GL (Ella Thompson + Graeme Pogson)

Episode 21 of Turning Heads features Melbourne musicians Ella Thompson and Graeme Pogson of the cosmic electro funk-pop project GL. GL's second album, You Read My Mind, came out in September 2020 via the band's own label, Pool Records. 

Graeme and Ella's musical collaboration dates back over a decade. They both grew up in the Warrandyte/Eltham area and started working together when Ella was still in high school. They later both joined Melbourne funk icons The Bamboos – Graeme on drums and Ella as co-lead vocalist – appearing on a few of the group's most successful albums before splitting off to form GL in 2014.

 

Graeme is also a member of Kylie Aulidst's band and played a major role in the creation of her new album, This is What Happiness Looks Like. Ella has co-fronted Dorsal Fins and in 2015 released her debut solo album, Janus, following up with the 2018 EP, Hysteria.

 

GL released their debut LP, Touch, in 2016, which led to a sold out national tour and slots at Meredith, Splendour In The Grass and Laneway Festival. This rapid rise meant that GL started to become a bit of a stressful venture, which was the exact the opposite of what they'd hoped for when launching the project.

 

But having taken time to free themselves of other people's expectations, Graeme and Ella return in glistening, pop-tastic form on You Read My Mind. It's an upbeat, extroverted release with squelchy synths, deep funk and disco grooves and a heckload of pop melody.

 

In the podcast, Ella and Graeme talk about their decision to release the album through their own label and how much they value the increased autonomy. They also discuss the sorts of reactions they hope to elicit with their songs and how working on GL songs enables them to put aside their own bad moods and frustrations about the state of the world. 

 

Turning heads is recorded on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation; the traditional custodians of the land. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded.