Ebony and Irony Issue #38

London’s new sensation melds sugar with substance

By Eavvon O'Neal
Published: December 1st, 2008 | 12:00am

Ebony Bones is a self-proclaimed “collective of contradictions,” which means she’s a living, breathing, human. Pretensions left at the door, she is a woman with which you have to actually interact. This is no new approach to musicianship or entertainment, just a new variation on an old method — get in their face and let them decide how to respond.

It is this attitude, coupled with fun pop sensationalism, that has put the artist on the radar of the UK’s top tastemakers. “I’ve never really tried to define my style,” she starts out, “it’s just all about life and embracing the ridiculous...”

While she grew up studying drama in school, she felt better tapping into life through music. “I was a pretty normal kid I think. But what’s normal? My Sony Walkman was my best friend. I’d sit listening to everything from The Clash to Afrika Baambaataa to Talking Heads whist all my friends were trying to do the running man to Vanilla Ice.” This early eclecticism led quickly to her moving beyond the Walkman and making her own music. “I decided to start writing and producing music out of a sheer desperation to connect,” she says.

On stage, you can see how well she has cultivated this desperation and turned it into an inspiring live presence. “I love intimate shows, where I can stare into every eyeball and look at the crowd square in the face,” she says. Still a relatively young performer, Ms. Bones has yet to reach the tier reserved for her personal heroes. It could be argued, however, that each of her influences contributes their part to her persona, and what comes out in the shake is an onstage tyrant with boundless energy.

“Artists like Patti Smith, Grace Jones, Björk, Annie Lennox [had] just a magical inner strength ... that translated in their art when they performed,” she explains. Bones possesses something similar in magnitude, but defined in less abstract terms. “Music is the only thing in life that can gravitate people of all kinds into the same room, I’m not sure the value of that can be overlooked. I’ve always approached making music with the innocence of a child, and just wanted to create sounds that genuinely excited me.”

This excitement manifests through her costumes, which “cost less than a Happy Meal” and aim to exhibit the “humor in life that gets us through it.” This humor, juxtaposed with any and every human emotion one could imagine experiencing, is funneled into her work. From songs such as “Don’t Fart on My Heart,” written about the pain of trying to compete with a lover’s past, to “We Know All About U,” which references George Orwell’s 1984, Bones harps on facets of existence that she believes we should all express. “I think people are often afraid to step outside of the circumferences of what they’re expected to be in life, to challenge themselves or take risks, but it really doesn’t serve the world to play small.”

This optimism, the main tool in her “cultural rebellion,” is backed by one hell of an outrageous band. “I travel with my full band. Drums, trumpets, backing vocalists, crazy Japanese guitarists, whistles, horns ... and not a DJ in sight. I love the live experience,” she says.

Ebony Bones’ love of performance isn’t meant to overshadow your good time — you just have to want such an interaction. “People prefer to disappear in life, to repress their personality,” she says, “But that’s not living, it’s dying. We all share the same pressures, but you have to have your say, speak up, and know what you want.“

Indeed, the most idolized of performers today tend to imbibe their grandiloquence, but Ebony challenges this attitude with a simplistic mindset that is straight-up DIY, “I think we’re all meant to liberate ourselves and shine the way that children do, and in doing so we liberate others to do the same. Be your own hero.”