If you’re a die-hard fan of local rock, then the name Elle E should ring a bell.
Not coming from a family of music fans, Elle E doubted her musical capabilities when she was young. What started as a hobby, with her playing on an old guitar in her room, culminated in her releasing her debut solo album titled Etiquette.
It was only at the age of 16 that Tamboerskloof resident, Ellenie Eloff realised that she had it in her to make music and take it from her room to the world.
She bought her own guitar and started the now disbanded Two Stroke – a rock band which attracted quite a following in Cape Town in 2016.
A left-handed guitarist who plays a right-handed guitar upside down – the way rock legends like Jimi Hendrix and Albert King did – Elle E said she doesn’t follow any specific style or musical rules.
Inspired by the likes of rock stars such as Jack White, she enjoys the basic and bareness of the genre.
The inspiration for her solo album, said Elle E, came mostly from summer and food. The album is more playful and a little more optimistic than previous releases by Elle E.
Theeight-track-album starts with a song titled London, Paris, NY, Berlin. What starts as an excited love letter to travel and experience, eventually becomes an aggressive, almost nervous, freak-out as the instruments start ripping at the song’s seams. “People take it slightly, but it’s actually a serious song. It’s about the bombings that took place in London and all the tragedies that happened in these cities,” she said.
Theclosingtrack Trouble sees Elle E put the pre-fab walls and face brick in the rearview mirror to head off toward places like the destinations referenced in the first song.
It’s the perfect closing for this collection and it will leave you knowing that there is a lot more to come from Elle E.
Elle E said on this album she has focused more on songwriting and even though she has travelled, it has brought out the suburbanite in her. “I was able to move at my own pace on this album, I’m not trying to outshine anyone or holding myself back,” she said.