Nicola Sandford
Vera Ellen Is Bringing Her DIY Approach to Modern Music
Read an exclusive interview with indie rock singer-songwriter Vera Ellen, one of our Future of Music 2026 acts.
This interview is part of our Future of Music 2026 series. Follow all the coverage here.
In a music world filled with factory-produced, identical music stars, we’re lucky to have an artist as idiosyncratic as Vera Ellen.
Not every artist, for example, would casually drop a song like the alluring and absurd “gayfever” as the lead single from their new album, but Ellen has made a habit of proudly forging their own path through the music industry.
If 2021’s It’s Your Birthday hinted at much to come, and 2021’s Taite Music Prize-winning Ideal Home Noise confirmed her songwriting talent, new album Heaven Knows What Time is the assured and complete record Ellen’s been building towards for half a decade.
Born out of a period of “unconventionality” for the Aotearoa musician, during which she learned to “embrace the chaos that comes with being a self-sustained artist in today’s constantly driving culture,” Heaven Knows What Time contains some of Ellen’s most thoughtful songwriting to date.
Whether she’s pondering raw, all-consuming infatuation (“gayfever”) or exploring artifice in the entertainment industry (“walking in vegas”), Ellen is always her authentic self in the tracks.
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Already a Taite Music Prize winner in 2024, expect her to be in with another chance of winning next year.
Read an exclusive interview with the musician below.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: What does it mean to you to be included in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music series?
Vera Ellen: It’s pretty dreamy. I used to have a stack of Rolling Stone magazines by my bed and make moodboards of The Beatles and Joan Jett. It’s one of those, “Mum, look at me I’m on TV,” moments.
How did you first get your start in music?
There was a piano in my house, the keys were damp but nevertheless I would tinker on it and come up with melodies. One day I wrote a song and asked my brother to help me put chords to it. Then it was an obsession. I have stacks of song books from my youth. I would even make pretend album covers and song titles.
Describe your sound to a new listener in three words.
Scuff-Indie-Balladry.
Tell us about your latest release.
I just released my album Heaven Knows What Time. I wrote this album during a two-week songwriting residency in Greytown, New Zealand. I lived by a farm, went for walks to look at cows, and stayed up to the early hours demoing the record.
It’s joyful, self-deprecating, and ultimately about surrender. About understanding we don’t have much control and finding peace in that. It took me a while to release it because I was riddled with self-doubt, but here it is and I hope and believe it will do some good in the world.
What’s your favourite career memory so far?
Man, I love all the places music has taken me. Probably performing at the Sydney Opera House with my band. It was a special moment because my family was there and it meant a lot to me. Then watching Crowded House perform “Don’t Dream It’s Over” from side-stage to a crowd of adoring fans. It showed me something about the power of music.
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What are the positives and negatives of being a musician in 2026?
Well, I love how comfortably genres are blending, audiences are embracing music that’s nuanced and not easy to define. As an artist that is so freeing. I’m a bit old-fashioned in my approach to music — I came up really organically through playing live, touring and making records. I think the industry has changed a lot, but I think for lot of musicians it’s probably a good thing.
What’s one thing you’d change about the ANZ music industry.
I think we ought to celebrate each other more. Make the local bands the rockstars instead of big-shot stadium bands swooping in for a night. Recognise the talent in our backyard.
Are you hopeful for the future of music in ANZ?
100 percent. It can only go up from here. The talent is unmatched, it’s only a matter of time till the world catches up.
Name one other ANZ act you’d like to see make our Future of Music series in the future.
What’s coming up for you this year?
Well, I’m about to play the Great Escape Festival in Brighton, then I will be supporting Aldous Harding all around the UK and EU. Then I return to New Zealand for a home tour. Beyond that the doors are open and I’m just rolling, I want to play my album to the world. Any takers?
