Ella was destined to be a musician from the day the sixties legend and God of Hellfire, Arthur Brown, blessed her before she was born.

‘I Never Told You About Oregon‘ is the new single by up-and-coming British-American singer-songwriter Ella Spencer, co-produced by Jerry Joseph and Steve Drizos at The Panther studio in Portland, Oregon. The track is due for release on October 3rd, with a single launch at the Green Note on the same day. 

Born in London and raised by British-American parents in the Suffolk countryside, Ella grew up surrounded by musicians after her father started the UK’s first Americana festival. Inspired by the music around her, she spent her school years studying classical piano and viola but her early twenties saw her move to London and gravitate towards the music she was raised on. 

Hanging around the festival from a young age, Ella was raised with one foot firmly on the stage, sitting in with renowned artists including Canadian rocker Terra Lightfoot, Andrew Duhon and Madison Violet.

After moving to London, Ella began developing her own style and venturing out independently. Accompanying herself on guitar, piano and occasionally banjo, her unique voice and distinctive songs have enchanted many at the UK’s Americana hotspots and across festival stages in the UK and the US, with more live dates confirmed this year. 

Ella’s debut single, ‘Late Night Train,’ was released in 2023. It was her first studio experience and resulted in a simple, stripped-back track that showcased her delicate and soulful vocals and thoughtful songwriting. 

This summer, at the invitation of friend and musical mentor Jerry Joseph, she joined Jerry in Portland, Oregon, for a short run of live dates and to record at The Panther, a recording space in the home of musician/engineer/producer Steve Drizos (Steve Drizos, The Jackmormons) and Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists), which has hosted some of Portland’s finest (Patterson Hood, Chris Funk, Jerry Joseph, Casey Neill, Marco Cilker).  

‘I Never Told You About Oregon’ marks the next step in Ella’s career. Written as Ella travelled down the West Coast of the US on a road trip in 2023, the song is a reflective, piano-based ballad that reckons with grief. It is emotive but not sad, and pays homage to the permanence of grief and the acceptance that comes with time. The song features Jerry Joseph on guest vocals and National Resonator, offering his unique fingerpicking and inimitable vocal style. 

‘I Never Told You About Oregon’ is the first single to be released from the Panther sessions, with further tracks to follow. In the meantime, Ella will be playing a series of live dates which include opening for Evangeline Gentle at the Betsey Trotwood, an appearance at Deepdale festival as well as joining Jerry Joseph and Casey Neill on their November dates in the UK. 

‘I wrote the opening line ‘there’s a bruise on my nail from Oregon / every day it gets closer to oblivion’ before anything else, literally about shutting my nail in the doorframe of the tiny house I was staying in on a commune in Oregon and seeing the bruise form and then fade away over the next few months. Watching that physical process, which coincided with my Grandma passing away, and feeling further and further away from that time but still deeply connected to it, was the inspiration for the song.’   – Ella 

Credits:

Ella Spencer: piano/vocals

Jerry Joseph: guitars/backing vocals

Tim Murphy: bass/electric guitar

Steve Drizos: drums/percussion/acoustic guitar/backing vocals

Produced by Steve Drizos and Jerry Joseph

Recorded and Mixed by Steve Drizos at The Panther, Portland, OR

Mastered by Jon Neufeld at Treehouse Mastering, Portland, OR

Live Dates

27th September – Opening for Evangeline Gentle @ The Betsey Trotwood, Farringdon TICKETS

29th September – Deepdale Festival, Norfolk TICKETS 

3rd October –  Green Note basement show, Camden TICKETS

19th October – The Waldringfield Sessions, Suffolk TICKETS

24th October – Opening for Florence Sommerville at the Camden Chapel TICKETS

10th November – Opening for Jerry Joseph at Kingsmead House Concert, High Wycombe TICKETS

20th November – Opening for The Coal Porters @ What’s Cookin, Leytonstone TICKETS 

ellaspencermusic.com 

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