2 UK HEADLINE SHOWS CONFIRMED
LONDON SHOW SOLD OUT!
HOMETOWN BRIGHTON SHOW SELLING FAST
Tue 11th Feb - Brighton Bermuda Triangle
Wed 12th Feb - London The Old Queens Head SOLD OUT
20 year old rising star Elli Ingram, whose Sober EP marked her out as an artist with a sound and voice of rare depth for one so young, makes her Island Records debut with the release of the haunting song “When It Was Dark”. “When It Was Dark” is the first taste from a collection of songs, released on March 3rd, that Brighton born and based Elli has been writing and recording over the last few months. If you think of Elli’s forthcoming album, due later this year, in terms of a three course meal, then consider “When It Was Dark” as your first appetiser, an amuse bouche if you like.
The accompanying video was directed by the award-winning Emil Nava, (Ed Sheeran, Tinie Tempah, Jessie J) who was so blown away by Elli’s talent when he worked on the Mad Love video, that he has committed to be working alongside Elli on all visual aspects of the campaign from here on in.
You can see what all the fuss is about when Elli performs two live dates in February, the first at the Bermuda Triangle in Brighton on February 11th and the second at Old Queens Head in Islington the following night February 12th.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO SEE ELLI IN BRIGHTON. LONDON SHOW IS NOW SOLD OUT!
No Brit School alumni, Elli developed her impressive vocals first in her bedroom, then gigging in her hometown of Brighton. She grew up in a musical house: her dad performing in a classic rock cover band, her mum listening to Joni Mitchell, reggae and ska and her sister playing piano.
She's since landed a record deal with major label Island Records, sung with Chase & Status during their headline set on Glastonbury’s Other Stage, received major airtime on Radio 1 and 1 Xtra and indeed been shortlisted for 1 Xtra’s Hot 10 for 2014 list and received major love from the likes of – RWD, Vibe, Hunger, SB.TV and Wonderland magazine.
At 14, a teacher entered her into a talent show; she sang Norah Jones and won. Her name was read out at the end of the night but she’d already left for a party and her mum had to collect the award. Thrown in with “all these boys who just wanted to make rock”, she struggled to find a place and considered quitting. "I was like, what am I supposed to sing, Primal Scream?” Finally she found a boy who shared her mum’s love of reggae and they started performing in local pubs: “to our parents and a few drunk people.” Now, having toured Europe with Chase & Status and sung to a crowd of more than 10,000 at Glastonbury, she says the stage is where she feels most at home: “It’s the best feeling. I feel relaxed and safe in a weird sort of way. Especially when it’s dark and you can’t really see anyone and it’s just me. I love it."
She started posting covers on Youtube at 18 – always tracks by male vocalists: Kanye & Jay Z’s ‘No Church in the Wild’, Labrinth’s ‘Earthquake Dub’. Soon she added a couple of her own. ‘Intoxicated’ is a piano-laid account of all those stupid things we do when we’re young and drunk; sung in smoky, bassy, tones with eyes shut tight. Meanwhile, ‘Silver and Gold’, co-written with Hobbie Stuart and produced by Alex Wells, gave a glimpse of the power and ambition that lie behind her shyness. She then hooked up with Benny Banks, providing vocals on his album track ‘Let Me Be’. These early offerings showcased the impressive range and detail of her voice, for which she’d had no formal training. “I don’t think I’ve ever done a vocal warm up or a warm down or anything like that, I literally just open my mouth and sing and wait for it to run out.”
Her cover of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Poetic Justice’ really started to catch people’s attention. Stripped down and jazzed up with lush piano progressions and a skittering hi-hat it came with a psychedelic dreamscape video directed by Harry Cauty, son of KLF member James. At last count, it had notched up over 330,000 You Tube views. Scroll through the comments and “better than the original” flashes past time and again, peppered with: “Adele if she did hiphop”; “Adele if she smoked weed”, and “Adele with swag”.
She acknowledges that Adele is her biggest comparison. "It’s a huge compliment, she’s a massive artist and she’s got an amazing voice, but I’ve never seen her do a hiphop cover. It does kind of annoy me - it’s lazy.”
It’s Amy Winehouse, she says, who is her biggest influence, alongside “Lauryn Hill, Fugees, Billie Holiday, D’Angelo - soulful, feel-good music. I love hiphop as well, like old school hiphop; Guru and Big Pun, A Tribe Called Quest.” With wide eyes and a quickening of pace, she says she has especial affection for Big Pun: “because he samples jazz and hiphop and they are my two favourite things. When they’re put together it’s like magic.”
Elli has a tattoo on each wrist. One is of a teacup: it's delicate, hand-drawn and the colour has bled. The other is of a triangle, because, she says: "it's the strongest structure". And somewhere between the two, pink-cheeked and doe-eyed, is Elli Ingram and her voice, ready for whatever it is that lies ahead.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO SEE ELLI IN BRIGHTON. LONDON SHOW IS NOW SOLD OUT!