Phildel

Phildel is a British singer-songwriter from London. Her name is a composite of her Chinese father and Irish mother's names – Philip and Della.

Biography

At the age of nine, Phildel's mother married a strictly religious Muslim. Her name, religion, lifestyle, and dress-code were forcibly changed, and all of her personal possessions were taken from her. Music became a forbidden evil within the household, meaning no radio, no CD player, and no piano. She was renamed Zara. For the next decade Phildel was treated as a servant within her home. However, Phildel spent lunchtimes with sympathetic music teachers and the school piano, at the girls' day school in Barnet (Queen Elizabeth's School for Girls). The school became a refuge in which she could write and play her own compositions. She eventually ran away from home at age 17 to escape her home-life and follow her dreams.

She soon purchased a second-hand computer and some music demo software packages and began putting together her first home-demo. Within a short while, it attracted the attention of Roger Watson (a former Chrysalis Music MD), and his support of her music led to collaborations with Spike MaClaren at Massive Attack's studio and Sam Dixon (known for his collaborations with many artists including KT Tunstall and Duffy's 'Rockferry' album).