Karyn Ellis

Karyn's first public appearance was in a singing contest while on vacation with her family in Guadeloupe. Nine years old and with microphone in hand, she chirped out an acappella version of "Hey Little Bird" (Sandy Oppeheim): 'hey little bird sitting in a tree. Let's have lunch together you and me--how about pizza?' The only person under eighteen in the show, she took first place. But she opted out of the prize--a 12-year old bottle of single malt scotch--and instead ordered a round of chocolate ice cream bars for all her new vacation friends. Since then she has acquired a taste for the more bittersweet, has toured Canada with her poignant and delectable tunes.

Her most recent CD, HEARTS FALL, is fast becoming a CBC and campus station favourite, appearing on CBC playlists like the Vinyl Cafe, Bandwidth, Freestyle and Radio Canada International and spending six months on regional campus top-30 charts across Canada as well as reaching number 49 on the national campus Top-50 chart (exlaim!) and number 19 on the national campus monthly folk/roots/blues charts (earshot-online.com). About the record, CBC's Amanda Putz from BANDWIDTH comments: "[Karyn's] voice is lovely, the arrangements are simple & clever, and there's an almost rustic quality to the record-likely from being recorded live off the floor-that makes it extra sweet."



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"You can hear Welch, Waits, Amos, Brickell, Peyroux, the Cowboy Junkies and the Be Good Tanyas all rolled up in that one tiny body, that one mournful voice. Superior late night stuff! "
Benny Metten, CtrlAltCountry.be (Belgium)




"You simply have to delight in Karyn Ellis' fragile and sometimes oddly girlish voice. Her high tones and jazz-like melodies are reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, but minimal instrumentation and unexpected musical turns in otherwise straightforward songs are just as connected to the contemporary sound of free-style folk."
Maurice Dielmans -- Kindamusik.net (Netherlands)



"Karyn Ellis is twangy and cool and unpredictable, delivering a CD that is difficult to classify and impossible to resist. I started with bluesy, front-porch country, then expanded the definition to yee-haw-inspiring bluegrass, and stretched the description a bit more to include some shuffling jazz that would not be out of place in a whiskey-stocked Old West Saloon. Then she had to throw in mystic, cold, poetic goth vibes (Angels in Snow) and operatic performance art (Already Home).

Yes, Ellis makes the reviewers job a difficult one. But I could never get mad at the girl with the sensually childlike voice and that playfully spirited nature that flows through her twangy songs. Shes got me wrapped around her little finger."
Jennifer Layton - Indie-Music.com (USA)



"[Karyn's] tunes are unbelievably charming because they are organic and simple - but layered with elements of the sweetest pop conventions ever - conjuring up immediate reminders of what we love about musicians like Tanya Donelly, Hope Sandoval, CocoRosie and Martha Wainwright. Except Karyn Ellis does it her own, clever, beautiful, introspective and quirky way. The songs are both hilarious and lonely. Carefree and nostalgic."
Dan MacDonald - Upfront Magazine (Canada)