Indie singer/songwriter Christelle Bofale's introspective, exploratory songs take influence from indie rock, soul, and jazz as well as African music and songwriters spanning Joni Mitchell and (Sandy) Alex G. Named in part for its submerged, lo-fi quality, her debut EP, Swim Team, arrived in 2019. A Texas native of Congolese parentage, Bofale grew up in a musical household that included a father who was both a soukous guitarist and musical director at his church. She was given a keyboard at the age of four and taught herself to play the guitar during high school. After writing some songs with a partner during college, she struck out on her own in late 2016. By 2019, she had signed with Father/Daughter Records, which issued the Swim Team EP that May. ~ Marcy Donelson