Ella Raphael is blessed with an amazing voice, filled with warmth and emotion; it’s engaging, like an old friend telling tales and spinning stories.
Brought up in London, surrounded by sound, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James, while encountering Queen, The Beatles and the Stones from her Dad’s collection, Ella’s musical journey continued in Australia where she met many other musicians, and ended up sailing with would-be pirates, singing in the bow of their boat and deciding that music was the path for her.
A scholarship to study in Boston at Berklee College of Music was secured, but she hated its rigidity, an experience only saved by listening all day to Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Pieces Of A Man’ album. “He was so anti institutional it was exactly what I needed, I remember being really angry, all I wanted to do was rebel; listening to the flute and congas and his words gave me a whole new perspective.”
Bored with Berklee, she took the option to carry on her studies in Valencia, Spain, adding further exotica to her vocabulary. Her travels have refined that eclectic mix, adding Love, Serge Gainsbourg, Karen Dalton (to whom her lilting vocal occasionally recalls), Vashti Bunyan, Catherine Riberio And Alpes, the original masters of Tropicalia, exotic 50s guitars and the more esoteric sounds of The Beatles.
Wooed by the symbolism of time and place, inspired by the movies of Almodovar, Vincent Gallo and Contempt (French: Le Mépris) is a 1963 French New Wave drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard she began assimilating it all into her own songs. Writing outdoors, freedom has always been a virtue to her – soaking it up – Ella penned songs that are at once aching and brittle, then elated and celebratory; she has perfected a sound that’s as wide-ranging as her influences and experiences, music that’s as beautiful as its surroundings, using the intricacies and subtle nuances of sound to channel both light and dark into her music.
‘Mad Sometimes’ intriguing sound comes from a stylish mix of lap steel, mandolin, guiro, congas, synthesisers, a shruti box and stringed instruments played by Ella, Eyal Samson, Uzi Ramirez, Ron Ephrati, Guy Mintus and Amir Sadot.
“A timeless, Tropicália-tinged daydream” Gorilla VS Bear said of her single, ‘All In’. Following with the evocative ‘Tangled Love’ and aching ‘See You Through’ both of which were mixed by Ray Monde of psych-rock duo, Monde UFO and arrived with added goosebumps. This string of beautifully crafted songs continues through the summer as Ella slip slides over genres and plucks at heartstrings, all culminating in the release of her debut album, ‘Mad Sometimes’.
Ella Raphael’s debut album ‘Mad Sometimes’ is out now. Available to order in Limited Edition Gold Vinyl & CD.
