To cut a long story short, you need to hear Ellie Goulding. Not only so you can tell your friends that you ‘liked her waay before she hit the big time, man’ but mainly because she’s insanely good. Her music is produced by upcoming super producer, Starsmith,she’s made young boys cry with her covers of ‘Black and Gold’ by Sam Sparro and ‘The Wolves’ by Bon Iver and has worked with some big names from the chart world. She’s also ‘slightly’ from Wales and trying to take on the fitness world….
Earlier on this week, I interviewed Ellie for your reading pleasure. I reckon the pleasure will be increased if you listen to her whilst reading it. So pop open another window and go to www.myspace.com/elliegoulding to get the feeling right.
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Hi Ellie! You’ve worked with lots of people in the past, but word on the street is that you recently worked with Diana Vickers. WTF? (yes,WTF is a question…)
“Ha. Well I’ve written some songs for her. She’s actually a funny, lovely, vibrant girl and you forget she was on X Factor . I went in just to help out a bit and then we got on so well that I stayed round a couple more days. It’s good harmless fun really. She’s given me all the juicy X Factor goss. Don’t pretend you’re not jealous.”
I am Jealous! Come on, spill the beans….
“No.”
Owh, sad face. You notoriously make your tracks with Starsmith. How did you guys get together?
“It’s a very boring story. A friend suggested him to me after working with Frankmusik, so I got in touch and we got it on.”
Lovely. Who would be your ultimate person to make music with?
“Apart from Starsmith, who I have a great relationship with and could quite happily work with every day for the rest of my musical career, I would want to make music with… nope can’t think of anyone. I will always work with different people though… I would get bored otherwise.”
Lots of people have described you and your music in different ways, like when The Guardian recently said that you were ‘the new Bjork’. What’s the weirdest description you’ve heard of yourself?
“Cerys Matthews. To use your valid question, WTF? I know why I was compared to her though, it’s because I’m slightly from Wales and they were like, “who can we find that’s from Wales to compare to Ellie Goulding and slightly alternative? Not Tom Jones…Duffy?no….. I know! Cerys Matthews from that band Catatonia! Perfect!” Alternatively I’ve had Kate Nash, Joanna Newsom, Martha Wainwright, Imogen Heap. The list is literally endless.”
You’re really fit. Do you have have a work-out routine?
“Haha! I do have a work-out routine. I mix up capoeira techniques with hatha yoga stretching, taekwondo, running and a lot of cardiovascular stuff. Circuits is fucking sexual too. If you want to get super fit fast, go to circuits twice a week. I feel like I never train enough though. Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to be like madonna but it does feel good to be fit.”
So,when is the Ellie Goulding fitness video coming out?
“Never! But I figured if I do any kind of promo for an album it might involve a video diary of me doing a gruelling, hardcore run from Lands End to John O’ Groats or something like that. Quite the rock star I am, aren’t I. The novelist Haruki Murakami says, “You have to have a healthy body to feed an unhealthy soul”. He’s a long distance runner and has ran many marathons and triathlons, even a hypermarathon which is 62 miles! At the same time he writes some really fucked up, beautiful stuff.”
Did you want to be a singer when you were little? I wanted to be a footballer. I’m still confident it’ll happen….
“To be honest I can’t remember. It was only the other day when I found an old photo that I remembered how much I really did love music, passionately and scarily from a young,young age. My memory comes and goes! I also wanted to be an actor and teach people to act. At a later age I wanted to be a fitness trainer so it would give me an excuse to train all the time and I could teach physical theatre. I’m such a nerd!”
What music where you into when you were growing up?
“I was brought up on dance music, weirdly. My mum listened to it all the time. Come to think of it she was always buying new stuff and didn’t listen to anything old, which kind of explains why I don’t feel any nostalgia listening to Bob Dylan or The Beatles. But I liked indie bands from a young age; The Verve, Supergrass, Blur, all that early nineties stuff. Then I got into heavier bands like Pearl Jam. Then I liked every Bjork record that existed. Then I liked Joni Mitchell, My Brightest Diamond, Patti Griffin, Rilo Kiley, Fleetwood Mac, Midlake. I don’t have any female artist heroes.”
By the way, Just so you know, we’re getting impatient and want to see you play live soon…
“I promise, soon there will be a live set that I will be happy with. I just want to get this so right. People pay good money for shows and I intend on giving them their money’s worth!”
On your myspace there is a lovely cover of Bon Iver’s The Wolves. Why did you pick that song to cover?
“Because every time I listen to it, it makes me cry. And I thought that covering it would see some sort of resolution to this silliness. Like getting the song out of my system, devaluing it or something so I could listen to it without turning into a wreck on the tube!”
What is the Ellie Goulding plan of action for the rest of the year?
“Slowly but surely, taking over the world and making it better. Or more realistically, getting my album together with the sickest band in the world and then train for next years marathon.”
Can I have your autograph?
“sure,why not?”
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By Tom Adolph
