"...quirky for sure but it has character and individuality which is all too rare these days."
-Computer Music Magazine
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"With a distinctive, gutsy voice and fresh twist, XSARA stopped us in our tracks. 100% catchy and one to watch.’
-BBC Introducing…
Xsara (pronounced Ex-sar-ruh) is a London-born, half-Egyptian, mixed Swedish-British musician, researcher, educator, and broadcaster. Her formative years in Pascagoula, Mississippi, spent barefoot by the water, immersed in the Blues, and attending an all-African-Caribbean school where she watched Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, shaped her curiosity, creativity, and nuanced understanding of culture and identity.
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She was awarded The Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Studentship (LAURA) for her proposed PhD project integrating transdisciplinary arts-based research methods of how neurodivergent musicians navigate their aural experiences.
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She was awarded the BAFTA Reuben Scholarship to study for a Master's in Filmmaking (Screen Documentary) and was granted the status of Honorary MA Radio Student status by Professor Tim Crook, both at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
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Xsara has worked extensively across the music industry, including with independent record labels, entertainment PR, and music-tech startups, alongside a career as an independent artist. Her music has featured on BBC Introducing, received praise from multiple publications, and been covered on SKY TV.
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Her experience in music led naturally into broadcasting. She created the award-winning radio show ‘Shoreditch Unsigned’, now ‘Xsara’s Xtra’, which showcased the best of UK independent rappers, grime, and urban music. The show won Best Unsigned and Independent Radio Show from Shoreditch Radio and gained sponsorship from AIM (representing over 90% of UK independent labels) and IK Multimedia.
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Xsara has hosted at the AIM Sennheiser A&R Feedback Centre during BBC Introducing Live alongside Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, and Steve Lamacq. She has twice served on the judging panel for The Coffee Music Project London, helping select support acts for Ed Sheeran’s final Divide World tour concert. Passionate about mentoring, she has guided young creatives aged 16–25 through career feedback at the Roundhouse Music Industry Insight Day.
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She was also selected as an anchor for CNN’s Diversity Day contributing to the production of a live newscast from CNN’s 24-hour newsroom.
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"A unique brand of Pop which is perfect for riding the current upward trend of Contemporary Soul meets Dance music."
-The Unsigned Guide
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