Ecca Vandal | |
|---|---|
| Born | Louis Trichardt, South Africa |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www |
Ecca Vandal is a South African-born Sri Lankan-Australian singer-songwriter and rapper, currently living in Melbourne. To date, Vandal has released one studio album and one EP.
Vandal was born in Louis Trichardt, South Africa, to Sri Lankan Tamil refugee parents. When she was a child, her parents chose to leave South Africa with Ecca and her older sisters, due to apartheid segregation, in the late 1980s.[1] The family moved to Australia, and decided to settle in Melbourne.[2] Vandal grew up listening to gospel music, and, as she recalled, "got into [her] sister's record collection, soul and hip hop and '90s RnB. And then [she] actually became obsessed with jazz music".[3] Vandal attended the Victorian College of the Arts, studying for a Bachelor of Creative Arts.[4][5]
On 7 August 2014, Vandal released her debut single, "White Flag", to positive reviews. A music video was released on 18 August. In December, she made her debut live performance at the Deathproof PR Christmas party.[4][6]
On 19 February 2015, Vandal released her single "Battle Royal", with an accompanying music video. In July, she signed onto the Dew Process recording label for Australia and New Zealand,[7] and Island Records for the UK. Later that week, she played at Splendour in the Grass. On 17 August, Vandal released her single "Father Hu$$la"; on 9 September, the music video was released. Her singles "White Flag" and "Battle Royal" were later re-released on 1 September by Dew Process.[8][9] On 2 November, Vandal released the single "End of Time"; a music video followed on 24 November.[10]
On 29 January 2016, Vandal's debut EP, End of Time, was released by Dew Process, containing her two previous singles. On 30 March, a music video for the track "Truth to Trade" was released.
On 17 May 2017, Vandal collaborated with Dan Cribb on the cover track "Happy Birthday, Lisa", from Cribb's album Worst Tribute Ever, which contains covers of songs from The Simpsons.[11] On 28 July, Vandal released her first single, "Broke Days, Party Nights", from her then-upcoming debut album, with an accompanying music video. On 22 September, the single "Future Heroine" was released, along with its music video. On 12 October, Vandal released the third single, "Price of Living", featuring Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, and Jason Aalon Butler of Letlive.[12] On 20 October, Vandal released her debut self-titled album, on the Dew Process label. Thomas Smith, of NME, gave the album a rating of 4-out-of-5 stars.[13] From 3–25 November, Vandal performed a national tour for the album. Across Australia, she performed her album in Fremantle, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Gold Coast, Coolum, Brisbane, Ballarat, and then finished in her hometown of Melbourne. In December, Vandal made her UK tour debut, supporting Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, Norwich, and London. She then returned home to perform at the 2017 Falls Music & Arts Festival, in Lorne, Marion Bay, Byron Bay, and Fremantle again.[14]
In February 2018, thieves stole thousands of dollars of Vandal's equipment, including a six-string bass, a laptop, wireless transmitters, a keyboard, drum samplers, and loads of guitar pedals. The singer took to Facebook to get the word out about the crime, and urged fans to come forth with information.[15] In March, she supported Incubus on their Australian East Coast tour.[16] In April, Vandal covered Rihanna's track "Bitch Better Have My Money" for Triple J's Like a Version. She described her love for the song as "empowering", and how "[Rihanna] is a total boss in every aspect of her life."[17] Three days later, Vandal released a music video for her track "Your Orbit", featuring Sampa the Great. In November, Vandal collaborated with Birdz on his track "Place of Dreams", for which Vandal was praised for her "creative elasticity, star power and sheer talent."[18] In December, Vandal joined the lineup for the inaugural Good Things Festival.[19]
On 10 January 2019, Ecca Vandal was confirmed to appear on Hilltop Hoods' new album The Great Expanse as a featured artist, it was later released in February. She appears on the tracks "Be Yourself" alongside feature artist Nyassa, and "Exit Sign" alongside feature artist Illy.[20] "Exit Sign" debuted at #44 on the ARIA Singles Charts.[21] On 15 May, Vandal was confirmed to appear at the 2019 Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, performing with Two People and Slag Queens.[22] In June, Ecca Vandal received a monetary grant of $15,000 from the PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia) and Australia Council. Vandal stated she would use the grant to write and co-produce her second studio album.[23] On 22 June, performing as a support act for Clowns on their Nature/Nurture album tour, Vandal unveiled a new song entitled "Stiff Middle Finger" which has yet to be officially released.[24] On 10 July, Vandal was featured on "In My Mind" by Alice Ivy.[25] On 10 December, Vandal was featured as the vocals for League of Legends' new champion Rell's theme song.[26]
On 21 February 2021, Ecca Vandal was featured on Void of Vision's re-imagined version of their single "Decay" from their 2019 album Hyperdaze.[27]
Ecca Vandal's musical style has been described as taking influences from artists such as Beastie Boys and M.I.A.[13] Her track "Future Heroine" from her 2017 self-titled debut album, was described as being a blend of Gwen Stefani, M.I.A., and Kanye West's "Black Skinhead".[3]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Ecca Vandal |
|
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| End of Time |
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| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "White Flag" | 2014 | non-album singles |
| "Father Hu$$la" | 2015 | |
| "Battle Royal" | End of Time | |
| "End of Time" | ||
| "Broke Days, Party Nights" | 2017 | Ecca Vandal |
| "Future Heroine" | ||
| "Price of Living" |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [28] | |||||
| "Oblivion" (Moonbase Commander featuring Ecca Vandal) | 2016 | – | Orthodox | ||
| "Happy Birthday, Lisa" (Dan Cribb featuring Ecca Vandal) | 2017 | – | Worst Tribute Ever | ||
| "I Know How It Goes" (Nina Las Vegas featuring Vera Blue & Ecca Vandal) | 2018 | – | Lucky Girl | ||
| "Place of Dreams"[29] (Birdz featuring Ecca Vandal) | – | Place of Dreams | |||
| "Exit Sign" (Hilltop Hoods featuring Illy & Ecca Vandal) | 2019 | 16 |
|
The Great Expanse | |
| "In My Mind" (Alice Ivy featuring Ecca Vandal) | – | Don't Sleep | |||
| "Rell, the Iron Maiden" (Riot Games, featuring Ecca Vandal) | 2020 | _ | Non-album singles | ||
| "Decay" (Void of Vision, featuring Ecca Vandal) | 2021 | _ | Hyperdaze (Redux) | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Be Yourself" | 2019 | Hilltop Hoods featuring Ecca Vandal & Nyassa | The Great Expanse |
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "White Flag" | 2014 | Andrew Stalph Richard Buxton |
| "Battle Royal" | 2015 | |
| "Father Hu$$la" | ||
| "End of Time" | Matthew Chuang | |
| "Truth to Trade" | 2016 | Richard Buxton |
| "Broke Days, Party Nights" | 2017 | Richard Buxton Sean McDonald |
| "Future Heroine" | Ecca Vandal Indoor Fountains | |
| "Your Orbit" (featuring Sampa the Great) | 2018 | Unknown |
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018[31][32] | Ecca Vandal | Best Live Act of the Year - People's Choice | Nominated |