{
  "id": 18754587,
  "title": "What Renée Geyer taught soul protégé Ella Thompson about authenticity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/what-renee-geyer-taught-soul-protege-ella-thompson-about-authenticity",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-07T17:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-08/ella-thompson-triumph-and-sadness-album-soul-music-renee-geyer/107350826"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ella Thompson, a soul artist from Australia, recently released her album Triumph & Sadness. The inspiration for the album came from a quote by French philosopher Simone Weil, which states that attention is the most rare and pure form of generosity. Thompson's interest in this idea led her to explore how artists and writers have responded to it throughout history.\n\nThompson's new record is a form of generosity in itself, as it aims to convey the bittersweet balance in music, art, and writing. She is drawn to the sweet spot between extremes, where triumphs are always accompanied by something sad, reflecting the state of the world. Her album features warm, cinematic soul music with tasteful arrangements, including slinky guitars, keys, and a variety of instruments like brass, flutes, and harp.\n\nThe lyrics of Triumph & Sadness provide the bitter contrast to the soulful sweetness of the music. Thompson interrogates difficult realities with her vocal performances, which range from smoldering to show-stopping. She approaches the subject of losing meaningful attention and connection with others to self-obsession with humor and critique.\n\nThompson's musical background is rooted in jazz and soul, influenced by artists like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and Curtis Mayfield. She was also mentored by Renée Geyer, an Australian jazz, blues, and soul artist who took her on her first tour at the age of 16. Geyer taught Thompson the importance of digging deeper into the tradition of soul music, which has deep social and spiritual roots.\n\nThe album was recorded in an all-analogue studio in Castlemaine, Australia, in just four days. Thompson collaborated with her regular crew, including Liam McGorry and Henry Jenkins, to create a shared language and shorthand for their music. The record was made alongside Thompson's regular crew, recording the band tracks direct to tape without editing, to capture the raw feeling in the room.\n\nThompson has been an active member of the Melbourne/Naarm music scene for years, fronting electronic duo GL, genre-shifting pop group Dorsal Fins, and collaborating with various artists. Triumph & Sadness marks a return to her jazz and soul roots, and she feels lucky to be making records with her friends. She has recently headlined shows in London and Paris, and continues to work on her development as an artist.",
  "summary": "She's made fans out of Mark Ronson, Renée Geyer and Paul Kelly: Here's why Ella Thompson represents the heart of Melbourne's soul music scene.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}