Labelled as an enigma by so many, Wonderland discover the mystery that is Ecca Vandal and discuss the debut of “Father Hu$$Ia”.

Australian punk and hip-hop enthusiast, Ecca Vandal is this really new exciting artist we can’t wrap our heads around. So she was born in South Africa with a Sri Lankan Heritage, then settled into Melbourne, and this is where she started to discover the multifaceted sides of music: jazz, hip-hop, and punk-rock. It doesn’t come to a surprise therefore that this girl finds inspiration everywhere and in everyone – which is quite refreshing. The finest talents usually come from the experimental types. Ecca can not be prescribed to one genres; she dabs her feet into various genres and plays around with the small uncertainties she finds on her journey.

This creative force has just released her new single “Father Hu$$Ia” which talks about being young and thinking that you know your family inside out but as the years go on realising that this never was the case – #deep. Having already gained support from The Guardian and Rolling Stone, having also opened for The Prodigy last year, Ecca might be sitting on a pot of gold here. Wonderland wanted to talk about the multiplied musical identities that she has been said to hold and make the enigma a little less mysterious.

At Wonderland, we love your new track “Father Hu$$la” – can you tell us what it’s about?

It’s a story about the realisation that in some cases we don’t really know our family and the people we grew up with. Father Hu$$la is from the perspective of a friend and what she went through with her Father choosing to nurture money over family.

Your sound is really unique and we can hear influences from a variety of genres in your music including punk and hip-hop – in a couple of words how would you describe your sound to someone?

I find this a hard one to answer because I haven’t really worked out how to label my music…. to me it’s just music! But when I was working with a buddy of mine on his record last year I played him some of my music and he called it Punk-Rock/Future Dance-floor … I kinda like that description so maybe that’s what we can call it for now 😉

What is creating music about for you?

Creating music is my daily… It’s something I have to do to exist… It’s kinda an obsession but helps my state of mind!! Being able to express myself is something I am grateful for because without it I have no idea what I would do! Without creating music, maybe I would clean windows… I find the squeegee action quite therapeutic.

Your lyrics are very powerful – can you tell us anything about your creative/songwriting process? What inspires you the most?

The freedom of creating is what I find inspiring. No limitations, no boundaries and no rules. I guess sometimes we can limit ourselves with our own thoughts, other people’s opinions and cultural trends, but I like to constantly self-critique to make sure I’m breaking my own rules artistically and moving past them.

Who/what were your biggest musical influences growing up?

When I was real young I was addicted to my older sister’s CD collection, dotted through the racks upon racks of CDs you’d find Mary J  Blige, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, En Vouge, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J and Foxy Brown to name a few. I also grew up with traditional Sri Lankan / South Indian music, introduced to traditional South African and Gospel music early on and fell in love with Jazz in my teens.

https://soundcloud.com/eccavandal/white-flag

We’ve read some great things about your live performances. What’s been your favourite track to perform?

My favourite track to perform would have to be Father Hu$$la. There’s always heaps of raw energy as it’s usually the track I end my set with, so everyone is well and truly on fire by then! I’ve also been doing a cover of Public Enemy/Tricky’s ‘Black Steel’ over the last two shows – that’s been real fun too.

What was it like opening for The Prodigy last year?

Supporting The Prodigy would have one of the most memorable life moments so far! It was an amazing night… this was my third performance ever. So a stage of this size was somewhat freaky…but I was just rapt to be able to check out their show after I played, it was next level!! They were pushing the envelope when I was in kindergarden and still doing so today!!

Who are your favourite upcoming artists right now?

Little Simz, Bully, Leikeli47 and a group from my home town Melbourne called RaRa.

You’ve been creating quite a hype in the industry and have been compared to the likes of Gwen Stefani and M.I.A. What has been your most exciting moment so far?

Since I’ve done things the other way round – written, played and recorded all the parts on record with Kidnot (Producer) the most charged up moment so far would have to be finding the incredible members in my band who bring life to recorded part perform them with heart. Stan Bicknell and Stacey Gray. Hearing my music come to life and performed live was rad

What’s next for Ecca Vandal?

A few more gigs going on for rest of the year and working up to the release of my debut record early 2016.

Her new single “Father Hu$$Ia” is out now.