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Biography
Born Paloma Ayana Stoecker in Paris, she moved to London with her mother after parents split up, and after a couple of years, became very close with her step-father, a DJ and owner of an independent record label. It was through him that she developed a passion for music, and it was when he tragically died in 2002 that Stoecker decided to become a musician in his honour. A couple of months after his death, Stoecker took up the piano and wrote her first song, at the tender age of 12. When she reached sixth form, she studied music technology to learn how to record her own songs, leading to the creation of her first demo tape in 2008. After a friend of hers with connections to Choice FM heard the tape, they passed it along to anyone they knew associated with major record labels, and at the age of 17, Stoecker took the stage name Delilah and signed to Atlantic Records.
Wisely, Stoecker and Atlantic both decided to bide their time before releasing any material officially, and it wasn't until September 2011 that her debut single “Go” was released. Thanks to a large degree of hype that had built up around her thanks to her frequent collaborations with dubstep titans Chase & Status, the single hurtled into the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart at number 17. The beginning of 2012 saw her perfect her live show, supporting Emili Sandé at the start of the year before touring with Prince himself in May. Her debut album “From The Roots” dropped in the summer, and was an even bigger success, breaking the top five of the albums chart with aplomb. As the missing link between The XX and Chaka Khan, the sky really does seem to be the limit for Delilah, and even with all her success, she's still yet to reach her prime. For that, she comes highly recommended.
Live reviews
As far as big voices go, ‘trip-hop for the new millennium’ star Delilah definitely delivers. The not long out of college popstrel has been igniting dancefloors and speaker systems since 2011, when she perfomed on fellow Londoners Chase & Status’ track, ‘Time’. Her powerfully melodic voice and impressive sultry-whisper-to-belting-roar vocal range combine effortlessly with both her more ambient, soulful beats and her amped-up electronica floor-fillers. Citing Portishead, Massive Attck, Amy Winehouse and Nine Inch Nails as some of her musical influences, it’s clear that the girl has a lot to offer musically. The garage-meets-soul-meets-dubstep approach of her debut album ‘From The Roots Up’ has been thoroughly well received, with the singer selling out large venues like the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London.
I saw Delilah a couple of years ago at the Ile Of Wight-based festival, Bestival, and thought she was fantastic. Having only heard her collaboration with Chase & Status previously, I was blown away by her beautifully powerful voice and her unique blending of genres. The ravey single ‘Go’ and the buzzy ‘So Irate’ were both crowd-pleasers, and the party didn’t slow down even when the singer performed one her more soulful songs, ‘Come Home’, a ballad that she dedicated to the death of her stepfather. Throughout her short time on the festival stage, Delilah held her own and put on a great, true-to-record performance.
louise_h
