Hailing from the wild West coast of Wales, bilingual singer-songwriter BlueBelle – born Maeve Bluebell Tonkin-Wells – has well and truly arrived with her debut EP, ‘High Priestess’, consisting of four incredible tracks that explore the persecution and power of womanhood and take inspiration from mysticism and fairy tales, gospels and the divine power of woman. The EP will be available on all platforms on Friday 4 March.
BlueBelle was raised in a hugely creative family – surrounded by five sisters and writing songs in the playground from the age of five, this is all she has ever wanted to do. Already well established in the acting world (Ready Player One, Alexander I: Into The Woods), Maeve then met legendary Grammy Award winning producer Steve Levine, who has worked with the likes of Culture Club, The Beach Boys and The Clash, and the two collaborated to make the stunning ‘High Priestess’ EP. The pair continue to write together, with much more material in the works.
BlueBelle’s soaring, velvety vocals take inspiration from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Blondie, Garbage and Goldfrapp, with performative elements of Björk. The music is in many ways a meeting of genres: electronica, folk, rock, and an overall expression of dark pop poetry.
‘High Priestess’ features four incredibly powerful tracks: new single Ancestors, the melodic Beyond The Veil, the emotive Wicker Heart and the rousing They Tell Me I’m A Bad Girl. The EP is a sweeping journey through time immemorial, and is inspired by female figures, both fabled and factual. More than anything, it explores the voices of forgotten women, whose stories needed to be told.
New single Ancestors features the line “I am a wh*** and a holy woman”, emphasising the fact that women don’t have to be one or the other, and can be or do anything they please. Above all, the ‘High Priestess’ EP is a love letter to women and sisterhood in general, with even the videos of the tracks being worked on by BlueBelle’s own sisters.
This is only the beginning of BlueBelle’s journey, with such powerful vocals, outrageous amounts of talent, and an incredible message behind her music, there is so much more to come.
