Music > Audioline
Ellie Bleach
21/04/17
WHO?
There is always something very special about seeing an artist develop before your eyes. The ones that everyone notices and can’t wait for the next gig or the next release. And right now there is something very special about Ellie Bleach that is beginning to get a lot of attention. With a new single Duvet Day and a new six track EP Petty just released on Hazy Dog Records, she’d better used to it.
Ellie is a 19 year old from just down the road in Southend, up here studying English Literature at the UEA. Sure, there was a music background of choirs, piano and French horn, and even a gig in a local café (pushed into it by two friends convinced of her talent.) But it was really only once here at uni that Ellie started taking it seriously almost reluctantly choosing the guitar as her instrument of choice. “I didn’t want to be a bit of a musical cliché,” she told us, “Oh, there’s another girl with a guitar singing sad songs. The strange thing was that when I started to get confident enough to play open mic events at the UEA, I was pretty much the only Girl With a Guitar!”
WHAT?
The buzz around Ellie has picked up on her songs, somewhat dark, somewhat quirky, yet catchy, tuneful and intriguing. “I’ve realised they’re coming out quite poppy and now I’ve accepted that’s OK, I’ve started to experiment a bit more.” And you notice the voice and the words. “I had always wanted to be an author, maybe deep down I still do,” she said. But the words seem to flow into lyrics rather than novels right now and once she’d shown friends what she’d written, their reaction encouraged her to get out and perform. “I only had three songs, then got asked by promoter Alex Carson to do a half hour set at Gonzo’s. I thought I’d better get writing. I’d just been dumped, which turned out to be good for the music!"
LIVE?
Ellie may have chosen guitar, but from the start opted for electric rather than acoustic which may explain why she attracted the attention of other musicians - after a live set at Old School studios with Mr Jason and Conor Etteridge (Box of Light), she knew she had to get a band of her own. That’s all still in the planning stage, but Ellie says by the autumn she hopes to have things in place to get out and play.
FUTURE?
There will be a release party for the EP Petty, then expect things to go quiet as she tucks into uni work before getting stuck into music again in the summer and beyond. Remember this is all pretty new stuff for Ellie. Her first gig was only a year ago. She may still be somewhat dismissive of the idea that she has talent, but all the good reviews can only boost the confidence. It means we get to enjoy watching that development continue, knowing there are more great tracks and gigs to come.