We Speak Music
Ellie Walker & The Folly release delightful festive single ‘This Christmas Morning’
Following their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Sink Or Swim’, released in October 2023 (“chock full of folk-pop nuggets”- The Afterword, “a terrific debut album”– Fatea Magazine, “a cocktail of melodic folksy pop”- Folking.com), Ellie Walker, Cambridge born singer-songwriter celebrated for her enchanting voice, captivating melodies and luscious harmonies, releases her next single, ‘This Christmas Morning’ with her band Ellie Walker & The Folly.
This upbeat, infectious, and classily cheesy (if that’s a thing?!) track tells the endearing story of a Christmas Fairy (Eve) and an Elf (Frosty), who discover love amidst their feelings of loneliness and lack of festive spirit at Christmas time. ‘This Christmas Morning’ captures the magic and joy of the festive season, blending Ellie’s signature indie-pop sound with catchy melodies that are sure to get stuck in your head. The song beautifully illustrates how love can be found even in the midst of loneliness and isolation, with a bit of festive sprinkle thrown in.
“I wanted to create a fun, joyful song that celebrates the spirit of love and connection during the festive period,” Ellie shares. “It’s about finding joy in companionship, and I hope it brings smiles and joy to everyone who listens.”
Ellie saw great success when BBC Radio 1 favourites Saturday Night Gym Club re-imagined her track ‘I Know’ into a synth-pop hit, giving opportunities to perform at the Radio 1 Big Weekend, as well as the O2 Indigo and a feature on an ad for Rotary Watches. Now working as ‘Ellie Walker & The Folly’ with her bandmates —Mike, Mark, Max, and Carly—her pure, ethereal voice resonates deeply with listeners, weaving through lush melodies, heart-wrenching harmonies and raw lyrics. Think Feist, Belle & Sebastian, Ohbijou and Kate Bush – Ellie’s multi-instrumental arrangements create catchy, melody rich songs that soon become lovely earworms to all who listen.
With its playful lyrics and rich arrangement including trumpets, bells, organs and synths, ‘This Christmas Morning’ is poised to become a festive favourite for listeners of all ages. The track showcases Ellie’s unique vocals, complemented by the vibrant energy of her band. Their dynamic sound brings the story of the Eve and Frosty to life, making it an irresistible addition to any festive playlist. Fans can stream ‘This Christmas Morning’ on all major platforms now.
Ellie will also be performing the new single at venues across the UK, bringing the festive spirit directly to her audiences. Join Ellie in celebrating love, connection and joy this festive season with ‘This Christmas Morning,’ a delightful song that promises to uplift even the scroogiest-of-hearts and spread festive cheer far and wide!
Ellie Walker December Live Dates:
7th Dec- The Portland Arms, Cambridge.
17th December- The Orator, Cambridge.

We Speak Music
Michele Ducci teases new album with uplifting indie single ‘Woman Like You’
Michele Ducci has unveiled the second single, ‘Woman Like You’, from his forthcoming album and animated film ‘Snail in the Clouds’.
‘Woman Like You’ pairs bright distorted electric guitar with an electronic drumbeat, adding in Ducci’s soulful vocals and a catchy uplifting chorus with Letizia Mandoleisi’s sweet vocal harmonies. A vintage organ pedalboard operated by Ducci simultaneously generates chords, bass and rhythm, like a one-man band. Shane Kennedy (Girl in the Year Above) joins in on guitar. Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing) recorded and produced the track at his 4am Studios in London.
The album and film tell the story of a planet called ‘Snail’, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.
The video for the single, created and animated by Ducci and Mandoleisi, delves further into the realm of planet ‘Snail’:
Says Ducci, “The ark of melodies, after various attempts, finally starts to work and fly in the planet Snail, while the shady Doc. Sub. and Agostos, with their platoon of soldiers made of foggy smoke, spy the miracle, planning to steal the ark for their evil and tyrannical purposes.”
About the track, Michele says, “I wrote this song for my love Letizia. Love seen from the mind is the sound we make. Sound is the love of matter.
We used a Technics synthesizer organ from a flea market. I tried to find a mood that was right for the song and I started using the bass of the pedal board together with the synth and the drums, and it was magical to hear the song reveal itself all coming from a single instrument. Leti was singing with me and we recorded everything live in one shot. Then we made Shane do the guitar flight, as if he came out of the window. The idea was to maintain disproportions, guitar thrust and synth drum thinness a la Haroumi Hosono, so as to create an estrangement, but naturally: it’s about how I listen, with close up something that captures me in its nuance as element of a larger orchestra somewhere. I’m glad we decided in the studio with Simon to use the layers of arrangement as the close-ups in the cinema; they look like strange enlargements that perch on parts of a mutated orchestra. I’m happy to come back with this love song at a time when everything seems to opt, even my labor in managing the flows of selfishness that have poured out on me while doing this album, for the sound of war. I’m here happy to be able to say that the sound of love always wins as did for me. Snail in the clouds is one of the most important works in my life and I am glad to start from pure love for this album that is my son.”
The album and full-length film will be released on the 5th of June on Monotreme Records.
Michele and Letizia’s previous musical short film, ‘The Great Book of Nature’, is an official selection for the 2026 Venice Shorts Film Festival.

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