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Matilda Clementine Isitt Cole is an English musician from Brighton. The daughter of film director
Nigel Cole Nigel Cole (born 1959) is an English film and television director. Career Cole began his career in the 1980s, directing current affairs shows and documentaries for Central Independent Television. Into the 1990s, Cole co-wrote the play ''Sod'' ...
and the actress
Kate Isitt Kate Isitt is an English actress who is perhaps best known for her role as beauty therapist Sally Harper in the BBC television situation comedy ''Coupling''. From 1995–1998, she played Alison, a secretary in a solicitors' office, in ''Is It L ...
, she appeared in several of his works before mounting a music career and joining
Loud LDN Loud LDN is a collective of female and gender-expansive artists based in London. It was described by '' NME'' in December 2022 as a "community of hellip; drum 'n' bass, pop, and R&B artists at all stages in their careers". Formed in May 2022 by ...
.


Life and career


Early life and film career

Matilda Clementine Isitt Cole was born in Sussex, though spent periods living in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and Camden Town before moving to Brighton. Her mother is
Kate Isitt Kate Isitt is an English actress who is perhaps best known for her role as beauty therapist Sally Harper in the BBC television situation comedy ''Coupling''. From 1995–1998, she played Alison, a secretary in a solicitors' office, in ''Is It L ...
, an actress, and her father is
Nigel Cole Nigel Cole (born 1959) is an English film and television director. Career Cole began his career in the 1980s, directing current affairs shows and documentaries for Central Independent Television. Into the 1990s, Cole co-wrote the play ''Sod'' ...
, a film director who had previously been married to
Sally Brampton Sally Jane Brampton (15 July 1955 – 10 May 2016) was an English journalist, writer, and magazine editor. She was the founding editor of the British edition of the French magazine ''Elle'' in 1985. Early life She was born in Brunei, on the isl ...
, and who played guitar and would buy egg-shaped shakers for her to play along with him. She later attended
Dharma Primary School Dharma Primary School was the first primary school and nursery in Britain to offer an education based on Buddhist values. It celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015. It was an independent school and nursery based in East Sussex, on the south ea ...
. In 2010, she played Emily in ''
Made in Dagenham ''Made in Dagenham'' is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. I ...
'', and in 2012 she played a bridesmaid in '' the Wedding Video'', both of which were directed by her father; she later played Madeleine in his 2019 film short ''Wisteria Cottage''.


Music career

She realised she wanted to be a full-time musician aged seven after seeing
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
perform at
the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...
, and wrote her first song in the car journey back to her hotel; she later created a
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
account called "matilda cole vevo". Aged sixteen, after putting a cover on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
, she was messaged by a
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based
talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...
, who took her on as a client, and in March 2020, she withdrew from her
A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
s four months early, and signed a record deal. In November 2020, she released "The Clouds", a song about her teenage friendships and relationships for which a music video was directed by Amy Becker-Burnett, and then the following January, she released "Be There", a song about extreme affection for someone to the point of
ego death Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psyc ...
. In June 2021, she released ''Milk Teeth'', an EP written about her adolescence, with the title being a reference to deciduous teeth. Cole then released a cover of
the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...
's " The Hills", intended as a stopgap between EPs, and then in September 2021, she released "Camden", a song about divorce, which she had written during a writing session in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in October 2020 about her parents' separation at the beginning of the pandemic. The following month, she released "Halloween", which she wrote after researching Pagan and
Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...
n traditions around the
Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
period and about having to beg a partner to spend time with them and treat them properly, and accompanied it with a music video set at a
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
house party. In February 2022, she released "Again", about allowing herself to be repeatedly treated poorly, which was accompanied by a music video directed by Amy Becker-Burnett, and then the following month she released ''The High Dive'', an EP, which featured "Bite Down". Cole then joined
Loud LDN Loud LDN is a collective of female and gender-expansive artists based in London. It was described by '' NME'' in December 2022 as a "community of hellip; drum 'n' bass, pop, and R&B artists at all stages in their careers". Formed in May 2022 by ...
, a collective of London-based women and genderqueer musicians founded in May 2022, as an original member. She released a further track, "Big Mouth", in May 2024, having written the track after being harassed by a drunk male during a trip to London; she followed it with "Mortal" later that month.


Artistry

In a February 2022 interview with Clique Magazine, she cited
Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and ...
’s first album ''
Pure Heroine ''Pure Heroine'' is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Joel L ...
'' as "a huge huge influence" on her, and additionally cited
Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has also performed and released studio albums under the name J. Tillman. Maintainin ...
,
the Blue Nile The Blue Nile was a Scottish band which originated in Glasgow. The group's early music was built heavily on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured guitar more prominently. Following early champ ...
, and Samia as influences; the following month, in an interview with Wordplay Magazine, she stated that "the biggest influence" on her writing was from the way
Hozier Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known professionally as Hozier ( ), is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. His music primarily draws from folk, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes. He had his interna ...
wrote, and that she drew "a lot of influence" from the
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
and
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
that her father had played when she was growing up. Reviewing "Camden", Martha Storey of ''the Indiependent'' described Cole's vocals as "
Maggie Rogers Margaret Debay Rogers (born April 25, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. Her big break came when her song "Alaska" was played to Pharrell Williams during a master class at New York University's Cli ...
-esque".


Discography


Extended plays

* ''Milk Teeth'' (2021) * ''The High Dive'' (2022)


Singles

* "The Clouds" (2020) * "Be There" (2021) * "Stay Awake" (2021) * "Afternoon Haze" (2021) * "Camden" (2021) * "Halloween" (2021) * "Again" (2022) * "Big Mouth" (2024) * "Mortal" (2024)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Matilda Living people People from Brighton 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Year of birth missing (living people)