Neo-soul and R&B are flying high in the UK right now. Popularity continues to flourish, with scores of new and established artists vying for a seat at the table of the scene’s nourishing banquet. One name knocking on the door is Ella More, the Birmingham-born, London-based songstress who is catching eyes and ears with her luxurious and profound sound.

Emerging in early 2023 with her dazzling debut cut “Never Go”, the artist flaunted an eclectic and endearing approach throughout the rest of the year with follow-up singles like “You Know” and “At What Cost”. She recently returned with her first offering of the new year, “Balance”, a track that sees her refine her sonic palette and further explore her deeply personal lyrical approach.

Produced by revered beatsmith Nikhil, the subtle instrumental backdrop is decadent and dreamy, with the singer’s controlled and characterful vocal the track’s centric driving point. “This song is all about love,” More tells us. “It is all about throwing yourself into it with no inhibitions, no worries, just the purest certainty of what it is. A love so big and strong that the whole world feels it and looks to it for solace. It talks about doing away with this idea that you shouldn’t be with each other all the time because who needs balance anyway?”

As she rises through the R&B ranks, we connected with More to discuss her Birmingham roots, the essence of her sound, and the making of her gorgeous new track.

Listen to “Balance”…

Read the exclusive interview…

Hey Ella! How has your 2024 been?
Hey!! 2024 so far has been filled with reflection and learning. I decided to take some time to slow down after a really busy back end of last year, so I’ve been doing a lot of reading, learning, writing, creating, really diving into the essence of what I enjoy about being an artist, and getting everything in place for the rest of the year. Having now released my first single of the year and done my first few performances, it really feels like the ball is rolling again, and I’m just so excited for what’s yet to come.

Talk us through your music origins? Where did you first find your talent and vision for artistry?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved singing, enjoyed words, and been very dramatic. As a child, I’d write short poems about how hard my life was, and I can’t remember exactly when, but at some point it translated into music. My first few songs were awful though! It definitely wasn’t something I was instantly good at. I’m pretty sure the first song I wrote was titled ‘Ate My Heart’ – I told you I was dramatic, haha. It took me a long time to refine my craft and finally start releasing music. My mom and dad are probably to thank for giving me that push, amongst a lot of other things. They exposed me to such a wide array of musical and visual influences from a very young age, which have defined who I am and everything I create, and they both wholeheartedly believe in me and what I’m trying to build.

You’re a Brummie in London. What inclined you to make the move down?
I am! I love Birmingham, and it will always be my home, but I’m so happy to be in London. There is so much opportunity here, and while it can be stressful, it’s also so exciting. It’s a huge hub for creatives, which is one of the main reasons why I moved here. Since moving, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and for other artists, which is something I’d love to do more of. I’m surrounded by people every day who inspire me, which really pushes me to be the best I can be. It honestly feels like anything is possible here. I’m probably romanticising it a lot, haha.

Do you think the Birmingham scene is overlooked? Who should we be watching from there?
I definitely used to be of the mindset that it was being overlooked as a city, and it’s actually only recently, since moving to London, that my opinion has shifted. If we look around, there are so many artists from the Midlands — Jorja Smith, Mahalia, Wesley Joseph, and Kofi Stone, for example — who have all built and are continuing to build very strong careers. I think the biggest difference is that London is a global hub for creativity, so there’s a lot more people here in those spaces, which makes collaborations and networking a lot easier. Also, things happen in much quicker time frames, but I absolutely believe it’s possible to achieve everything from cities outside of London. There’s a huge amount of emerging artists like SIPHO, Shayk, Nineteen97, and Katus Myles, to name a few, who I hugely admire and who I think everyone should have their eyes on.

How would you describe the essence of your sound?
The essence of my sound is feeling. The one thing I strive for consistently is creating something that makes me feel something. I’ve previously, possibly over, concerned myself with what other people would want to hear or whether what I was making would be considered ‘cool’, but 2024 has marked a massive shift for me. I’m concerning myself less with genre and more with authenticity, as I have come to realise that I would be doing myself and everyone listening a huge disservice if I were to continue down that path. The best thing I can do for the audience is to create music that I genuinely felt something while making, and that moves me somewhere when I listen to it. It’s that intuition that I’m learning to let guide me during the creative process, and hopefully everyone enjoys the outcome.

Congratulations on your newest single “Balance”! Talk us through the making of the tune?
Thank you! I’m so happy it’s out, and people seem to love it as much as I do, so I couldn’t be happier. Making this single was a huge learning curve for me. As I said earlier, I really wanted it to feel super authentic, so that meant getting much more involved in the instrumentation, production, mixing, and mastering processes than ever before. I was spending all my evenings listening to drum patterns and learning more about mixing and mastering so I could better understand how to achieve the sound I wanted. Luckily, I was working with a team that is not only super talented but also extremely patient with me, so a huge shout out to all of them! Working with Nikhil, Derek Ali (EngineEars) and Nicolas De Porcel (Million Dollar Snare), I knew I was in safe hands.

You’ve worked with producer and multi-instrumentalist Nikhil on the track. How did that come about and how was the process?
Nikhil really is something else. His sound choices are impeccable, and he’s one of those people who can literally pick up a pencil and make it sound good. He was probably one of the first London-based producers I met when I started travelling down here, and I think we did our first session maybe two years ago. After that, it took us until January of this year to get back into the studio, but it truly feels like it all happened when and how it was supposed to because the track came together so easily. I think we did two sessions in total for this, the first one where we wrote the track, and the other to add the finer details and really refine the demo from the first session.

Is it a sign of things to come from you stylistically? What’s the rest of the year got in store from you musically?
I love the sound of “Balance”, and right now it feels as authentically me as possible, but I feel like I’m constantly developing and changing, and I am excited for my sound to evolve with me. So, in essence, who knows? I’m currently working on a longer project that is more synth heavy than “Balance”, which utilised a lot of live elements, probably closer in style to an amalgamation of everything I’ve released so far. Hopefully, by listening to my music catalogue, people will be able to see the journey I’m on sonically and understand how I’m trying to bring everything together — all the elements of music that I love — into one sound.

You’ve got a busy summer ahead! What are you most looking forward to?
I love performing live; it’s the part of the process where all the hard work comes together, and it’s such an electric feeling when you’re performing to a crowd that really resonates with what you’re doing. It blows my mind when I see people singing along to things I’ve written, and I’m not sure if that’s ever something I’ll get used to. I can’t wait for all the upcoming performances, but to be supporting Jungle in Birmingham is truly a pinch-me moment. I’ve listened to their music for years, and to be sharing the stage with them back in my hometown feels so surreal! I recently expanded the set to incorporate live drums and bass, and I am excited to continue to develop and grow it as we do more shows.

For you, what does success look like?
Authenticity, effort, hard work, love, and growth. Continuing to create things that I am proud of. Things that represent a moment in time, a feeling, or a part of myself, and being content in knowing that I have done that in the best way that I could at the time. Striving for perfection is dangerous. I’m going to make mistakes; there’s always going to be things I could have done differently, but I’m learning to appreciate all those little imperfections as markers of this journey that I’m on. I hope to continue to grow and to fall deeper in love with what I’m doing every day. I think Rick Rubin said all that matters is that you’re making something you love, here and now, to the best of your ability, and I truly resonate with that.