Ellie Goulding Interview

There was a huge thunder storm in London last night but 23-year-old singer-songwriter Elena Jane Goulding (or Ellie Goulding to her wider public) wouldn’t have heard a thing. She was too busy holed up in a recording studio, working on her as-of-yet untitled debut album. Her debut single, Under The Sheets, is on course to gatecrash the UK top ten next weekend and after supporting Little Boots she’s subsequently been made a frontrunner in several ‘new artists to watch’ polls for 2010.

You were born in Hereford but a lot of people consider you to be Welsh. Why?

A lot of people seem to be making this mistake. I grew up in Kington which is very near Knighton in Powys and went to the Lady Hawkins School in the Welsh borders. I feel like I grew up in Wales as I spent a lot of my childhood in places such as Monmouth and Aberystwyth – I’m very patriotic towards Wales and I still have a lot of friends there.

You recently came 35th in a list of Wales’ 50 sexiest women. Surely that makes you Welsh?

(Laughs) Really? That’s just really weird. I don’t think stuff like that really matters. It’s all a bit surreal at the moment. I’ve been told Under The Sheets might chart in the top ten next weekend – I’d find that an absolute joke, but in a good way. Did my friend Marina (Diamandis aka Marina and the Diamonds) make it onto the list?

Yes. I think she came fourth.

Rightly so – she’s very beautiful.

Do you know Marina well?

I do. She grew up not far from me in Monmouth so we reminisce a lot about the local area. It’s great to have someone in the industry you know well, to understand the madness you’re going through. That’s no disrespect to my other friends but it can be hard for others to relate to what you’re doing. Marina and I usually complain about always being surrounded by boys on tour. We have to put up with their constant smelliness (laughs).

Can you remember the first time you performed to an audience?

As a solo piece it would’ve been in a music competition at university in Kent. I performed to around half the students there and I was spotted by a management company.

What was the first gig you ever went to?

Craig David at the NEC (now the NIA) in Birmingham. I thought he was very, very good. I’m working with his former guitarist (Fraser T. Smith) on my album . He’s co-written and produced several of Tinchy Stryder’s big hits.

When did you know you wanted to become a singer?

I just thought it would be a cool thing to do. I didn’t think I could do it as the rest of my siblings are quite reserved but I always remember performing from a young age – I had a diary at eight and made up my own language at one point – very odd (laughs). I picked up a guitar and started writing songs. It sounds incredibly cheesy but things just came naturally – I feel as though I’ve been pulled in a certain direction to do this.

What can we expect from your debut album?

A lot of people have reported that Mark Ronson will be working on my album but that’s not true - although I will hopefully be working on his next record. I’ve been working with a number of different artists recently such as (electropop musician) Frankmusik and (producer) Starsmith and we’re still experimenting at the moment with eight tracks. I’m just enjoying working with people who are different and fresh – people who can get the most out of my voice.

Did you enjoy performing on Jools Holland a few weeks ago?

It was the most exciting yet scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life. My throat completely seized up before going on but I got through it OK. The two tracks my band and I did went down well but I think they could’ve been better.

Tell me a little bit about your debut single Under The Sheets?

It’s about a relationship that’s not based on anything real – the sometimes fickle nature of intimacy. The guy is literally fighting for affection but just ends up in more pain.

You’ve been compared to host of different female singers – what’s the strangest one you’ve heard so far?

Cerys Matthews has been the weirdest one for me – along with Duffy. It’s the Welsh connection all over again. You might as well just compare me to Tom Jones (laughs).

Do you think there’s been an influx of female artists of late?

I don’t think there’s been as many as the industry or the public perceives there to be. I think a few artists have already suffered a backlash and that’s pretty unfair. If you turn on any radio station throughout the day you’re likely to hear boys playing guitars – I think it’s always been like that. I can’t remember there ever being a backlash against male guitar bands.

You now live in London – why did you make the move?

I’d love to live back in the countryside and I will again at some point but a lot of the things that surround the music industry happen here. I do find London annoying at times – I’m definitely not a city girl. I live in a flat in West London – it’s quite nice as it’s not like being in the big city.

What are your hopes for 2010?

Just to make an album that I’m proud of. Right, I’ve got another two hours of interviews to get through now… bye!

Michael Took

Under The Sheets is released on November 16th.