Esbe is a composer, producer, and vocalist from London. Her music is an eclectic blend of many influences, from her pure classical roots, but uniquely drawing on contemporary, world music and film scoring.
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, where she gained an LRAM and won the prestigious 'Julian Bream Prize for Guitar', Esbe performed in concerts around the UK. As a composer, she has produced and recorded a great variety of music in her North London studio, each project with its own inventive mix of styles. She is also sought after as a session singer and for string and vocal arrangements.
Esbe’s writing has been partly inspired by her North African and Eastern European heritage, but is also informed by her love of Early Music, in particular, John Dowland, as well as British folk, jazz and Indian classical music. This eclectic blend makes for a unique and distinctive sound.
Nine solo albums have been released 2018-24 with great reviews. For the first, ‘Desert Songs’, Esbe chose to set, as songs, a selection of 8th-13th century Middle Eastern poets including the Sufi mystic poet, Rumi. The second album, ‘Mystra – Songs from Byzantium’ was inspired by travels in the Greek Peloponnese and Bulgaria. Of the two albums released in October 2019, 'Ten Songs' features a production of layered guitar and vocals with song topics as diverse as the brain and the horrific events of Kristallnacht, and 'Far Away', is an intimate collection of songs of love and loss for solo guitar and voice. The Egyptian inspired ‘Saqqara’, and ‘Under Cover’, new interpretations of contemporary classics, both received great reviews in 2021, and 'I Might Be Dreaming’ was the beautiful album of original compositions released in 2022. Her eighth, and multi-tracked vocal, studio album, ‘Blow The Wind Southerly’ was released in January 2023, and 'La Serenissima', inspired by the serene city of Venice was released April 5 2024.
The Original Soundtrack for the film 'Raven', composed in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and film composer, Peter Michaels, is due for release this year, and Esbe's concert work, 'Elektra', and 'Sleep', a live music/film installation collaboration with film-maker Bill Jackson are both underway for premieres this year.
Esbe's tenth solo album, 'Mountain Aires' was released on February 11 2025.
Esbe is also a graphic artist and designer. Her work can be seen at esbedesign.co.uk