22-year old East London singer-songwriter Ella Frank takes her name from the great Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. This gives you an immediate clue of what her sound is like, her covers on YouTube and her brand new single “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” confirm it. With influences of Neo Soul, Blues and Jazz, Ella Frank sings with a bluesy Jazz that can be compared to the likes of Jill Scott and Corinne Bailey Ray. “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” stays in that parallel lane, which Ella Frank seems to have perfected by all indications.
Produced by Jay Prince, it opens with deft keyboard arrangements and progresses into a mellow, minimal production, with drum patterns and almost distant saxophone injections. The beauty in “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” is in its minimalism. It is raw and stripped back and lets Ella’s vocals demand your attention so that you are totally transfixed on the story she is telling. Her effortless delivery shows an artist with much skill. From the slow paced verses to the shift in tone of the hook, she makes a sweet soul-stirring tune. Having become lost in “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” for a few days now, we cannot wait for more sweetness to come from Ella Frank.
Lyrically, “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” tells a familiar tale of a classic story – boy and girl are friends, deeper feelings start to develop, boy and girl fall in love, then things fall apart, both boy and girl are heartbroken. More pertinently for Ella Frank, “Homie, Lover, Best Friend” is a personal story as the song was inspired by real life situations experienced by the singer. Listeners will relate to the lyrics as she sings about the regret of falling for a best friend. There is a thin line between friendship and romance, that ‘love jones’ can be dangerous.
Lauded as one of the stand-out artists on the London live music scene which is bubbling with fresh talent at the moment, Ella Frank followed her first live performance in 2013 by leaving a huge impression across the city’s live music landscape, with performances at the likes of Proud Camden, Acoustic Afternoons and We Play Music Live, all to rave reviews. From her live performances and YouTube videos, she’s been able to build a steady following with a variety of supporters, however with the release of her excellent new single “Homie, Lover, Best Friend”, we can expect that following to increase exponentially.
Keep Tabs On Ella Frank: Twitter // YouTube
Words by Chenae Rodrigues // Edited by Ayo Adepoju
