Ollella - "Head in the Clouds" from the 2023 self-released album Back Back Back

Seattle musician Ellie Barber has trained as a classical cellist since the age of nine. She integrates these studies into her project Ollella (pronounced oh-lel-uh), crafting a jazzy, folktronica style that calls to mind Beth Orton. 

“As someone who grew up playing classical cello but listening to indie music, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what direction I want to take my music as a new solo artist," she tells Glide Magazine. "I wrote 'Head in the Clouds' during a particularly exploratory period, playing with different effects on my loop pedal and not attaching judgment to what came out. The bones of this song immediately felt so genuine to the type of sound that I was seeking – so much so that I left it untouched for six months because I was afraid I would ruin it.” 

“The verses speak to my own pivot towards music: how I kept feeling unsettled where I was in life because I wasn’t following the little voice in my gut to pursue full-time artistry,” she continues in a press release.

Read the full story at KEXP.org