 2023" by the Press Democrat, Eki Shola has shared the stage with Dr. Donald Byrd, Steve Turre and more and and has opened for various artists including Habib Koité, Bebel Gilberto, DakhaBrakha, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Lucky Otis, Sammy J and Kitaro. Eki Shola completed her Essential Virtual Tour in 2021, performing and giving talks across the world. Furthermore, inspired by observing the need for amplifying the voices of underrepresented creatives, Eki Shola was moved to create and launch Unmute Magazine, a digital publication by and mainly for BIPOC artists.
The five-time NorBay Music awardee was selected to participate in the OBRAS foundation, Portugal artist residency and recently completed a Japan tour for her 5th solo album, 還 (Kaeru), recorded with local artists drummer Hidenori Tsugita, shamisen and shakuhachi musician, Uma Ebina, and Mongolian Morin Khuur musician, Tatsuya Okabayashi.
