Elle Bandita

There are some people that are born to be on stage, and Elle is one of them. Since the tender age of the 13 she's been terrorizing stages all across The Netherlands with her guitar. After playing in a multitude of bands such as Bad Candy and The Riplets, Elle was ready to embark on her first solo project. She released her first EP in 2005 on the label Tocado Records entitled 'Love Juice'. Armed with only her flying V-guitar, a drum-machine, and a 4-track tape recorder, it wasn't long before she started getting noticed. As a one-woman show she managed to get booked for festivals such as Popronde and Noorderslag. Whether the public liked her or not didn't really matter to her. Love it or hate it, she was undeniably an animal on stage.

After around 150 shows as a solo act Elle decided to hang up her tape-recorder in favor of forming a live band. The record label PIAS welcomed her and her new songs with open arms, allowing her to release her first full-length album 'Queen of Fools" in 2009. With collaborations from musicians like Joppe Molenaar (Voicst), Daan Schinkel (zZz) en Torre Florim (De staat) the album acquired an unique sound that didn't go unnoticed in the media as well as with the Dutch public. A string of tv appearances (3x DWDD) and festival/club performances (e.g. Lowlands, Paaspop, Noorderslag en Melkweg) followed suit; 170 shows played 18 months. The Elle Bandita buzz eventually spread across Europe as well as overseas. The band played at the British festival 'The Great Escape' as well as a 2 week tour in the United States where they played various shows, including a stage at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

After a 2 year hiatus Elle is ready to pick up where she left off. With her new self-titled album being released in April 2014 on Caroline Records, she's ready to get reacquainted with her natural habitat: playing live on stage. In and out of Europe. For her shows she'll be accompanied by a selection of rock-solid, and well-weathered musicians, consisting of (ex-) members from The Devil's Blood, San Andreas, and Malkovich. With previous record 'Queen of Fools' released in 2009, the band was labeled 'bulldozer rock' which is far cry from where they stand today. There's a audible dynamic and softness in the new album that showcases the band's musical abilities as well as Elle as a lyricist. Her musical inspiration reaches further past the confinements of the rock genre, allowing each song on the new album to have it's own face. Whether she's screaming, panting, or (this is a new one) whispering, each song's face is a piece of Elle's personality and soul.