Ella Thompson and Graeme Pogson, who have known each other since they were in their teens, played in a bunch of bands together before later becoming part of celebrated funk-soul collective The Bamboos. More recently, they’ve set sail as a duo marked by glittering synth-pop excellence.
“The story goes that I was playing a gig when I was 16 and Graeme came and asked if I wanted to join his funk band called The Single Malt Special,” Thompson says. “It was a great band. We played mainly covers by Ann Peebles and The Meters and then started to write our own tunes. We played in The Bamboos for a few years together and then decided we would like to make a duo –something more compact – and delve into the electronic world.” That’s when GL was born.
For Thompson, who’s also part of alt-pop sensation Dorsal Fins, the sidestep from soul to electro funk was a smooth one. “I grew up with artists like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Blondie, Janet Jacket and Mtume” she says.
“Exploring electronic music seemed like an exciting progression – to be able to manipulate synthesised instruments within the pop song format. Graeme bought an MPC about ten years ago and started to get into sampling and then creating his own beats with drum machines and synths. The rest is history.”
The band, who describe their sound as “romance dance,” draw inspiration from disco, boogie, funk, new wave, pop and everything in between. The proof’s in the pudding because they’ve been burning up dancefloors and festivals worldwide from Laneway, Meredith and Splendour through to a recent stint in Croatia. In fact, Thompson’s still buzzing off the back of the latter tour. “In Croatia we mainly ate pizza and went to the beach, perfecting the work-life balance,” Thompson says.
She speaks openly about trusting Pogson and about the importance of their project being based in equality, both factors lending themselves to stretching the pair creatively. “The music industry is so swayed by what everyone else thinks,” Thompson says. “It’s very reactive. It’s essential to one’s sanity to have people around who know what they like and will stick by it. I appreciate that in Graeme.
“We get excited about things but also know when to check in with the bullshit meter. Plus he’s a great muso and has put in the hard yards to learn about it. It was important to me that things were as equal as possible in this collaboration, because we’re both writers, producers and performers. Sure we each have our strengths, but I want to learn through this project not just stick to what we could already do.”
Thompson, who’s renowned for her own sartorial splendour, is the perfect fit for the intersection of music, art and fashion at the Dior Friday-night extravaganza. “My favourite trend is to be yourself, although I’ve got to say I’m a sucker for the beret resurgence thanks to Dior and Bad girl.
“I enjoy the way what you wear on stage and everyday can be a powerful tool of self-expression. Costume is a way to create a character and an extension of the performance. I believe we’re seeing a positive shift in promoting body positive images in the media which is exciting.”
Stretching themselves seems to be something of a theme, and both Pogson and Thompson have side projects galore keeping them occupied. For instance, Thompson’s part of Like Running Water, which plays at the Melbourne Recital Centre during the Melbourne Festival. Thompson’s been working on the show, which will feature artwork by Prue Stent and Honey Long and musical collaborations with Sui Zhen and Clio Renner, all year.
“Music is our full-time passion, so we want to do as much as possible. Having too many days off would be weird. In Australia it’s hard to do one thing full-time.”
