Mysie

Elizabeth Marjorie Florence Sempa (born 1995), also known as Lizbet Sempa or Mysie, is an English singer-songwriter. She won the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards.

Mysie
Birth name	Elizabeth Marjorie Florence Sempa[1]
Born	1995 (age 29–30)
Genres	Indie pop
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Ostereo 70Hz Recordings ONErpm

Early life

Elizabeth Marjorie Florence Sempa grew up in Croydon^[2][3] and Streatham, South London.^[4][5] Her grandfather was an Ugandan jazz musician and member of the group Kampala City Six. Sempa trained in Acting at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 2017.^[6]

Career

2013–2016: Beginnings as Lizbet Sempa

Under the name Lizbet Sempa, she gained initial attention on Soundcloud in 2013 around the age of 17, self-releasing her first tracks "Epiphany",^[7] "Mistakes",^[8] and "On These Hills" and the EP Indirect Thoughts. This was followed by the singles "All These Things" in 2015^[9] and "Deep Inside" in 2016.^[10]

2019–2022: Branding to Mysie, Chapter 11, Undertones and joyride

Feeling "pigeonholed" into making a certain type of music,^[11] Sempa rebranded to Mysie, a nickname of her middle name Marjorie. She debuted the new moniker with the 2019 single "Rocking Chair"^[12] and the EP Chapter 11.^[13] Other singles released that year include "Fall Away", "Doves", "Sweet Relief" and "Heartbeat".^[14] That year, Sempa was selected for The Great Escape Festival's First Fifty. The singles "Gift", "Bones" and "Patterns" followed in 2020.^[15] In addition to being mentored by Fraser T Smith, Sempa was awarded Rising Star at the 2020 Ivor Novello Awards.^[16]

Sempa's next EP Undertones^[17] and the singles "Seven Nights"^[18] and "A Thousand Miles" were released in 2021. She made her Live at Leeds debut that October. Her fourth EP joyride was released in 2022,^[19] as well as the titular single,^[20] "birthstones", "fade" and "gin + juice".^[21] Sempa supported Corinne Bailey Rae on her 2022 tour and was once again selected for The Great Escape Festival's First Fifty.^[22]

2023–present: Controlla

In 2023, Sempa began shifting her public image, experimenting with the singles "CTRL",^[23] "PLAY" and "Double Dutch". She also featured on "BLU" by Italian artist La Niña.^[24] Her debut mixtape Controlla (stylised uppercase) was released in 2024.^[25][26] The accompanying singles were "Little Too Late",^[27] "PHASES" and "Kitty on Top". She supported IAMDDB on her European tour.^[28]

Artistry

Growing up, Sempa's parents played the likes of Sade and Alicia Keys in the household,^[29] while school and living in South Africa gave her an appreciation for indie artists Radiohead and The Killers and Afropop's Brenda Fassie respectively.^[3] Listening to the radio station Magic 105.4 in the car left a significant impression on Sempa as she discovered Duran Duran, 10cc and Lionel Richie.^[30] She joined a dance group called Wet Wipez as a teenager, through which she became familiar with J Dilla, Thundercat and Flying Lotus. Early in her career under the name Lizbet Sempa, she also recalled admiring the likes of Georgia Anne Muldrow and Hiatus Kaiyote in her youth.^[31] "Deep Inside" (2016) was compared to Adele and Laura Mvula.^[10] Regarding her debut EP Chapter 11 as Mysie, she drew upon Calvin Harris and Anderson Paak. She named Jay Kay from Jamiroquai one of her heroes.^[14]

Sempa cited Empire of the Sun, Tame Impala and Mac DeMarco as influences^[32] as well as Sampha, Moses Sumney, Disclosure and Rosalía.^[2] Other artists she has named include Cookiee Kawaii, Yaeji and Sasha Keable. Sempa fuses a wide range of genre influences in her music, including UK garage, Brixton's dance venues, house, Jersey club, baile funk, indie and electropop.^[33]

Discography

Mixtapes

• CONTROLLA (2024)

EPs

• Indirect Thoughts (2013)
• Chapter 11 (2019)
• Undertones (2021)
• joyride (2022)

Singles

• "Epiphany" (2013)
• "Mistakes" (2013)
• "On These Hills" (2013)
• "All These Things" (2015)
• "Deep Inside" (2016)
• "Rocking Chair" (2019)
• "Fall Away" (2019)
• "Doves" (2019)
• "Sweet Relief" (2019)
• "Heartbeat" (2019)
• "Gift" (2020)
• "Bones" (2020)
• "Patterns" (2020)
• "Seven Nights" (2021)
• "A Thousand Miles" (2021)
• "joyride" (2022)
• "birthstones" (2022)
• "fade" (2022)
• "gin + juice" (2022)
• "CTRL" (2023)
• "BLU" (2023) (collaboration with LA NIÑA)
• "PLAY" (2023)
• "Double Dutch" (2023)
• "LITTLE TOO LATE" (2024)
• "PHASES" (2024)
• "KITTY ON TOP" (2024)

Collaborations

• "Deletia" (2021), with Fyfe and Iskra Strings