‘Warning Signs‘ is a slow but dramatic song from Ella Spencer – it’s a song for which the word foreboding was created. Something bad has happened, and maybe there’s worse to come – as Ella notes “only hindsight sees the Warning Signs.” The song was co-produced by Jerry Joseph (who added the resonator guitar for the song) and Steve Drizos (who added percussion / synths / electric guitar) at The Panther studio in Portland, and is the second single to be released from the sessions. Speaking of the song Ella Spencer has said: “I wrote this song sitting in the sun while I was visiting family in Los Angeles and was surprised when it came out as a moody folk song that describes the English countryside where I grew up. Lyrically, this song is less consciously personal than others, and I enjoy hearing interpretations of it which have ranged from reflecting on the end of a relationship to climate change.”
Born in London and raised by British-American parents in the Suffolk countryside, Ella grew up surrounded by musicians after her father started the UK’s first Americana festival. She spent her school years studying classical piano and viola, but her early twenties saw her move to London and gravitate towards the music she was raised on. Hanging around the festival from an early age she sat in with the likes of Terra Lightfoot, Andrew Duhon and, more recently, Jerry Joseph, she then began to develop her own style and venture out on her own.
Ella Spencer will be playing at Americana Week in Hackney – her showcase kicks off the Paper Dress Vintage sessions on the evening of Wednesday 22nd January.
