Hope Tala’s debut album is her coming-of-age story, even down to ‘Hope Handwritten’’s artwork, which features the scribbled date of her birth and choice lyrics. It’s come together as she’s navigated her twenties, going through the motions of loving and living. As she puts it, she let her gut lead the way. “Everything was chronicling this formative time where a lot of things changed, and I became an adult.” But putting this pivotal time to tape was no easy feat.

Writing 80-odd songs, later whittled down to sixteen - “It feels like a hefty amount!” - allowed Hope to find solace in her experiences. As someone who’s always sought that as a listener, realising she could do the same for herself marked a turning point.

Speaking to Hope at the end of 2024, she says it’s been “a really great year, but I think I’m happy to see the back of it.” She’s ready to let her twenties rest in the beautiful rubble. “I’m definitely ready to turn a new leaf. I’m the type of person who enjoys the whole New Year’s resolution process.” Nothing concrete yet - that’s to come when she meets with a close pal in a couple of weeks. For now, it’s keeping the Hope train rolling towards her debut. Being driven defines her character.

“I’ve always been a really ambitious person, to a fault,” she chuckles, holding her head in her hands. “Particularly, at school and stuff. I was always a high achiever and completely focused on that.” Her musical journey has shifted this perspective, giving her pause on firm aspirations, as “it’s the type of job where you can put in x amount of work for something, but not necessarily get the result you want.”

This is all part of Hope’s growth over the last few years. However, some realisations have been more unwelcome than others. “I’m a lot less confident than I used to be, and I think that’s because of a lot of reasons, some of which have to do with the music industry and the trials and tribulations,” she pauses. “Now I’ve gotten used to feedback in a way that I wasn’t used to before. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t really overthink anything; I did whatever felt good, and I didn’t have anyone to answer to other than myself. Whereas now, I feel more pressure in a lot of ways – and that’s not always a bad thing.”

Hope Natasha McDonald was destined for a musical path from childhood. Raised in a musical household, she first picked up the clarinet, content being a small piece of a grander orchestra puzzle, where each part harmoniously creates a unified whole. But becoming a solo artist who offers up her inner work was a significant leap.

“Transitioning from that to being the centre of attention has been difficult, particularly because I don’t think my main asset as a performer or an artist is my voice,” she reckons. While it’s rude to disagree, Hope’s vocals add the authenticity her tracks need. From her early days uploading SoundCloud clips to now performing across the globe, Hope sees the songs as the jewel in her crown. “It’s mostly about the songs and the writing and everything,” she says. “Growing and feeling confident and comfortable as a singer it’s still a huge process.”

Embracing the learning element of this journey as a musician has been as vital as maturing throughout her twenties. Admitting that she’s more likely to enjoy things she’s good at rather than areas needing work, with a career in her sights, she’s had to adjust. “I’m learning how to stick around and persevere with things I’m not so good at,” Hope affirms. She’s always been this way. At school, she’d do the bare minimum for Maths and Science, but in her comfort zone of English and History, she’d knuckle down. “Being in front of the camera, for example, and performing live feel really tricky. A past version of me might have stepped away from that entirely, but I’m trying to force myself to jump into the challenge and stick around for it.”

While being the centre of attention has been a hurdle, sharing her innermost thoughts and experiences has been natural for Hope. “I love it, and it doesn’t bother me at all,” she professes. “I feel so excited to release music. I might get nervous about it, but it always feels like something I’m meant to be doing in a cool and fulfilling way. I don’t think I’m super nervous about the kind of vulnerability aspect.”

What helps this is the creative process. ‘Hope Handwritten’ was written with numerous collaborators, but it was the addition of producer, and Hope’s good friend, Anoop D'Souza, that allowed her to feel comfortable exploring this time of her life. Among tracks including ‘Lose My Mind’ and ‘Heartbeat’ made in this period, ‘I Can’t Even Cry’ stands as the most vulnerable song on the album. The first track she made with Anoop, she attests, “he’s the only person I could have made that song with.”

She continues, “It was our first session ever together, but we’d hung out loads, we were so close. Artists use the word safe a lot, and I don’t mean physical safety in that way, I mean emotionally safe, where I knew that he was going to not judge me at all. I knew that he knew me and the circumstances that I was talking about and was down to listen to me rant about it. Being in spaces like that with people I really trust in a deep way is what makes me willing to be vulnerable in my music.”

It wasn’t just these safe spaces she found in this period. Collaborating has been integral to her development as an artist. “This album was a huge masterclass in learning how to make an album because I’d never done it before,” Hope explains. “I’m thinking back to how I felt when I would write towards the beginning of making this album, and I feel like I’m a lot better at writing... I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve worked with.”

One thing that has remained constant for Hope has been her love affair with the neo-soul aspect of her music. “Since the beginning of my career, I’ve been really particular about the sonic of my music,” she admits. “Again, it’s not something I think too much about. I just go with my gut, and I go towards what I love and what moves what kind of moves me, or feels profound to me. It tends to be a lot of Latin guitar and R&B and soul instrumentation.”

Hope cites ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ as an eternal favourite. “I have turned to that album whenever I needed help from music. There’s something in it for every experience it feels like for me, and it’s just so utterly timeless. I know I’ll be listening to it for the rest of my life.” What she pins her affinity for neo-soul and surrounding genres upon is as spiritual as the connection she has with music: “It’s not something I’ve ever really interrogated or thought about because it’s just so innate and mindless and visceral.”

With her debut album introducing a new year, Hope Tala is embracing this fresh chapter. Already planning the touring and promotion, she’s ploughing ahead with HT2. “I’ve already started writing, which is really exciting for me at the moment, as I’ve spent a few years really locked into one project, one kind of concept, one headspace; it’s really nice to be kind of exploring what’s going to be coming next.” While ‘Hope Handwritten’ captures her most formative years, the rest, as another Natasha once sang, is still unwritten. ■

Taken from the March 2025 issue of Dork. Hope Tala’s debut album ‘Hope Handwritten’ is out 28th February.