CLEARING THE EYRE

Ella on her change of direction

- By Casey Cooper-Fiske

SURGERY: Ella Eyre says vocal op made her resilient

WITH Rudimental and Sigala, Ella Eyre's voice has been at the heart of some of the biggest dance records of the 2010s, but during the Covid pandemic in 2020 she feared that voice could be wiped away when she had to undergo vocal surgery.

Instead, the 31-year-old emerged from the operating theatre reborn, determined to create the album she has always dreamed of making, Everything, In Time, a collection of soulful and funky pop which perfectly matches her unique wail.

The London-born star says she is thankful for the success she enjoyed on dance tracks such as Rudimental's Waiting All Night in 2013, and Sigala's 2017 smash Came Here For Love, but felt as if the genre had been chosen for her.

She released her debut solo album Feline in 2015, which did have its soul influences, but says she felt pressure from her major label at the time to include breakbeats and other dance tropes, meaning her second LP feels to her like her first totally solo album.