Ebony Bones!

Ebony Bones! is the stage name of Ebony Thomas, a London-born singer-songwriter, record producer and actress who works in post-punk and electronic music. She is self-taught and, under this name, writes, produces, plays her own instruments and sings her own material.

Early releases and radio play

She starts releasing music in 2007 with the self-released 7-inch single We Know All About U, a track that draws on images of an Orwellian Britain. It gains attention through word of mouth and becomes a major radio record, receiving both “Single Of The Week” and “The Hottest Record In The World Today” status on BBC Radio 1. It also receives daytime play from Jo Whiley and becomes Radio 1’s most played single by an unsigned artist. The track is also used in BBC Radio 1’s television advert In New Music We Trust.

Her follow-up limited-edition 7-inch, Don’t Fart On My Heart, also receives “Single Of The Week” and “The Hottest Record In The World Today” on the Zane Lowe show. Its video wins Best Video from The British Council for the Onedotzero Festival.

Performances and recognition

Ebony Bones! appears in publications including NME, Q, The Guardian, The Observer, i-D and Entertainment Weekly. She performs her first tour supporting The Slits, appears at Massive Attack’s Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall, and plays the Glastonbury Festival in 2007 and again in 2008, when Jay-Z headlines. She is also noted for her fashion sense and for unpredictable behaviour during live shows.

She makes her US debut in New York in summer 2008 at the Barack Obama concert at McCarren Park Pool, and later that year performs at the Transmusicales Festival in Rennes, France. She is named one of South by Southwest’s best new acts of 2009 by Rolling Stone.

Debut album and collaborators

In 2009, MTV News in New York announces the release of her debut album Bone Of My Bones and previews the music video for The Muzik. The video is made by 30 directors from around the world, each working with a camera phone or digicam. The Muzik also receives daytime play on BBC Radio 1. The album is released in Japan in mid-June and enters the iTunes album chart at number 10.

Ebony Bones! presents herself as an “abstract collaboration” with a collective of like-minded people brought together by music, and the The Muzik video reflects that idea through its multi-director format.