The voice of Ella Thompson has been a fundamental part of Naarm’s soul and funk history. She has toured and recorded with funk pioneers The Bamboos, lit up dancefloors with electronic duo GL and won hearts and minds across Australia with indie cult favourites Dorsal Fins. Ella now returns to her soul roots and releasing music under her own name with a brand new single ‘Cool Down My Heart’, self-produced in collaboration with multi instrumentalist Liam McGorry and featuring cameos by local heavyweights Hudson Whitlock (drums) and Will Morrisey (saxophone). Cool Down My Heart is a rich, imaginative, pop/soul track which foregrounds Ella’s beautiful voice and considerable songwriting skills. The single is released on Thursday 23rd March, and is the first on her new label home Hopestreet Recordings.

The track begins with a fade in of whirring synthesizers before roomy drums, woody bass and chanking guitar enter. Perfectly executed backing harmonies introduce us to the instantly hummable chorus melody and Ella’s vocal soars in between classic soul horn lines. In the out-of-leftfield bridge a brief acoustic piano interlude gives way to the horn section before we’re thrown back into the chorus and a final saxophone solo takes us out. Of the single Ella says, “This song felt like a bit of a turning point in the sound I was producing. Returning to my soul and funk roots felt very intuitive. The groove felt uplifting to us while the lyrics are about working hard to maintain a tranquility base when faced with challenges. Hearing this music come to life live with my 7-piece band has been a real dream come true and we can’t wait to play more.”

Ella began her career at 16, supporting Australian music royalty Renee Geyer, Paul Kelly and Linda and Vika Bull. Her talent was recognised by world renowned producer Mark Ronson where she joined his band for the Australian leg of the Uptown Funk world tour in 2015. Appearing at festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Laneway, Meredith and Falls, Ella’s creativity has also seen her curate shows for The Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. Her solo work as well as albums with GL and Dorsal Fins have been widely supported by Triple J, Double J, RRR, PBS and more.

Cool Down My Heart is released via Hopestreet Recordings on Thursday 23rd March.