Ellur was once unsure if she’d ever celebrate her 25th birthday. On the pensive ‘Lonelier Than Heaven’, the artist born Ella McNamara mulls over the dark periods of mental health that affected her relationships, contemplating if she’d ever pass the “long way” through the teens that were wrongfully fed to her as the “glory days”. In November, McNamara turned 25, marking the moment with her annual tradition: a letter to herself, containing resolutions.
“[2024’s] letter was, ‘I want to come to next year and understand what it is that I want to do with music,’” she tells NME, sipping a ginger beer inside Halifax pub Meandering Bear. “Now, this is the first year where I really feel [different]. I used to feel this panic, particularly as a young woman, because there was this weird, invisible pressure to do well before you’re 30, because your life is over – and it’s so not true. I’ve taken that pressure off myself.”
Five years on from her debut single ‘Reflection’, McNamara’s patience continues to stand her in good stead. Across two EPs, ‘Moments’ (2021) and ‘God Help Me Now’ (2024), her indie-pop continually soared and unravelled itself, building towards a sound at the same table as Nieve Ella and Holly Humberstone. There’s also hints of the wise, wandering guitars of The War On Drugs, which crop up across her incoming debut album ‘At Home In My Mind’, a masterful collection where McNamara takes command of her ability as both a magical songwriter and compelling storyteller.
While the December rain lashes down in Halifax, we spend an hour with McNamara on home turf. Next door is The Piece Hall, the town’s stunning 5,500-capacity outdoor venue where she’s seen Boygenius and supported Embrace, the band pioneered by her dad Richard and uncle Danny. Her parents divorced 10 years ago, and she’s lived with her mum for the past five, working as a barista, cleaner and gardener – to name just a few – while tirelessly pursuing a career in music.
“I’d be cleaning a house and writing a song at the same time,” she reflects. “Music is literally all I could think about. I’d be making sandwiches or pulling pints, thinking, ‘One day, this is not going to be a thing.’ It’s a thing now, and that’s also fine. The people you meet, the stories you hear – you can’t really be a writer without having those experiences.”
On her dad’s Irish side, 30 of his own father’s cousins are musicians. “There’s definitely something in the blood – that need to sing,” she agrees. Nevertheless, her dad’s Britpop guitar licks hold equal inspiration to her mum’s career as an art teacher. “My mum’s a jack of all trades,” she beams. “She does these creative mindfulness nights, once a month, where people can have a night that doesn’t involve booze… be in the moment, connect and make friends.”
Subconsciously, the spirit of those mindfulness nights bleeds into McNamara’s own fan community, a private Instagram account named @theellurclub. She used it to invite 10 followers to star in her music video for ‘The Wheel’. Once a superfan herself, obsessing over The 1975 and buying Skrillex posters from HMV, she wants to provide an atmosphere centred around human connection and loosening up.
“There’s a general giddiness with everything,” she elaborates. “Even if you’re an adult, just having an hour to be excited, because that’s how I used to feel, going to gigs. We’re all connected by one thing in common… as long as it’s [connecting with] one person, I’m doing something right. I’m chasing that more than the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.”
“I used to feel this panic, because there was this weird, invisible pressure to do well before you’re 30. I’ve taken that pressure off myself”
During our conversation, the word ‘giddiness’ crops up more than once. Telling NME that she often calms down her 13-year-old Jack Russell – who was named after U2’s frontman – by singing to him, she writes her own headline, erupting with laughter: “Bono loves the album!” Despite the emotional depth of her music and poise in her words, there is an inherent glass-half-full warmth that radiates from Ellur.
That juxtaposition characterises much of ‘At Home In My Mind’. The addictive, Sam Fender-esque ‘Missing Kid’ and the soul-baring ‘Disintegrate’ see feelings of detachment and darkness evaporate into summery euphoria. “‘There She Goes’ by The La’s sounds super jolly, but then you dig deeper,” she adds. “I think that’s true of me as a person. I’m quite happy and extroverted, but on the inside, I’m actually super introverted and pretty shy.
“Life’s been this thing that I’ve struggled through, but music’s always helped me out of it,” she continues. “My brain is very tumultuous, and I wrote [the title track] about wanting to feel at home within myself… the behaviours you don’t really like about yourself, they’re always going to be there, whether you push them away or work on them. It’s about accepting that and giving yourself the grace, understanding and [patience] to make peace with that.”
Another highlight, ‘Pushing Away’, was rooted in anger, but evolved towards self-release, where “we can move on and have a little boogie”. Indeed, the light garage-y outro stems from her “deep” love of dance music, spanning from Huddersfield raves to a recent Underworld gig. Shoehorn Ellur into the guitar world at your peril, given the wide range of influences she’s increasingly incorporating.
It was the writing process – paired with the kindness of her partner and comfort of Halifax – that helped Ellur find her truths. One is the reclamation of her authentic self – aka “when I’m dancing, being embarrassing and cringe” – instead of neglecting it, as she did in her school days. She hopes that freedom will bleed through to her live audiences.
Another is the confidence she never realised she possessed. “Recording and writing the album, you [need] a lot of self-belief to pursue a career in something where you fail every single day,” she tells NME. “I [also] went on this journey with spirituality and religion… a belief that there’s something bigger than us. Being a creative person, you’re harnessing energy. I feel like there’s a lot of things that come together for a reason.”
Indeed, there’s a hint of destiny about where Ellur finds herself now. Snap back to reality, and you realise how hard she’s worked for it. “It’s not necessarily full-time financially, but it’s a full-time commitment,” she explains. She received PPL Momentum Music funding to record ‘At Home In My Mind’, enabling her to “lock in” like never before.
As for the future? McNamara reels off her bucket list that features Coachella, Primavera and Wembley, but there is another dream which flashed before her eyes only one day earlier. At an award ceremony, she met – and performed in front of – actor and comedian Lee Mack. He vowed to check out her music on his dog walk. “My hero,” she glows. “I would love to go on Would I Lie To You? and be on Lee’s team. If I do that, I can retire early. Even though it’s nothing to do with music!”
Ellur’s debut album ‘At Home In My Mind’ is released February 6 via Dance To The Radio