After originally making her mark as ill-esha over the last few decades, the renowned artist now introduces her ellipse project with her stunning debut single 'Poison'.
Capturing a wonderfully rich and alluring alt-pop aesthetic for her initial offering, 'Poison' makes for a dazzling introduction to her newest venture. With its broad and emotive textures, shimmering production, and her own impactful vocals at the helm, she is kicking things off with a wildly enjoyable opening number here.
So with the new track available to stream now, we sat down with her to discuss her origins and influences over the years.
What was the first band or artist you fell in love with?
I remember discovering Brandy when i was a kid and fell in love with the minor-key R&B aesthetic, which brought me to Aaliyah. More than even their voices i was fascinated by the deep grooves and clanky percussion, and at some point i discovered the common thread was Timbaland.. i started obsessively hunting down everything he was producing. I think that's still the longest inspiration i've had for the textures of my music production.
Did you ever form a band when you were younger and if so, what did they sound like?
Yes! My childhood friend Todd (who went on to lead the very cool bands The Winks and Silver Pools) and i had a band called Freak Scene when we were preteens. He actually salvaged our old demo and digitized the DAT - it’s some pretty classic 90s indie rock with some twists of blues and R&B. I played the bass and only sang sometimes. We really crushed his school assembly and the local coffee shop.
What has been your primary inspiration in writing music?
I love the stories that the right layers of sonic texture and negative space can convey. And even though i love clever lyrics and metaphors, music for me has always been about the melodies, rhythms and timbres. The lyrics bow to the cadences, which almost always come before the words.
What is a song you wish you had written yourself?
“Afterglow” by Phaeleh is one of the most perfect tunes of all time. It's such a vibe, and it communicates as deceptively simple, but the magic is so nuanced and it takes you to the most ethereal place with such sparse, carefully balanced elements.
If there was any moment in your career you could relive, what would it be?
I will always love performing in nature more than anything. A vibrant crowd against gorgeous surroundings and bass resonating through the fresh air.. as an underground electronic artist, I have so many lovely mental postcards from festivals and renegade parties around the world.
Which artist would you most love to share a stage with?
Bonobo and his live band - I’ve actually performed at festivals where he was playing, but only a DJ set. I’ve probably watched his Royal Albert Hall set at least twenty times; his music is so incredible and does that dance between organic and electronic that really excites me.
And is there an artist you would love to collaborate with as well?
I would absolutely love to make an experimental performance project with either Bjork or Imogen Heap. Both are such strong, original voices that aren’t afraid of adopting or even creating wildly innovative technology to express themselves in unique ways.
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I’m currently just beginning to experiment with different mediums; making more videos, visuals, doing analog effects and working with lighting. I see my music continuing its love affair with visual art and creating more interactive, generative performances and projects that can be experienced in multiple unique ways. The future of artistry should not be so dependent on touring, and I’ve always embraced technology; recently I trained a neural network on my entire catalog to create my “artist brain” as part of a cutting-edge new VST called Combobulator, which allows anyone to infuse my signature timbres into their creations. I hope to just keep doing more and more from here!
ellipse's debut single 'Poison' is out now. Check it out below.
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