Next Wave #786: Etta Bond

“Music is my purest act of love...”

Etta Bond is hardly new. The Cambridge-raised singer has been quietly emerging in the UK music scene for over six years, already working with big names like Wretch 32 and top producer DaVinChe, before dropping her very first EP, 'Emergency Room', in 2012.

Yet her ever-evolving sound has kept her flying under the radar. People still haven’t been given the chance to really get to know her. And every time fans do get close to seeing what this unique and outspoken songstress is all about, she takes an extended break from her music and returns a year or two later with a sparkling new project that is nothing like the last.

But that is about to change…

“I wouldn’t class myself as a newbie at all,” Etta asserts. “But I guess I’ve still got a lot to do. I think I take a long emotional break between projects because [the music] tends to take quite a lot out of me. This year there will be no more breaks. I’m changing the way I’m doing things. I’m focusing on live shows a lot more now and I’m already working on the next music to release after this EP drops.”

Her upcoming EP will be Etta’s fourth, following on from ‘#CoolUrbanNewTalent’, which was released in 2014 and featured production from good friend and OddChild Music labelmate, Chris Loco. Etta’s relationship with Chris over the years has led to the pair teaming up together again to produce her latest project and stands as a true testament to just how much Etta cherishes her musical acquaintances.

“Music is my purest act of love,” she explains. “I look to music to teach me how to love and how to be with people. So my relationships with the people that I make music with are some of the purest relationships I‘ve ever had. I look at the music as the love that we make.”

In an industry where collabs can be key to getting your name out there and building a wider fanbase, Etta prefers to stay true to who she is and not give herself away to freely. “Even just sitting in a room with someone I admire is more beneficial than making a song with them,” she admits. “Unless it’s a genuine connection or feels genuine, I don’t collaborate with anyone.”

With that said, Etta’s forthcoming release is a body of work built with Chris and Chris only. The sense of familiarity and friendship between the pair appears to be a comfort for the singer and implies that this is how she makes the music she holds most dear – similar to the music she is known for making with beatmaker Raf Riley; a close mate and the man behind her breakthrough sound on ‘Emergency Room’ and her second EP, ‘Meds’.

“You will hear the difference between [producers] Raf and Chris because I am working so closely with them. I let them do their thing, they let me do mine and we kind of blend together,” she explains. “I’ve been back in the studio with Raf recently, so it will be interesting to hear whether there is that growth in our stuff now… but there should be familiarity there too.”

It certainly seems Etta has more than enough music and ambition to keep her fans and herself satisfied for the remainder of 2017. Soulful, romantic, punk; whatever you may know her as, Etta is whole-heartedly doing her own thing. And we’re all for it.

Words: Natasha Nanner

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