The second artist to feature on Dreaminisfree Introduces is so new to me I hadn't even heard her music until earlier this month. Her latest single 'Better Off Alone' (released Sept 24th) is the kind of pop track that hits you in the feels.
I'm a big hearted soul and for me music is about the connection you have to the emotion of the song. So I was pretty hooked from the first of her her latest single. Digging deeper though I was more and more impressed with her song writing. 'Thinking About Her' and 'Quarter Past Three' are evidence that this lady knows how to write a song that captures you lyrically and audibly.
We've had a chat about her journey so far, her influences, which artist she'd like to collaborate with and more.
Dreaminisfree: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard your music before?
Ellie Grace: I used to find this question so hard to answer, because my sound live is very different to my released music. I now just say I make Indie Pop, because that's largely the case nowadays. There are often electropop elements in there, and everything I write is very 'singer-songwriter' lead, as lyrics are my main focus. I like lots of nice synth sounds, layered vocals and guitars with beautiful effects. My lyrics are often very vulnerable and I think you can hear my honesty through my vocal performance.
Who are your main musical influences?
The number one answer to this has remained the same since I was about 12. Taylor Swift is my ride or die. Her song writing and performance skills have influenced me enormously, and I find so much inspiration in how she handles herself and the industry. I then also seek influence in other strong women in the industry, often other LGBTQ+ artists, such as Fletcher, King Princess, Halsey, Lauren Sanderson, L Devine, and so many more. I'm also always excited to discover new artists and right now Griff is catching my attention! On a pure song writing level, I always revert back to all time favourites such as Alanis Morissette and Fleetwood Mac.
Which artist or person has inspired you most in your career in music?
This answer ties in with the above, but definitely Taylor. Like so many artists my age, she's the reason I wanted to get good at guitar and would write songs every night after school. I learned a lot about confessional song writing through her and still to this day I always get told I sound like her after I've played a gig or show new people my tracks. She has so many strings to her bow and has proved you can vary your sound throughout your career and still absolutely smash it in the charts.
Your bio says you’ve been writing since the age of nine! What was your first song called and do you still remember the lyrics?
Yes, I have! I remember being even younger than that and roaming around singing random songs that I was making up as I went along, just about my day and what I was doing. When I was 9 I got my first little Nokia phone and it had a voice memo app, so that's when I documented my first official song. It's so funny. I believe it was called 'First Love', it was a piece of total fiction. I have the lyrics written down in an old lyric journal (I have every song I've ever written in specific lyric books).
You did a live tour of Northern Italy (a place I would love to visit). What was that like and what was your favourite part of being in Italy?
I still feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to do that. Second to music, travelling is my biggest passion. It was a few years back now actually, which feels wild. We had the most fun ever, I went over with some other amazing musicians that I was studying with during my degree at music school at the time, and we visited these amazing towns that were actually off the tourist path and stayed in amazing places and obviously had so much food. Every single place we went was stunning and our downtime was full of just discovering beautiful things. The shows were so much fun too, people give off such a great vibe there.
Which current artist would you like to support in the near future?
Oohh that's tough, I'd actually probably say Fletcher because our music would appeal to the same people and she seems like such a cool girl to spend time with. I love all of her work too so it would be amazing to hear her play every night.
You’ve been writing songs for a long time and in my opinion you have a real talent for it. If someone was interested in a career in music and was writing songs but not sure where to start or what to write about do you have a word of advice you could give them?
Writing is a muscle and gets easier the more you do it, so try and find time to pen something every day, even if you throw it away straight after. The easiest thing to write about is what you know, but that's not always the easiest to share, so try to embody a new character in your songs, even if what they're going through is an experience that you've had yourself. Then I'd say try and network and find a producer that you gel really well with (unless you can learn how to produce for yourself - even better!). The real fun comes when you start bringing your songs to life, then get them online and don't stop pestering people about them!
And finally what's next for Ellie Grace? An EP or album or maybe a UK tour?
There are definitely more songs under my belt that are almost ready to go, I just want to find the right plan for them, timing is everything. Ellie Grace is about to see some huge, exciting changes, that aren't quite ready to be announced yet. The world has been crazy for the last couple of years, but now we're starting to see a bit of normality, we're very close to things being totally shaken up in the best way 😉 keep a close eye out, things will unfold in due course
Dreaminisfree always has and always will be free - Any artists looking to collaborate please email debbie@dreaminisfree.co.uk