Radar Report

Ellie Story

An appearance on a daytime talk show helps propel singer-songwriter ELLIE LAWSON into the limelight.

Wouldn't you know it? She gets on a national TV show, and has her music exposed to some three million viewers, but it all happens so fast that her debut album isn't even in stores yet.

But that's all changed now. Ellie Lawson's stunning debut, The Philosophy Tree, can be purchased exclusively at Barnes & Noble stores throughout America, and online at www.barnesandnoble.com. One can also sample four of her finest at www.myspace.com/ellielawson.

The TV show was Ellen Degeneres' talk show – during which Ellie performed her ebullient single "Gotta Get Up From Here." Degeneres has become a stalwart champion of Ellie's music; on the show Ellen said she hasn't been able to stop listening to The Philosophy Tree, and went on to predict that Ellie would become a major musical star. Ellen's has chosen a worthy artist to endorse – Lawson's remarkable debut bears the stamp of an artist with a mature, developed vision – her work contains an inviting amalgam of propulsive rhythms, dynamic melodicism and compelling lyrics. She's also a soulful vocalist with impeccable articulation, ideally clipped to deliver the fast phrasing of the infectious "Gotta Get Up From Here," as well as the boho rap-poetry of the glorious "Bigger Than You Ever Imagined."

She started writing poetry when she was a kid growing up in the Croydon section of South London, and would also tinker on her grandfather's piano. At seventeen, she found herself swayed by the vibrant drumbeats and exotic sonic landscapes she discovered on hip-hop tapes her boyfriend owned. Influenced by the socially-conscious work of artists including KRS-One and The Fugees, she was also drawn by the melodic focus and vocal bravado of Kate Bush and Bjork. Soon she was wedding her own poetry to rhythmic textures by writing songs to instrumental hiphop discs she'd buy at her local record store, by such artists as The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest and others. "I used to sit there for hours, entranced," she said during an interview from her Brooklyn home, "and I would write lyrics." For a few years she would only compose to other artists' music, but she wanted to write on her own. "So I bought myself a guitar, and my brother showed me some chords," she said. "Then I got a drum machine and an eight-track, and before I knew it I was writing songs, and recording my own music."

She's got the dual gift of writing great melodies and also creating vigorous rhythm tracks. "I think a beat can make you feel empowered," she said. "So I don't spend much time writing songs with just a guitar. I'm not a folkie in that sense. I'm always looking for interesting beats, something that makes your body move – I usually start with a rhythm first, and then write lyrics and a melody to that."

It was while on a flight from L.A. to New York that Ellie began chatting with the man beside her, who happened to be Tony Okungbowa, the DJ for Degeneres' TV show. She sent him her album when it was finished, and he called her weeks later with the good news: "Ellen loves it and can't stop playing it, and she wants you to come on the show." Her appearance on the show triggered a sensation, as people throughout America clamored to find her album in stores. It took a little time, but she soon formed an exclusive alliance with Barnes & Noble, who are selling her album in their American stores, and online at www.barnesandnoble.com.

Much of The Philosophy Tree was produced with DJ Lethal, the Latvian turntablist for Limp Biskit. Hooked up with Lethal by a music attorney, she made the trek west to Los Angeles to work with him in his current home-town. "I loved working with Lethal," she said. "He is renowned for his rhythms – he's the beats man." In L.A., Ellie wrote new songs, and recorded demos with Lethal, which were so pure and energetic that they agreed to use them as masters for the final album. "I think working in L.A. gave the album kind of a big, pop sound," she said. "It affected my mood. I'm thinking of writing my next album in London, and it will be different – maybe grittier."

Two of the tracks on the album, "L.A." and "Inside Out," were written to instrumental tracks created by William Orbit, the British musician-artist who is best known for his production of Madonna's Ray of Light. "I got hold of his music," she said, "and wrote the lyrics and melodies to them, and we used those tracks on the album – I recorded the vocals right around the corner from here. But those tracks sound very much like my own music; I don't think you can tell the difference."

Ellie also collaborated with other influential producers for this album, including John O'Brien (Dr. Dre, Joss Stone), OD Hunte (Missy Elliot, Byron Stingily), Jeff Philips (Michelle Branch) and Matthew Gerrard (Kelly Clarkson, Edens Crush). Now she and her music are springing up in unexpected places, including the soundtrack for the movie Monster-In-Law, and the pages of Vogue.

These days she's playing acoustic sets with a stripped-down band that includes another acoustic guitarist, a cellist and a percussionist on an African djembe. Like almost everything she's touched, her shows are getting rave reviews. "I'm happy doing what I'm doing," she said, "and I'm ready to do more."

— Paul Zollo

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