Ella Bee is a 21-year-old singer and songwriter in South East London, UK. Originally from Sydney, Australia, she made the decision to move to South East London to become fully involved in her music. Performing at many venues in London (The Roadhouse, The Scotiabank Centre), Ella Bee gives many notable performances regularly. Additionally, she isn’t afraid to step into the studio, as she also attends writing camps and music conferences.
Ella Bee recently teamed up with producer Lewis Campbell and released her new single “Porcelain Doll”, and with cool and collective sounds, she's able to deliver an individualistic environment while captivating listeners and we can't get enough of it. Why? The message behind this song is something we stand behind.
“Porcelain Doll” begins with a swelling synthesizer, giving movement to the song immediately. Joining in soon after is a kick and snare drum, which adds even more flow to the song. As the instrumentation pours in, “Porcelain Doll” forms an obsessive sound that sounds different and unique compared to other work we've heard from Ella Bee. The mix of rock and R&B elements showcase the musical ability and knowledge Ella Bee has throughout the track. The message this song delivers is strong. It's about shining a light on vulnerability and fragility and how our throwaway-dating culture can lead to forming toxic friendships and relationships, even though we might not see it coming. All in all, this song is about respect and how we deserve nothing less.
Ella Bee slays at being a role model for females in the music industry and we can't wait to see what she brings to the table next. Listen to "Porcelain Doll" here and get to know more about Ella Bee in our interview below.
Hey Ella Bee! Welcome to BuzzMusic! We are very happy to be representing you and your latest single “Porcelain Doll”. “Porcelain Doll” is such an individualistic song, and incorporates a lot of different musical elements. What kind of music do you listen to that helps with your creative process? I grew up in Sydney listening to a lot of alternative pop music, mainly with female leads (such as P!nk, The Veronicas). When I first came to London I made a few songs which were very poppy. I grew a little older and went to music college, I formed a band and got a lot of influence from rock/indie rock (Joan Jett and Blackhearts, Bombay Bicycle Club). After leaving college I started working with producers, which widened my interest in more electronic sounds (BANKS, Flume). My influence from pop as a child, to my love of rock/indie rock as a teenager, to finally working solo with electronic producers as a young adult have all formed the music I make today. For my first project, I really wanted to create something different and provocative which combined all three genres.
With performing at so many different venues, you must have a lot of talent at captivating a big audience. In your experience, what is the hardest part about keeping the attention of a crowd?
I think the biggest part about keeping a crowd's attention is to really connect with what you’re singing and the message you’re putting across. If you’re just going up there and not giving the song your all, the audience will notice. I usually like to close my eyes, feel the atmosphere of the room and sing from the heart. Playing live has always been my favorite part of music, being able to perform something you’ve created is an unbeatable feeling.
With such hard-hitting lyrics in this song, it must have been a little bit difficult to express yourself in that way. When recording this song, how did you get into the musical atmosphere or role?
I like to write from situations I experience personally, this one, in particular, was about a time where I was with someone who didn’t treat me the way I deserved to be treated. I wrote the song and produced the first demo in my bedroom, which is where I find I can write my best music. The introduction to the song is actually a recording of a poem that I wrote, which I then distorted to the point where the listener couldn’t make out what I was saying. I think this adds an underlying tone to the song about how not everything is as clear as it seems on the surface, just like many relationships. I brought the track to my producer and good friend Lewis, who worked with me on it. The emotion of the song grew through experimenting with the electronic, industrial production, but it wasn’t until the second session we had where I listened over the chorus and said “this needs something more, can we do a few takes of me screaming the lyrics behind the main vocals?” and then I just screamed the words as if I was screaming at the person it was about. It’s hard to get into that mindset sometimes and fully zone in, but when I got into it, the anger I wanted to capture definitely came out.
With a new project in the works for 2020, you must be excited, the team is excited for sure. What kind of music can we expect on the project? Any collaborations?
I have so many songs now which I’m excited to release. The plan for this year is to release two more singles and a music video and then hopefully an EP towards the end of the year. I have some more dark electronic stuff coming, and also some softer songs which have a lot of meaning to me. I am completely independent at the moment so I’m doing my best to organise and plan everything. And yes hopefully I’ll be working with some more people when the world is back to normal again! I’m always collaborating with my friends and the people around me, but definitely expect to hear more from Lewis in my future releases for sure.