Ester Rada’s roots may be in Ethiopia, but—musically, at least—the rising star of Israeli soul and funk didn’t draw on them until four years ago. That’s when she first heard the live Ethio-jazz of Mulatu Astatke, who developed the extraordinary hybrid of western jazz, Latin pop, and the brass-band music of Ethiopia in the ’60s and ’70s.

“The first time I wanted to put some music from there into my own compositions was after he came to Israel and gave the best show that I’ve ever seen,” says the 30-year-old Rada, reached at her home in Jaffa. “I decided I would make my own mix. There are a lot of horn sections in Ethiopian music, and 6/8 rhythms—so basically, I took the groove and some melodies and put them all together. I love the outcome.”

The title track of her first solo EP, 2013’s Life Happens, provides a fine example of Rada’s approach. It opens with a saxophone playing a snaky midtempo Ethiopian riff that repeats until her sultry voice comes in, singing soul-flavoured pop. The western sounds predominate, but African rhythmic elements creep back into her composition through the accompaniment, creating an attractive oddness.

Rada’s musical life has certainly been unusual in character. “Until I was 10, my family lived in Kiryat Arba, a very religious town, and all the music that I knew was the music from the synagogue, and the Israeli songs,” Rada recalls. “After we moved to the city of Netanya, I was exposed to MTV and music from the world, and so at the age of 13 my brother gave me my first guitar. I always loved to sing since I was very young, but professionally I started in a music group for the army. For two years, we travelled all over Israel and when I finished in the army I decided performing is what I wanted to do.”

Rada began working as an actor, appearing in plays and films, and taught herself how to sing in English. “I heard a lot of music from America and Europe growing up, and my first song was written in English. It’s still the music I listen to most. Having English lyrics helps me to communicate more with a wider world. My biggest inspirations as a songwriter are Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles—and, as a singer, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston.”

Rada’s most recent release, the EP I Wish, features her interpretation of four favourite songs associated with Simone—“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”, “Sinnerman”, “Four Women”, and “Feeling Good”.

“It’s a bit like Nina Simone meets Ethiopia,” says Rada with a laugh, “though my music is not the same as hers or any of the other U.S. artists I love. I’m not American, and the musicians I’ve worked with for the past three years also come from very different backgrounds—from Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Poland. It’s the mix of all these influences that creates our sound and makes it truly unique in the way that I want.”

Ester Rada performs at the Imperial on Saturday (May 2).