Only Girl Playlist For G.W.R.

We met Ellen Murphy, known as "Only Girl", during this year's SXSW and were instantly captivated by her voice and modern R&B instrumentals. Ellen hails from South East London, where she is still based today… we love her fresh perspective on female-dominated songwriting, which makes her the perfect choice for our latest Spotify Playlist For G.W.R. She calls this mix 'Rise & Grind', so we hope you enjoy it next time you push around you own streets this summer.

#onlygirl #onlygirlmusic

We’ve featured two of our songs by Only Girl, “Stone” & “Mountain” here. The video for “Mountain”, the single from her latest EP is "all about the story of [her] husband, Jamie, who is a passionate BMXer and suffered a brain injury 6 years ago...so the video features real footage of him riding before and after the injury”, which we selected because it particularly relates to the injury stories of many in the Nikita community. And, “Stone” is just plain bomb. Give her a listen, and we swear you’ll be hooked...

1. We love your band name! Can you tell us the story of how it came to be?

I have 4 brothers and no sisters so I grew up with people always asking me - ‘are you the only girl?!’ so it felt like a good artist name to choose - as it really shaped me as a person growing up with 4 brothers in a big musical family!

#on

2. Can you tell us a little bit about where you are based, and how you ended up at SXSW so far from home?! How was the SXSW experience for you, and have you been before?

I was born and bred in south east London and SXSW has always been a dream of mine! So when I was invited to play this year I was over the moon and straight away applied for the PRS international showcase fund which I was lucky enough to get - so the trip was fully funded as well! This was my first ever SXSW and it was everything I expected it to be and even more full on and intense! It was so exciting to be part of the action and feel part of a global community of musicians!""I was born and bred in south east London and SXSW has always been a dream of mine! So when I was invited to play this year I was over the moon and straight away applied for the PRS international showcase fund which I was lucky enough to get - so the trip was fully funded as well! This was my first ever SXSW and it was everything I expected it to be and even more full on and intense! It was so exciting to be part of the action and feel part of a global community of musicians!

#onlygirl #onlygirlmusic

3. Can you describe your musical style a bit for our listeners that are just now discovering your sound? It definitely seems to have a romantic R&B, pop feel to it….what other musicians have influenced you to go in this direction?

I would describe my sound as soulful R&B pop with gospel influences and layers of harmonies! I’m influenced by so many different kinds of music - I just love really honest, passionate musicians whose music has a real meaning behind it! some of my all time favourites are Janis Joplin, Alabama shakes, James Blake, Sampha, Frank Ccean, Bon Iver, noname, Loyle Carner, Jamie XX, Distillers, & Beastie Boys to name a few…

4. What are your travel plans for the summer, and what shows in particular are you most looking forward to?

I've got a bunch of fun little shows this summer in the UK - mostly looking forward to a couple of summer gigs outside that i’ll Be playing as a more stripped down, acoustic set up - as I always really love performing like that! I’m also traveling to LA at the end of the summer to do some writing and meet up with some of the connections I made at SXSW!

#onlygirl #onlygirlmusic

5. How can our followers find you, listen to your music & follow you on social?!

All my socials are all @onlygirlmusic.

June 01, 2018 — Amy Gonzales