Ecca Vandal

Ecca Vandal is armed with new material and is heading out on tour in November to celebrate the release of her self-titled album which is out now. This tour features some of the best local up and coming acts in each city making for an energetic live show. The big collaboration from the album is the single Price Of Living with Refused front man Dennis Lyxzen and Letlive vocalist Jason Aalon Butler which is a ripper. Ecca shares a few words about the build up to the album release and tour with Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles.

How exciting is it in the lead up to the release of your debut album?
I guess there was a combination of excitement and nerves! So much goes in to the making of a record but I’d have to say that excitement was definitely taking the lead in the days leading up to the release!

Is there a sense of relief now that it is done and out there for people to enjoy?
Yes, I’d say there’s a sense of relief that it’s made its way out there onto shelve, on people’s phones and into people’s headphones! I’m thrilled that I have an avenue to share my music with the world. Very grateful that I can share my music and people actually care to listen to it!

What was the biggest lesson you learnt whilst making your album that you wouldn’t repeat again?
I think the biggest lesson I learnt was that I need to trust my gut instincts more. There were so many instance during the writing process where I’d abandon initial ideas just to go off on a tangent and try to come up with something better, spending hours even days hashing out other options, only to come back to the original idea I had in the first place because it was clearly the strongest. That’s how it often manifested in a musical context, but on a wider scale, even when it came to making decisions on the business side, I’ve learnt to listen to that inner voice a little closer, because it’s often right!

Did you have it clear in your own mind the sort of sound you were going for or did it just happen that way?
It just happened that way. It stems from all the types of musical styles I’ve absorbed along the way. I grew up listening to gospel, soul and hip hop (that’s what my older sisters were playing in the house). From there I discovered Jazz and Punk Rock. I’ve been so interested in all sorts of music since I was a child so when it came to writing my original music, somehow a blend of all of my influences came out.

How much easier was it having your own recording studio from having the idea to recording it straight away?
It was so convenient! I loved being able to literally roll out of bed and fly straight into the studio and lay down an idea without having to travel anywhere. There were a few limitations and restrictions tracking at home, mainly due to how loud we could be, but on a whole it worked out quite well. It was also easier because Kidnot and I tracked all the instruments ourselves so it was easier to have the time to layer it and build up tracks part by part.

What sorts of problems did you encounter recording from home?
Hahaha! I think I mentioned this in the Q before….The main issue would be the noise restriction. The neighbours live quite close by because we are in a block of flats, so we’d often get a knock on the door asking us to turn down!

Would you do it this way again?
I most definitely would do it this way again, however I would love to have enough dollars one day to go into a proper recording studio and track a full band! That would be amazing!

The video for Future Heroine is really cool, did you come up with the idea and were involved in making the clip?
I co-directed the clip with an amazing cinematographer called Amy Deller. She came up with the initial concept of playing the role of the good and bad thoughts in my lovers mind and then we fleshed it out together from there. It was so amazing to have a cast and crew lead by females on this clip. Most film sets I’ve been on have been dominated by men so it was really cool to see females rocking those roles.

You have supported some really cool bands such as Queens Of The Stone and Birds of Tokyo, what was it like and what did you learn from touring with these bands?
It was amazing touring with Queens Of The Stone Age recently, I’ve been a big fan of theirs for the longest time so having the opportunity to support them was a dream! And the guys from Birds Of Tokyo are such a legends, it was a really nice to head out on the road with them when I was just starting out – they’ve been super supportive the whole way through and I thought it was really cool that they introduced something new to their audience too. I learn quite a lot when I’m on the road with larger band like these guys.

I love watching how everything runs behind the scenes, because everything is on a much bigger scales, from the production to the crew to even the length of set. The quality of the show steps up and it sounds unreal when you can bring in all the equipment you need to take the live performance to the next level. It’s super inspiring to watch and I’m looking forward to getting to that stage one day!

Are you excited about touring overseas?
Very excited to head to the UK for our first run of shows. Also keen to check out Frank Carter’s and Basement’s show! It’s going to be great. Can’t wait to play in some of these iconic rooms around the UK too! Especially looking forward to Brixton Academy!

What’s the plan for 2018?
More song writing for sure and definitely playing live as much as possible. Hopefully there is more in store overseas too, keen to get over to the U.S. again – hopefully to play some shows this time around!

Interview by Rob Lyon

Catch Ecca Vandal on the following dates…