With over 3 million likes on TikTok and over 2.2 million streams on her hit song “Nothing Else I Can Do,” young musician Ella Jane needs no introduction. Defining the indie genre has always been in relation to some time period, nebulous term, or even in comparison to other music. In many people’s minds there is no concrete definition of what indie music is or how it needs to sound, but Ella Jane does a beautiful job of letting her songs speak for themselves and fall gracefully into the indie pop category.
From a small town in New York, 19-year-old Ella Jane has been creating music her entire life, and first started releasing it from home at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Releasing her first official song in February 2020, Ella only had one chance in the studio before the pandemic began. After this major achievement Ella put her next single, “Nothing Else I Could Do,” on TikTok which is when her success truly started to flourish. Since then Ella has gained over 75,000 followers and has become the music sensation that has distracted us from our rollercoaster of emotions in 2020.
Can you tell us about how you got your start in music? Was it innate or did someone or something get you into it?
ELLA JANE: I think for me it’s a little bit of both, it’s actually kind of funny I wrote my college essay about this topic and whether it was something that has always been a part of me or a development from my upbringing. My dad has always had a piano in the house and loves jazz, so that really has a lot to do with it. I come from a very musical family, and I had always wondered if things would have been different if I grew up somewhere else. We always grew up surrounded by really good music and I started piano lessons when I was four. It’s been something I’ve clung on to since a really young age, I have always loved to sing, and when I figured out that I could actually sing and play at the same time that’s when the writing started.
Do you think your music fits into a certain genre or category?
ELLA JANE: I think because indie/indie pop is sort of an all encompassing category I like the idea that it kind of fits into that genre while also not necessarily having one because the term indie can mean so many different types of music these days. Especially as someone who is just starting out and as someone who is still trying to find their sound I think this rising indie genre is the perfect place for my music. I can sort of have my music change and shapeshift as I grow, while still having it be listened to by the same demographic I am aiming towards.
Can you describe where some of your inspiration comes from when you’re writing?
ELLA JANE: On the music side of things it is mostly listening to my favorite music influences and the people that have helped shape my sound. My songs are sort of like little time capsules throughout my life and when I listen to them I can really remember like, ‘Oh this was my Phoebe Bridgers phase or when I didn’t put down Melodrama by Lorde for a month.’ So a lot of it comes from who I listen to in the sense of chord progression and lyrical style. As far as how my songs start most of it comes from just words, I am really inspired by certain words and phrases so I just write them in my notes and hold onto them, then whatever crazy idea brews up in my head is normally what I go with from those keywords and phrases.
You seem to have had a very independent, whirlwind-like experience getting into the music industry, what has that been like for you?
ELLA JANE: Something that has been really weird for me to go through in the sense of becoming an artist and releasing actual music, is that my entire introduction to the music industry started at the start of the pandemic. I put out my first song in February 2020 and then a month later we were all in quarantine due to COVID. It has definitely been a really unique experience, but something good about it is I really have nothing else to compare it to. It has been Zoom sessions and recording at home for my entire music journey so there isn’t a sense of ‘missing the outside world’ like I’m sure a lot of other musicians are going through.
You released your hit song, “Nothing Else I Could Do” earlier this year which I read had stemmed from an English class project, can you tell us a little bit more about that experience?
ELLA JANE: It was my senior English project to just sort of come up with something creative about the book we had read that year which was The Great Gatsby. This was right after the beginning of quarantine where I was really in a mental and creative rut, kind of falling back into a depressive state. I could not get myself out of bed to do these crappy, basic Zoom assignments. I had just had a huge episode of writer’s block because quarantine had stuck me in my bed all day so I really had nothing to write about. This made it really nice to be able to be given sort of a designated time to sit down and write a song which isn’t really how I normally work. The way I write tends to come from random ideas I have in my head, and I don’t do well with timelines so it was nice to give myself that push and sort of being forced to write something. Honestly, the lyrics and melody seemed to kind of pour out of me and this was one of the only books I actually read and didn’t just SparkNote the whole thing so it just all happened quickly. I’m really grateful for that project because it just shoved me back into the creative kick which is something I had been missing for a while.
Your newest song is called “August is a Fever,” do you want to tell us a little bit more about the meaning behind it?
ELLA JANE: My normal writing process is so abstract, so the time frames are normally a little all over the place. The writing process of “August is a Fever” took place over an entire year, it kind of started at this point in my life where I had felt a lot more secure in my own identity. I was with a really good group of friends and was just sort of okay with where I was at in life, but at the same time I just really wanted to get out. I’m from a really small town in the suburbs of New York and it felt very claustrophobic. Our daily summer routine really consisted of my friends and I going to our respective jobs, mine being a frozen yogurt shop, then we’d drive around, park in a parking lot to get Starbucks, get gas, then drive to another parking lot and just sit and talk and listen to music for hours. That feeling of this constant monotonous repetition of whatever the fuck we were doing really created this feeling of being trapped even worse. There was sort of this weird contrast going on in my head between I’m finally happy here where I am, but I’m also so torn about what life could be.
Does the message behind your music have a specific goal or intent?
ELLA JANE: I don’t think so, just because I write for myself it’s a really big emotional outlet and has always been a way I process my own emotions. I typically don’t write with a specific goal in mind, I have written so many songs that were very helpful and therapeutic for me to write but they’re just not good enough to put out, so I am very selective. I think I just want to make sure what I’m putting forward are songs that others can relate to. That’s what’s been so cool about the few songs I have put out, all three of them, people interpret my songs in such different ways and have told me how they can relate which is always really cool to hear. A lot of the struggle I write about in regards to identity and unrequited crushes is something that a lot of people can relate to.
What is next for you? Anything fun or exciting you would like to notify our readers about?
ELLA JANE: Yes! I actually have a few singles that I am working on right now over my break from school, and hopefully an EP coming soon if I can keep up, so be on the lookout for those!
You can follow Ella Jane on her Instagram and TikTok, and be on the lookout for her music on all streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
This article has been edited and condensed for clarity.
