Here at Leeds Living, we love advocating for homegrown, Yorkshire talent and seeing artists thrive.
Leeds Living has had the privilege of seeing Halifax artist Ellur, prior to her extremely successful BBC Introducing show at Reading and Leeds Festival, and our music journalist, Charlotte Gill, caught up with her post-festival .
How’re you now the dust has settled after Reading and Leeds?
I feel like there’s been an energy shift after Leeds Fest. I am quite a spiritual person, and it’s been my dream to play there, see what goes on behind the scenes, and now that I’ve seen that, it’s let go of a sort of block that I had. I feel so inspired from playing Leeds Fest. Even though Leeds is my local circuit, I was shocked by how many people were there.
I know that you work with your mum on creating a lot of your looks for shows, and as an audience member it defo pays off. You look unified with your band and there’s a strong sense of togetherness in the choices you’ve made. How do you usually come up with the concepts of what you are going to wear and how long does that take from concept to stage?
I used to do dance and musical theatre and there were a lot of times where we would have to create our own costumes. There was a responsibility on the parents and grandparents to know how to sew, so I spent a lot of time when I was little making these outfits and costumes with my mum. My mum is a teacher and has experience teaching textiles, so she gave me tips on using sewing machines. It’s always been something that I wanted to do with my live shows. The materials used for the Festival came from a box of doilies and lace my boyfriend’s granny gifted to me. I crochet and make knitted ties for merch. I vlogged the experience with my mum and put it on my Youtube.
I noticed your mum wearing a jacket that had Ellur embroidered in red at the festival.
Yes, that came from me buying second hand men’s shirts, printing my logo on them and then putting it out there for people attending an Ellur show. This is the uniform. I love how Chapel Roan and The Last Dinner Party also do something similar. My mum made the jacket and she now wears that to all my shows.
Well, it’s very eye-catching, and a great way to bring an audience in, creating a strong community and having an unified look. Where does the red tie into this?
(For those who were lucky enough to see Ellur at Leeds Festival, you will remember the red Ellur balloons that bounced around the crowd. )
When creating merch, my keyboard player (who has a red keyboard) single handedly prints the merch. They screen printed the red logo, and my guitar player had a red guitar. I wear red wellies, and It’s kinda become a thing. Even my car is red!
How was it, as someone who is local to Leeds, getting the experience of playing both Leeds and Reading. Did you feel there was much of a difference between the two festival sites?
Yeah you are going down these country roads, then a city appears in front of you and you’re in the park playing. I really liked the vibe at Reading; the crowd really brought it at our show. I don’t really like the whole “North/South divide”. The north will always feel like home to me, but I am really grateful for the opportunity to play both sites.
Obviously the Saturday at Leeds Festival saw a bit of a schedule reshuffle due to the wind and stage closures, which I guess then meant that because there were these “extra” acts on, there was almost more competition for pulling in the crowds. You had a noticeably large crowd at the BBC Introducing stage, which is a credit to your stage presence and performances. Do you think there is a technique in choosing your set list for a festival vs a venue gig?
The festival crowd is what I’ve always wanted. I always have the big festivals in my mind when visualising the audiences I want. This means that from the writing process through to rehearsals, that beautiful festival moment is in my mind. We decided to get a bass player for the shows and it added a new level. We wanted to make that 25 minutes the most impactful. My band, my producers, my managers, they all get what this means to me. Leeds was probably my favourite set I’ve ever done. Sometimes I come away thinking “my voice cracked” or “ I was a bit nervous there” but Leeds Festival was so amazing.
You had the build up to playing your first Leeds Festival, you rehearsed with your band, made the outfits, perfected the setlist and brought props. How were those moments right before you went on stage?
The band walks out first and does the introduction, and when that happens I always have this little moment with myself where I psych myself up. I always feel just so grateful. All preparation has been done. I tell myself “This is for you now”.
We need to talk about your newest single…”God Help Me Now” (I love it. I sing it in my car all the time). Tell me about the transformation from the lyrics being born during the writing process to being performed on stage at Leeds Festival?
That song was created with two friends that I really connected with. I don’t tend to work in big teams; it’s more solo writing. Lyrics from God Help Me Now, came from a really honest conversation with Jack and Ben (who co-wrote the song) surrounding topics like sexual assault and male suicide rates. I just felt so helpless, I wanted to raise awareness but felt confused as to how. For the short time that the single has been released, to see people singing it because they had connected with it, a sea of people really singing it, that was the vision I had in mind when writing it.
It’s apparent how much playing Reading and Leeds Festival has meant to you on a personal and professional level. For those who didn’t get the chance to see you there, what do you have coming up?
I’ve been busy working on music to release. I’ve also been announced for Neighbourhood Festival taking place on 5 October in Manchester. There are some shows coming up supporting Embrace. I always feel so lucky to play with Embrace, as such a big fan (and daughter of a member). I just love them and wear my merch with pride. If people want any more info, I always encourage them to sign up to my mailing list. I’ve found a new love and dedication to it recently so there’s lots of exciting things on it.
Special thanks to Ellur for her time. To keep up to date with all things Ellur, or to find out more, follow here
Much gratitude also to Borkowski PR and Festival Republic.
Main image by Mark Wheelwright – taken at Leeds Festival 2024 for Leeds Living.
