Earlier in the week, we brought you news about Brisbane songstress Ella Ferdinands and her success in getting the gang at Hit105 to spin her newly-released Bec Caruana co-penned debut single ‘Dapper Love’. It’s a great track (listen HERE), but we thought we’d get more of the story by breaking out eleven pressing questions in order to ‘Get To Know’ her a little more.
01. Name. Ella Ferdinands.
02. Where are you based? Brisbane.
03. How did you get your start in music? My sister was the singer in the family, and I looked up to her talent. After I was old enough to take singing lessons, I never looked back. We grew up in a household filled with music.
04. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. I began my training at the Young Conservatorium in the jazz ensemble as a lead vocalist. I studied music and drama at school and then went on to do a two year music theatre internship in Brisbane. I wasn’t completely comfortable trying to sing like someone else and was told I had too much of a distinctive voice for theatre. This encouraged me to pursue a solo journey and found myself an acoustic act as well as a band which did very well in the Brisbane gigging scene. It was through all these performances that I found my own sound and gravitated towards soul funk.
05. Who have been your musical influences? Amy Winehouse, Sam Smith, Stevie Wonder.
06. What are your favourite songs of all time?
Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
Stevie Wonder – For Once In My Life
Amy Winehouse – Hey Little Rich Girl
Jackson 5 – Blame It On The Boogie
Alicia Keys – If I Ain’t Got You
Andrea Bocelli – The Prayer
07. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. My friends say I’m hilarious and I don’t take myself seriously at all.
08. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? My singing teacher told me to take rejection like water off a duck’s back.
09. Tell us about your latest release.
I had a very clear vision for the sound of my single ‘Dapper Love’. Once I started writing the lyric, the melody and harmonies just fell into place and the process was a quick and effortless. I knew what I wanted and was over the moon with the result.
10. What do your future plans involve?
Writing more originals for sure. I have a second single coming out soon.
11. Where can our audience catch you live?
This Saturday (May 16) I’m performing at Johnny Browns in Fortitude Valley from 7:00pm.
FACEBOOK : www.facebook.com/ellafmusic
TWITTER : www.twitter.com/EFerdinands
INSTAGRAM : www.instagram.com/eferdinands
SOUNDCLOUD : www.soundcloud.com/ellaferdinands
Australia's first stop for pop!