Stick the Knife In: The New EP from Singer, Songwriter & Visual Artist Ormella
Hailing from East London, Ormella is a classically trained singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. Having previously lent her unmistakably remarkable voice to atmospheric pop band Takk, she - now as a solo artist - continues to push her sound into a more intimate space, stripping her songs back to a singer-songwriter style on her devastatingly stunning new EP ‘STICK THE KNIFE IN’, out everywhere now.
For fans of Ghostly Kisses, Florence Welch and Fiona Apple, Ormella fuses elements of pop, folk, classical and electronic to create her distinctly cinematic sound. Lyrically, the themes of the EP centre around release - letting go of certain things although it might feel impossible. With each track on the EP having a stunning accompanying music video, the project is a real feast for the ears, eyes and heartstrings.
Speaking of the EP title track, she says, “‘STICK THE KNIFE IN’ came from the voice in my heart saying; “I don’t care what he’s done I just want him back”. At the time I had to move from my heart to my head otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. My dear friend Livia O helped me piece together my sometimes scary writing and helped me make it into what is one of my favourite songs I’ve released, that along with Katie May as a lead in production and Rachel on the strings.. that’s a hard team to beat!”
The EP opening track ‘Woman, is this it?’ captivates from the get go, and sets the tone for the music to come. Accompanied by a stirring yet simple piano melody, Ormella’s powerful vocals take centre stage - “I wrote this song back in 2022 knowing that the relationship I was in had an expiry date. It’s sad because it took me years to leave it behind and it didn’t feel right to release it while we were still together but I can now.”
EP cornerstone track ‘Never’s A Promise’ is a haunting recount about the end of a life-changing relationship. The raw emotions felt behind this track quite literally pour out of each note, and lyrics such as ‘Damn you to hell, the devil’s gonna love you’ really cut deep and showcase Ormella’s gift as a songwriter.
She says, “This song came so naturally to me, I think I had the first draft within the first 20 minutes. it wasn’t a labour of love like some of the other songs I’ve written this year. Lyrically, it’s one of the most truthful reflections of how I was feeling while coming out of a relationship with someone I felt had more than deceived me but that I still deeply love. The chorus of the song and title is like a prayer for me; a promise to myself to move on from someone who has shown me, in so many different ways, that he doesn’t care at all; It’s also a cathartic ‘f*ck you’ to them.”
The entire EP was written, recorded and produced by Ormella and a team of incredible women - Lead Producer Katie May, co-producer Livia O (for STICK THE KNIFE IN), and musician Rachel Dover who arranged and performed the sax and violin on ‘Never's a Promise’ and again strings for “STICK THE KNIFE IN”. The final result is a true testament to the empathy and strength of women. The only exception is on the track “Choke” which was made from a session with musician and fellow singer-songwriter Chester Caine.
“My song ‘Choke’ is such an empowering song for me and I have such a fond memory of the conception of it. It was the first to get produced by Katie and it really set the tone for our working relationship. The song is about actually deciding to move on and releasing yourself. Working with Chester too was and remains to be amazing - he has this beautiful softness to his music and it was amazing to work with him on the guitar arrangement for the song. He’s been an absolute Hero for me. ”
Having grown up in East London, Ormella didn’t come from a particularly musical family, but has spent her life singing, acting, dancing, and dreaming of pursuing her creativity as a career. A stand out moment for her growing up was listening to “Lungs” by Florence for the first time, where she realised that there was a space for someone with her kind of vocal.
A main driver for her pursuing her solo project was that she recovered from a premonition that she wouldn’t be here for much longer - “Back at drama school, and within the first covid lock down, I began to have symptoms of my chronic pain disorder and… it was a really dark time for me. That, along with a mountain of trauma from the boyfriends I’ve collected over the years meant that at 23, I really had a reservoir of pain on tap. Although I am striving for success and I’m extremely ambitious, I now know in my heart that being able to walk to Tesco pain free is the truest happiness I might ever feel - everything else, like this whole beautiful birth of my first EP - is just the best bonus.”
Her single ‘Never’s A Promise’ has now reached over 60,000 streams, and she has already sold out two headline gigs (The Camden Chapel and The Waiting Room) - one prior to the release and the other off the back of her EP release - with industry support. Ormella’s natural gift as a songwriter, as well as her captivating voice paired with her raw, emotive vocal delivery make her a truly stand out artist, and one to watch for 2024.