Dove Ellis, an up-and-coming UK based indie-folk musician is destined for something truly special. Hailing from the West of Ireland, Ellis bestrides multiple genres and brings both a fresh and nostalgic voice. Sparking interest for his recent album with a singles release after accompanying New York band Geese on the US leg of their Getting Killed tour, Ellis has crept his way into music discourse and is someone to keep a keen eye on. His songs released thus far are simply otherworldly, culminating his enchanting vocals, poetic lyricism and dreamy drifting melodies.

An exemplar of the new emerging generation of music, Ellis released his single ‘To the sandals’ in November 2025. This was followed by the release of two other songs, ‘Pale Song’ and ‘Love Is’ which now feature on his album ‘Blizzard’ released on 5 December. I had the pleasure of asking Ellis a few questions about himself and his work over Instagram, and his words were as tender and pensive as his music.

Defining himself as foremost, a singer-songwriter, Ellis captured,

“I’m quite sure that I do both of those things. Although, I must admit it can be tricky to define yourself in terms of genre.”

Many newly emerging musicians like Ellis are born of something more nuanced than the genre labels and influences they may dip into. In terms of inspiration, Dove Ellis captures something different, “One thing that has definitely influenced me, were artists that could sit patiently in their songs, for a good old while, and turn it into a big trance.” The examples of Prince’s ‘Do Me, Baby’or ‘I Dream A Highway”’ by Gillian Welch and Irish music group, The Gloaming’s version of “Samhradh Samhradh,” to Ellis, describe a music that cradles its artist, rather than echoes the whorl of history they might step out of. 

Touring with ‘over-night success’ Geese in the latter half of 2025 was “exciting and bizarre” for Ellis. It was his first time performing in front of such a wide audience in comparison to his gigs back in the UK. Yet it was strangely “not a hard transition,” because with a large audience you are further away, breaking that intense connection created by smaller gigs.

“I was surprised that I could just go on stage, do my thing, on my own terms, and leave, night after night. I think the contrast between our sets was great. I think a lot of folks were expecting an opener that would play hard and loud, and it was enjoyable to not be that.”

A solo troubadour laying out the stage for the experimental bang of Geese’s sound— who are already redefining and reclaiming alt-rock music— Ellis is bound for a similar reckoning.

When asked about the anticipation for the reception of ‘Blizzard’, he responded modestly.

“I’m working on new stuff, and that is more at the front of my mind than anything else”.

Dove Ellis’ singles are an excellent pre-requisite for this album and the ‘new stuff’ he is stuck into. With the artistic soul and tenderness of Jeff Buckley, his voice has the ability to reach some place beyond, in the way that Thom Yorke’s does. Ellis’ sound is distinct but also nostalgic, similar to Tim Buckley, especially when his oceanic imagery is similar to what is echoed in Buckley’s Song to a Siren (1970). His lyricism is a force of eloquence like Leonard Cohen. Poetically influenced by “Wisława Szymborska and Joseph Brodsky,” Ellis noted, “I like Samuel Beckett, but less so his poems,” ‘Blizzard’  is a culmination of these artistic reference points, reviving them passionately in its unequivocal aliveness. It is also something of its own.

“I see this album as ten individual songs, rather than anything long and cohesive. I think what is often there, is that sense of hearing someone moving in the room next to you. A funny bond, where you can’t quite tell if you’re looked out for, or in danger, or just completely alone, but whatever it is you are sort of grateful it’s there.”

This view is beautifully captured in ‘To the Sandals,’ the single that features his most throbbing vocals. Ellis strings beautiful note after beautiful note into a wreath garland of gentle guitar melodies and up beat percussion that strives through some kind of torment to the very end. It sounds like a feeling of recovering something once thought lost forever. The passionate repetition of the lyrics “in and out,” rallies this oceanic connection as the song becomes delirious in its final verse, a lilac wine quality. Speaking on this, Ellis said that the song is about, “...a fella finding respite, and giving up what’s killing him,” which is clear in the folktale musicality of the piece, a surrender left wounded in its final chords.

Ellis’ Irish heritage and having left his homeland to pursue his art was also a point of discussion for us. I wondered whether he resonated with this idea of a conflict arising from leaving one's homeplace to pursue a career. One’s home and origins is paradoxically the core source of our creativity, especially once it has been, in a way, left behind.

“...I’ve noticed I often write about Ireland as though it were empty. I lived in Galway, near the coast, so everything on land was pretty finite and humble in comparison to the ocean. Having an enormous, uninhabitable expanse of water in front of you at all times can make you appreciate being still and looking at something from afar. I mean if I was born in the unending aridity of New Mexico, I would probably wield two pistols and chase down the horizon until my knees gave out.”

Ellis continued, on this shift of perspective,

“Looking at Ireland now, from Britain, in a similar light, it makes sense that I’m always thinking of the land itself though.”

Many Irish artists are gaining popularity on the global stage, which I phrased as a ‘cultural revival’. Ellis protested, “...  a revival suggests a previous deterioration which I would dispute,” and instead offered:

 “Ireland has always had a pretty self-sufficient artistic tradition, and there are a huge number of artists who have success in Ireland, but then don’t on the global level.Why one artist ‘breaks out’ and why one doesn’t is its own question, but I just don’t want to define the spirit of the country by how much airtime Ronan Keating gets in Greenland.”

Whilst working on and performing music from Manchester, Ellis is also involved in Pro-Palestine activism through live music performances raising funds for Medical Aid, “I was inspired to counteract my helpless despairing at the matter,” he wrote. With many artists working around him also using their art to be vocal about the genocide in Gaza, he continued:

“My pals in the bands Westside Cowboy and Martial Arts organise a regular night of music. [It’s] called “No Band is an Island”, showcasing three upcoming artists and donating the proceeds of all tickets and merch sales to Medical Aid for Palestine. It sells out with the snap of a finger each time it's announced. I think that is incredible. ”

The use of art and music to platform activism has been a powerful site of discussion, especially regarding the response of artist censorship in recent years by legal and administrative bodies. Specifically, it has been wielded to smother performers actively speaking out about Palestine, such as Hip-hop trio Kneecap sanctioned by the UK government. Resistance, to Ellis, is a powerful tool but it's also innate to artists practice.

“I think there is always an aspect of resistance in writing a song, or drawing a picture. Great art makes the world a little easier to be in, and a little harder to define. Great business tends to do the opposite.”

Dove Ellis’ genuine integrity matched by his swelling artistry is a compliment to these powerful creative communities he seems to surround himself with.

“I try to approach this cause with faith and discipline, and I’m lucky to have been surrounded by people who inspired that in me.”

Now more than ever we need artists who reflect on and evaluate our world through their art in a meaningful and sincere way. Dove Ellis is offering us something rare and perhaps unknown. ‘Blizzard’ is an absolutely necessary listen and as will be whatever else has billowing on the horizon.

Dove Ellis will appear on War Child’s upcoming charity aid compilation ‘HELP(2)’, on the track ‘Sunday Light’ alongside collaborators Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell and Nilüfer Yanya. The album is out 6 March this year. Follow Dove Ellis for updates on Instagram.​