Ella Speed has rocked on to the scene with their debut EP ‘Jump for Joy’. This exciting new duo is formed of the Dutch guitar player and singer Rik van Bosch, and drummer Luis Bestard from Mallorca, with occasional support from two or three female voices to add a screaming, shouting depth to the sound. The pair started to write and play together for Ella Speed two years ago in their hometown of Barcelona.

You might know Rik already from his ten years on the singer-songwriter scene, travelling western Europe with his take on all things folk and blues, which he blends into this much louder and rockier sound with Ella Speed. His sweet singing voice transforms into a gritty growl for the new band, and Luis’ drumming keeps thing tight. These two will make you forget there’s not a bass in sight with Rik’s clever finger-picking and mix of pedals, and Luis’ rhythm on the bass drum.

‘Jump for Joy’ contains four tracks, providing an introduction to Ella Speed’s musical journey through blues, rock, rock ’n’ roll, punk, garage, and more. The opening track ‘I ain’t buying’ harks back to the old Chicago blues style of John Lee Hooker, but with a catchy, punky chorus, while the ballad ‘Whatever’ has a ‘doo-whop’ connection that unexpectedly explodes into garage rock. There’s a video for the final track ‘Gone too Long’ on YouTube. You can listen for yourself at www.ellaspeed.bandcamp.com

Jiri is a Rotterdam, Netherlands based musician who besides playing various instruments is also a songwriter and singer. Starting out as a drummer and later  playing keyboards he played in a variety of local bands in his homecountry and far beyond it's borders.
The music and topics he writes about speak for themselves. It's folky, it's bluesy and everything in between.

Dutch graphic designer that plays guitar, bass, drums and a little keyboard. Likes to do jamsessions and to record ideas. Lives in Schiedam, Holland
Since september 2014 working at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.

Blues Grandpa is following