‘She’ is our first taste of what Ella Grace Denton, choosing to go by Ella Grace, has to offer our eager ears. Her sweet Sunday-soul voice is paired with a simple acoustic guitar on the two tracks ‘She’ and ‘Away From Here’. After teasing her followers about music for a long time, Ella’s releases don’t disappoint, and calling these songs “pieces of her journey” makes it clear there is more to come.
The simple melodies in both songs are an attribute to her intention to use music as a way to convey emotion and to document moments, with the repetitive chord progressions and stripped down vocals ensuring we aren’t distracted from her lyrics.
Ella left The University of Leeds after first year, giving in to her free spirit and desire to pursue her creative passions, including those of song writing and music. ‘She’ was recorded in her seaside cottage in Devon with Yorkshire’s very own Scott Quinn, and the layering of their honey dipped vocals creates a bittersweet love song laced with retrospective melancholy.
The second track released is ‘Away From Here’, and though short and sweet at under two minutes, it still has you pining for someone you’ve never met and dreaming of somewhere you’ve never been. The recording of this song took place in the middle of the night in a row boat out at sea, the natural, raw recording style refreshing in today’s synth and techno obsessed music scene, and the lapping waves add that peaceful, soothing touch to give the track an extra bit of magic.
Utilising music to document her life means we definitely have more to expect from Ella, with a handful already lucky enough to have heard her additional tracks at an intimate gig in London last Friday. These songs in particular however feel like they’re being sung directly from a page in Ella’s diary, the emotion and honesty make the tracks relatable to anyone moving on from a great lost love. Her timeless stripped back style and lust for life makes for meaningful music, the kind perfect for lazy spring Sundays and the hazy summer evenings waiting just around the corner.
Andrea Loftus
[image: YouTube]