“It feels quite exciting that the album is now done,” Vandal says. “It’s been slightly nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. It’s a bizarre feeling to know people will digest it and consume it in their own way, some will love it and some will hate it. It’s interesting to accept that it’s out to the world.”
‘Your Way’, the album’s opener, is full of energy. The high-intensity electric guitar line which adds to the grit of the overall sound, was always earmarked as the opening track. “I wanted the opener to be strong and hopefully indicate what you are going to be in for. That track was the first song I ever wrote on the guitar and it’s me playing the opening riff into my laptop into GarageBand. We tried to refine and re-track it, but it didn’t have the same feel as the demo. It seemed right to open the record with the first track I ever wrote on guitar.”
The catchiest chorus on Ecca Vandal, goes to ‘Broke Days, Party Nights’which will fare well as a moshpit singalong during her upcoming shows. “I hope people realise just how broke I was when I wrote that track,” Vandal says. “I poured my life savings into a writing trip to New York. I literally didn’t have any money and was living off one dollar sliced pizza. Coming back to Melbourne, I was living off really cheap meals like two-minute noodles and some nights not eating much at all. I just had to get by. It was a frustrating time, but this song came out.”
In between the national tour and the New Year’s run of shows, Vandal is headed to UK for a quick jaunt with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes in early December. As you would imagine, Vandal is chomping at the bit to hit the stage. “I’m very honoured that Frank asked us to play. It’s been a dream of mine to play at the Brixton Academy in London and I’ll have to pinch myself before I perform. It’ll be straight off the back of finishing the tour here. I’ll be in a state of delirium.”
Born in South Africa to Sri Lankan parents, it’s easy to hear subtle hints of her ancestry in the vocal melodies on the album. Growing up in the middle of the apartheid, the stories told to her by her sisters still echo in Vandal’s mind today. “My family went through some pretty real struggles due to the Apartheid. My sister wasn’t allowed to go to a particular singing teacher because of the colour of her skin. We are so fortunate for the opportunities we have received since moving to Australia,” she says.
“My earliest musical memories were hearing the gospel choirs and the vocal harmonies that were being sung when my family went to church. It’s a big part of African music and has been a big influence on me.”
‘Your Orbit’sees Vandal team up with fellow Sydney MC Sampa the Great, the track shining as another album highlight. It came about from the aforementioned writing trip which saw Vandal link up with Darwin Deez. “The sound to that track was inspired by ‘90s hip hop and Deez was playing around with this beat in his bedroom. We pretty much wrote and tracked the song there.
“The first MC that came to my mind to feature on the track was Sampa. I was stoked when she said she’d jump up on it. It’s so cool when two worlds can collide and collaborate like that. It’s one of the most special things ever.”
