Independent folk artist Ella Janes built a loyal following busking on the streets of her hometown Winchester, following in the footsteps of Simon & Garfunkel and French songstress Françoise Hardy with her romantically contemplative songwriting, nostalgic lyrics and finger-style guitar playing.

She opened for Jools Holland on his 2018 UK tour (finishing with a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London) before launching a Kickstarter campaign the following year to fund her debut album.

 

Successfully crowdfunded by the fanbase she built busking in Winchester, opening for Jools Holland and circling Berlin's folk scene, Janes' long-awaited debut (released 2020) is a narrative of heartache, letting go and ultimately: acceptance. The storytelling revolves around milestones from the past decade of her life, from a traumatic first relationship as a teenager to her father's relocation to California. The album revisits her time living abroad in Nantes (France), as well as featuring an original song in French, inspired by the likes of Edith Piaf, Barbara and Jaques Brel.