Biography

Hil St. Soul is the alias of Hilary Mwelwa, a Zambia-born British singer/songwriter who is comfortable performing classic soul, smooth jazz, uptempo funk, and gospel. Her versatility earned her the honor of Best Newcomer by the U.K.'s Blues & Soul magazine. She has performed at festivals in Holland, Norway, and England, sharing stages with the likes of James Brown, D'Angelo, and Macy Gray. An accomplished and prolific songwriter, her compositions have been recorded by Incognito and Maysa Leak, among others. Mwelwa's vocal style doesn't lack drama, but she's more subtle than demonstrative. She has found a comfortable niche that appeases classic soul fanatics without deterring lovers of hip-hop. Working closely with Victor Redwood-Sawyerr, Mwelwa released four albums from 1999 through 2008, and achieved her commercial peak during this period with Copasetik & Cool (2002), featuring the charting single "All That (+ A Bag O' Chips)." After an extended hiatus, she resurfaced in the early 2020s with a handful of singles leading to the fifth Hil St. Soul full-length, Back in Love (2022). Mwelwa moved from Lusaka, Zambia, to England when she was five years old -- just in time for kindergarten. She studied biochemistry at London's Westminster University, but a strong love for music pushed her to leave school and follow her heart. She made her debut mononymously as Hilary, releasing the single "It's On" through Dome Records in 1996. An a cappella demo of "Until You Come Back to Me" -- written by Stevie Wonder, Clarence Paul, and Morris Broadnax, and popularized by Aretha Franklin -- proved to give her more direction. She loved the song so much she waxed electric and acoustic versions for her 1999 debut album, Soul Organic, a Dome release jointly written and produced with Victor Redwood-Sawyerr, aka VRS, who had assisted her with "It's On." Mwelwa and Redwood-Sawyerr returned three years later on the Gut label with Copasetik & Cool, and hit number 81 the U.K. pop chart with "All That (+ A Bag O' Chips)," a bhangra-flavored remix of "All That." Copasetik & Cool was licensed for U.S. release in 2004, establishing a long-term association with the Shanachie label. The third album from Hil St. Soul, Soulidified, was released in 2006 with production duties split between Redwood-Sawyerr, Eric Lau, Ernie Green, and Anthony Tidd. Among the highlights were "Baby Come Over," a duet with Dwele, and the opener "Hey Boy," one of Redwood-Sawyerr's five productions. Redwood-Sawyerr would produce the majority of 2008's Black Rose, a lively set with the uplifting India.Arie co-composition "Life." Mwelwa issued an LP under the name Hilz in 2011, but was inactive as Hil St. Soul for over a decade. Teaming with producer Regi Myrix, she revived the Hil St. Soul alias in 2020, issuing a pair of singles that year. In 2021, she covered Ohio Players' "Heaven Must Be Like This" and partnered with Noel Gourdin for "Blessed." "A Feeling So Beautiful" followed in August 2022, building more anticipation for the arrival of Back in Love, the fifth Hil St. Soul album, that November. ~ Andy Kellman & Andrew Hamilton, Rovi