R13 likes a broad spectrum of music and its fair to say that we are down with Dre. Of course, we aren’t as fortunate enough to have met the good Dr but one up and coming singer has got one up on us. Ella Montclare may bring a blend of trip-hop with good old fashioned Kate Bush style deliveries but she made it all the way to Aftermath Records in Los Angeles. After that, you may find it hard to come back to earth with a bump but Ella is raring to go with her debut single and album and told RoomThirteen all about it.
R13:Ella, for any of our readers who are unaware of your work, could you give us some background to yourself?
EM: I'm Ella Montclare an English, Bajan, and Spanish singer-songwriter from County Durham, now living in West London. My music is trip-hop beats and vocal sweets confessing soaring tales of love, sensuality, melancholy and sorcery. Someone more sensible than me described it as Massive Attack meets Kate Bush meets Prince. Quite a threesome hahaha.
R13:You’ve been tipped to take the musical world by storm, is this a fair assessment?
EM: Well that remains to be seen….would be good though I suppose (much laughter).
R13:So, no pressure on you then...what are your honest hopes and ambitions for the next 12 months?
EM: I'm looking forward to being on tour with my band. We got our first taste of Festival fever a couple weeks ago and we're well and truly hooked on doing more of them!
R13:What sort of music did you listen to when you were growing up?
EM: Artists my mum used to play like Kate Bush, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkle and Aretha Franklin. And then later, Massive Attack, Portishead, Dr Dre, and Jay-Z when I was in my angry and melancholy teens!
R13:Are these artists your major influence or have you been inspired by other acts?
EM: People say they can hear their influence in my music…
R13:Turning towards your music, ‘I Surrender’ is your first major single release, how are you feeling at the moment with regards to this release?
EM: Excited! We've worked so hard on the music and video and live performances around my upcoming album, 'Ella Trip'. I've been very lucky to collaborate with some incredibly fresh and innovative musicians and animators and filmmakers, and we're all really passionate about the artistic content bringing a fresh vision to the creative world.
R13: Having heard the track, it puts us very much in mind of the late 1990s relaxed trip-hop sounds with extremely flirtatious vocals, was this a deliberate move?
EM: It's just how it organically flowed. There was no real masterplan around this album, it just started with writing and recording music I love and snowballed from there.
R13:That’s the single, is it a true representation of forthcoming album ‘Ellatrip’?
EM: It's a taste. The album has a wider range of sounds and influences. As I write and co-produce my own material, it's kind of like a lyrical, melodic snapshot of my life and dreams so far.
R13:Do you have any highlights from making your album?
EM: Well it started with Dr Dre's engineer, Steve "B" Buchanan, who's recorded artists like Eminen, No Doubt, Dr Dre….definitely a highlight! Also, filming the 'I Surrender' video with an all-female crew was pretty cool. A lot of oestrogen on the set!
R13:You were lucky enough to be welcomed into world of Dr Dre during the recording of this record, how did that come about?
EM: Well I auditioned for Dr Dre and Mike Lynn, Head of Aftermath Records, in Los Angeles and ended up recording for them the same day! I learnt a lot from those guys. They have the strongest work ethic I've ever witnessed. It was a very humbling and inspiring experience.
R13:Like many artists, you have a twitter page, how much time do you spend on it?
EM: Mmmm I'm told I should be twittering more! I'll probably start doing daily updates nearer to the release of the record!
R13:Are you a fan of social networking sites and do you believe they are the best way for a new act like yourself to break through?
EM: Oh yeah, I probably wouldn't have finished this album if it wasn't for Myspace! I first recorded my songs just for fun. I put them up on Myspace and my page went to number one of the trip-hop charts. I literally have thousands of people writing to me about my music. I got a lot of requests for an album and people are very encouraging, they gave me the confidence to keep recording. Otherwise I don’t think my music would have ever left my house!
R13:The remixes of ‘I Surrender’ came about due to your myspace page, is this something you are likely to engage in again?
EM: Well, I get so many producers asking to remix tracks. I'm really flattered they're interested and it's always cool to have my ideas re-imagined.
R13:Do you have any live performances lined up?
EM: I'll be doing a UK tour at the beginning of next year to support the release of the record. And probably a few London dates before the year end. Dates will be posted on
my myspace page
R13:If you could work with any three musical acts in the world, who would they be?
EM: Kate Bush (although I'd probably be too nervous), Dan the Automator and Britney.
R13:It is fair to say you are an attractive woman, do you worry that some people may not take your music as seriously as they should (which again, having heard it, they should) because of this?
EM: Well if people think less of my music because of the way I look, it's a bit frustrating, but it says more about them and their prejudices than it does about me.
R13:Its been a year of almost non-stop female artists in the charts and public eye and some are receiving an unfair backlash already, do you think you will be strong enough to deal with whatever comes your way in the year ahead?
EM: Don't know about that one. I've never really wanted to be famous, but I would really like to share my music with as many people as possible and go on tour forever, so it's a double edged sword…
R13:If you were allowed one chance to convince people to give you a listen, what would you say?
EM: This record will change your life (said with a beaming smile!)
And with such upbeat enthusiasm....and a lot of talent, who would bet against Ella Montclare becoming one of the breaking stars of 2010.