The story of Ella Ronen, like her songs, reads like a work of magical realism. A cosmic hybrid child of a lot of drama, belonging everywhere and nowhere. A silent choir child, turned immigrant, turned activist and poet. She reportedly began singing in the womb and penned long, detailed stories before she could write, by dictating them to adults. The details of her life are woven into her songs.
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Ronen belongs to a family whose heritage is characterized by resistance and resilience. As Jewish women, both of her grandmothers had to endure violence and oppression. Both survived and fled illegally - one from Europe, the other from Iran - only to continue fighting racism and misogyny in the promised land. Ronen, who grew up very close to her two grandmothers, eventually left as well. Today she is raising her children in Zurich.
In 2020, Ronen began looking for producers. She was moved by two songs by different artists in different years so much that she checked their credits. And they led to one and the same person: Sam Cohen. Ella's research was complete. A few months later, Cohen received an email from her. The subject line read "Producing an album", and it contained a first song for this future album. Cohen says that although Ronen had forgotten to include the recording file, the lyrics were enough for him to know that he wanted to make this album.
This song was: "The Girl With No Skin".
At the age of 16, Ella Ronen entered a bar that was known for allowing underage drinking, and a well- known poet and journalist started chatting with her. He invited her to his apartment and assaulted her, she narrowly escaped. Two years ago, Ronen, now a grown woman, artist and activist, took part in the publication of a major exposé that exposed the poet as a predator. The song "Truth" was written in the tense days leading up to the publication of this text.
They exist, these albums that leave no questions unanswered. The music begins, and everything that needs to be said is said right up to the last note. One such album is «The Girl With No Skin», which musician, poet and activist Ella Ronen recorded together with musician and producer Sam Cohen. Ella spans an arc over ten songs and tells us her story. A story that moves us, touches us, that concerns us: we fight and demonstrate, we cry and dream with her. And just like Ella, we are sometimes fragile, sometimes doubting, sometimes denouncing. But in the end, we are strong.
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