Ella Chi

From Bristol to North London, via the remote village of Gaucin, Spain. But the cultural diversity of her background and vagabond lifestyle has never detracted from the childhood dream of making music.

Ella Chi’s musical influences are as broad as her upbringing. Creativity, passion and volume were perhaps the only constants in an early childhood that saw her uprooted from Bristol and dropped into school in a remote Andalusian village. 

English was not an option, and so with a seriously lively set of friends Ella had to adopt the native tongue and with it came an independence most teenagers miss out on. " We were at complete liberty to be wild and free, it was a great place to grow up but over time my love of fun was overshadowed by my burning desire and need to sing and make music."

The need to be creative and to choose her own path is in her blood. Her Dad is a maverick character who wanted to leave behind what he saw as the pervasive nanny state in Britain and bring his kids up (Ella is the eldest of three) in a different environment.

Early inspirations came from home where there was always a great record playing. Ella would always pick out the soulful albums in record collections and, without really knowing who she was listening to, gravitated towards Stevie Wonder, D' Angelo, and Jill Scott. As a young adult her love for old favourites was fused with the sounds of drum n bass, neo soul, and later dubstep. Like a cultural sponge she absorbed all of these styles and wrung them out to create her own sound and her debut album, self titled ‘ELLA CHI’.

Ella regularly performed on stage with her Dad and sang at late night jams and squat parties with local gypsy flamenco bands, but there wasn't a proper outlet for her style of music. "Spain doesn't really offer that scene and I felt trapped. With no creative outlet I decided I had to head to London, somewhere that I could perform that kind of music."

The plan, such as it was, was long on ambition and enthusiasm, short on detail. "The idea was to come to London and become a Pop Star; though I wasn't quite sure how. It was incredibly lonely and tough when I first moved over. I was signing on and living in Camden, feeling pretty lost and depressed. I did not know where to start with my music”. That feeling of isolation did not last long. Gaining in confidence from her immersion into the London scene, Ella started performing around town, and started to find her own sound.

Ella wrote and recorded her album with her cousin, the producer Jake Carter, in an underground studio in Soho.. "It took us 18 months - at one point I was homeless and literally living in the vocal booth "

Ella's album is not an electronic record - she wanted to create an organic sound that felt real  “It so important to me that I make music with depth and substance, I feel like a lot of listeners get cheated these days. All the musicians on the record are some of my best friends, and the lyrics are about that time too.”

The broad appeal in Ella’s sound and personality allows her the opportunity to entertain Jonathan Ross’ Radio 2 audience in session one week, and record with UK rapper Master Shortie the next. 

Last year Ella performed to thousands at Glastonbury Festival and became a face on the London scene performing with her band at well renowned live nights across town including Notting Hill Arts Club, The Pigalle Club, Shoreditch House… Somewhat of a wild child, she ventured alone to New York City with the intention of checking out the music scene. Her stay was longer than planned …. “I was supposed to go for a week and ended up there for two months. A musician in New York saw me sing at a jam and put a whole band around me, we played loads of gigs, and a show at The Bitter End, the city’s oldest rock venue.”

The master of her own destiny, Ella has had the courage and talent to strike out on her own and do what feels right to her.

It seems that, little by little, the world is starting to pick up on the buzz and cotton on to Ella Chi. Once the secret is out there will be no stopping this girl but, whatever route she takes to the top, she'll do it her way.

Ella’s Album, ‘ELLA CHI’ is available now across the UK.