{"title":"Ella Thompson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"domino-7","title":"Domino","description":"\u003cp\u003eElla Thompson’s Domino is a spooky, bittersweet collection of cinematic soul cuts with luminous vocals that draw a line between 60s icons like Nancy Sinatra and contemporary soul artists like Kadhja Bonet. Ella’s effortless singing and haunting lyrics paint angular pictures in the moody darkness. The sparse production is intentionally cinematic, deeply influenced by the music of Italian ‘Giallo’ film scores of the 1970s, particularly by composers like Piero Piccioni but comparable to current artists like Adrian Younge or Bad Bad Not Good in a meditative mood. Minimal but propulsive bass and drums know when to hang back, as they do in the title track and when to step forward as they do in the chugging, deep and funky rhythm section work on the single Never Fight The Way You Feel. All the instrumentation used in Domino was created by Frollen Music Library, a library music project by the musicians behind Karate Boogaloo, Henry Jenkins, Hudson Whitlock and Darvid Thor, all long-term collaborators and friends of Ella’s. Ella returned to making music under her own name in 2023 after years of releasing music with her electro-pop duo GL and cult indie band Dorsal Fins. One of Australia’s truly accomplished singers, Ella’s range ranges from art music to cinematic soul, jazz, and pop. In addition to her solo project and bands, she has been a featured artist for numerous acts, most notably deep funk pioneers The Bamboos and Mark Ronson.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hopestreet Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50490015613259,"sku":"2081916","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/CS974115-01A-MED_bc67f946_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727649239"},{"product_id":"promise-to-keep-change-of-heart","title":"Promise to Keep \/ Change of Heart","description":"\u003cp\u003eMelbourne-based vocalist, musician, and songwriter Ella Thompson is an artist whose name is being championed by some of the best in the business. She's been building a reputation as one to watch, with two standout releases on Hopestreet Recordings, Domino EP in 2023 and Ripple On The Wing LP in 2024, alongside a heavy touring schedule and a stacked list of support slots and collaborations. For this new 7\" single, Ella collaborates with a selection of artists at the forefront of Naarm\/ Melbourne's soulful DIY community. Featuring members of Surprise Chef and Karate Boogaloo, Liam McGorry from Temporary Blessings (College Of Knowledge) joins Ella as co- writer and co-producer, with go-to Melbourne engineer Henry Jenkins also producing and recording the track.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBridging the worlds of classic and contemporary soul, Ella's songwriting is drenched in emotion and personal experience. With a timeless feel that is hard to tie to any particular period, she has crafted a sound that instantly hits deep. It's warm, tasteful and distinctly Ella. That talent has also seen her tour with Mark Ronson, and support other contemporary greats like Jalen Ngonda, Lee Fields, and Thee Sacred Souls. 'Promise to Keep' is the first taste of Ella's new material on this 7\" single. An irrepressible upbeat groover that echoes mid- to- late- sixties vocal groups. That influence though never overpowers Ella's own unique creative voice or distinct sense of self. She draws from it, but the colour is all her own. The song tells a story of being carried by the current that keeps us moving, giving us courage. A commitment to oneself that speaks to action shaped by vision, and the pull of following what feels correct even when the distance is far.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe flip side finds Ella in a different mood. 'Change of Heart' is a heavy sweet-soul ballad. Rich in drama, Ella's falsetto vocals build to a stunning climax in the final section, with triumphant horns that signal the release of letting go. The lyrics reflect on temporality and impermanence, and the way moments can be missed or arrive with synchronicity. It's that bittersweet paradox of triumph and sadness, where everything contains its opposite: absence and presence, innocence and experience. The song is underpinned by a brooding production quality and atmospheric, beat- heavy flavour that Surprise Chef and cinematic soul fans will relish. Mixed by Wayne Gordon (Daptone, Womack Sisters), 'Promise to Keep' and 'Change of Heart' are a glimpse of things to come from Ella Thompson. Keep an eye open for more new music incoming from this phenomenal artist at the top of her game.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr Bongo","offers":[{"title":"7\" - Black","offer_id":57044028981579,"sku":"R6803-5744","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f8a834e5-f413-4851-87e3-b2e41dd2c406.jpg?v=1776288230"},{"product_id":"triumph-and-sadness","title":"Triumph and Sadness","description":"\u003cp\u003eElla Thompson is standing up for feeling, standing up for joy and pain and all the messy, confusing, beautiful details that make life worth living. Soulful and timeless, her songs tell stories of the heart, finding universal truths in the honesty of personal experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReleased on UK label Mr Bongo and College of Knowledge in Australia and New Zealand, Triumph \u0026amp; Sadness is her most profound album yet - a powerful and unique record inspired by a classic sweet soul sound and rooted in the contemporary moment. Reaching out with vulnerability and poise, it is a plea for connection in a world gone numb. Recorded over four fruitful days at an all- analogue studio in the stunning natural surroundings of rural Victoria (with additional sessions for horns vocals and overdubs at Sound Park in Northcote), Triumph \u0026amp; Sadness was cut direct- to-tape with all the urgency and warmth of the iconic '60s and '70s sessions that first inspired her. Written alongside Liam McGorry (Temporary Blessings), featuring collaborators from bands Surprise Chef and Karate Boogaloo and mixed by Daptone and The Womack Sisters collaborator Wayne Gordon, it captures the live energy of a band at the top of their game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it is through Melbourne's vibrant, supportive independent scene that Thompson has found her voice. Coming up alongside contemporaries like Hiatus Kaiyote, two solo releases followed in quick succession, the 7-track EP 'Domino' in 2023, and LP Ripple on the Wing in 2024, pushing the boundaries of the song form and immersing herself in studio production, while building a creative community that has in turn shaped her sound. Inspired by Australian soul singer Renee Geyer, who blazed a trail across the country in the 1970s, and a wide tapestry of influences from soul titans like Nina Simone and Curtis Mayfield, to the philosophical musings of Patti Smith, Alice Walker and Simone Weil, Thompson takes the listener by the heart and hand across the album's 10 shimmering songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer belief in the significance of connection shines through on the album's thematic centrepiece, 'Promise To Keep'. It is a track that feels at once profound and whimsical in the best possible way, about building nerve, embracing naivety, bravery and love in an act that Thompson likens to a renewed romanticism. Then there is 'Change of Heart', which reflects on the temporality, impermanence and synchronicity of a moment, and the bittersweet paradox where everything contains its opposite: absence and presence, innocence and experience, triumph and sadness. Musically, it unfolds as a down-tempo, slinky ballad with falsetto vocals, ending in triumphant horns that signal the release of letting go. Drawing on the group vocal arrangements of bands like The Royalettes, it is devastating in its simplicity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd so, from 'My Weakness', which draws on the myth of Narcissus to question the loops of recognition and unsated longing built into life under Capitalism, to the bubbling intensity of 'Dandelion' whose contradiction between bitter taste and beautiful flower inspires Thompson to ask what we fear by caring too much, Triumph \u0026amp; Sadness weaves together threads that speak of life's great challenges. It is a complete and compelling statement from an artist ready to connect with a global audience for the first time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr Bongo","offers":[{"title":"LP - Yellow Marble","offer_id":57875677053259,"sku":"R9744-3130","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":57875677086027,"sku":"R9744-5910","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":57875677118795,"sku":"R9744-7276","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/de238a79-149f-46ca-9546-b5e007ce1488.jpg?v=1784191616"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/ella-thompson.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}