Premiere: Ella’s Brother Excites & Astounds with “Weird Pop 79”

Ella's Brother © Peter Dibdin Photographer
Ella's Brother © Peter Dibdin Photographer
Edinburgh-based Ella’s Brother brings hopefulness and energy informed by timidity with “Weird Pop 79,”  lifted off upcoming EP ‘Mere Exposure’.

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Scottish emerging artist Ella’s Brother has managed to create a work of art that feels reassuringly unpredictable but also deeply personal and introspective. Clocking in at over 5 minutes long, debut single “Weird Pop 79” takes you on a real journey, reflecting both the buoyant optimism and desperate anguish that we all face as we go through life.

As the southern sun innocently drops,
the eager stars pierce
through the velvet twilight,
and oh we have still
got the other coast to go.
Us cats aren’t meant to stray so far,
turns out the outskirts aren’t so bad,
let’s start to beat a brand new track.
Listen: “Weird Pop 79” – Ella’s Brother
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Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Weird Pop 79,” the first cut from Ella’s Brother’s debut EP Mere Exposure, out 7/6/2018. Ella’s Brother is the solo project of Scottish Musician Raff Erogona and it feels like this moniker is allowing the evidently talented singer-songwriter to fully explore himself on a deeply authentic and raw level.

Mere Exposure - Ella's Brother
Mere Exposure – Ella’s Brother
It’s got to be loaded heartbreak
though you know that you can’t fake that,
if you could would you
really want to get away with that
I’ve given up the ghost and the spirits,
oh but the old pipe nightmares keep me
one foot in it all,
I’ll tell you something
if you promise not to laugh.

The track’s introduction is intriguingly scintillating, with the minimalistic guitar sound drawing you in almost instantly. The art of a good introduction is slowly fading but at over 20 seconds, this track’s introduction feels like welcome return to the days before streaming and dwindling attention spans. As Raff Eragona’s voice kicks, his Scottish dialect is welcoming and unmistakable. The interplay between instrumentation and his intriguing voice is breath-taking, with fleeting moments between lines being filled by interesting, unique pieces of instrumentation.

“The whole EP was written and recorded in a short space of time. I wanted to capture the songs while they were still fresh and unhinged,” Raff tells Atwood Magazine. “There’s a feeling of deep regret and terror when you realise that fear has been holding you back from the things you love. Whether it’s fear of failure, rejection or even just fear of leaving the house you’ve got to push yourself through those barriers to beat the negative feelings.”

Ella's Brother © Peter Dibdin Photographer
Ella’s Brother © Peter Dibdin Photographer
I’ve got another bright idea,
another fine mess I’m sure,
I think that we should start a band and tour.
We’ll call ourselves
The Only Hearts Club Band,
I knew you’d love that one man,
we’ve long divorced ourselves
from the silent realm of the overground
Oh you know what it’s like
but you do it to yourself anyway,
that’s addiction for you.

Although this track feels hopefully optimistic, there’s a real sense that this assured outlook has grown from a sense of destructive dismay and despair. This authenticity is uncommon and wonderfully captivating. A glistening rudimentary energy flows through this track like a raging river, showcasing the extraordinarily unpredictable nature of human emotion.

Stay tuned for more from this promising project to watch throughout 2018 as Ella’s Brother releases Mere Exposure on the 6th of July, but for now stream “Weird Pop 79” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

We missed the boat but I don’t mind,
I kinda like it here,
so let’s just stick around and
see what happens, famous last words.
I’ve had this tune floating round
my brain for twenty years at least I’d say,
I can’t remember any of the words
or who it’s by,
but it goes a little something like
do do do do do.

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Mere Exposure - Ella's Brother

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? © Peter Dibdin
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