Growing up in Prague, the daughter of a local jazz musician, Maella would often visit the dimly lit, smoke-filled basement jazz bars in the city centre. Watching bands through a glowing haze of cigarette smoke that thickened throughout the night, she found herself feeling like she was listening alone, trapped in the aura of the music. Her time at these bars pushed her to start writing from an early age. On her twentieth birthday, sitting alone reading in a cafe, Maella put down her book and decided to drop out of her university in Prague and move to London to pursue music.

She embedded herself in the local scene, joining bands and starting projects wherever she could. Constantly influenced by many different styles and artists, Maella began to develop a sound that is inimitably hers. In her music you can hear that she listens to artists such as Billie Eilish, Sevdaliza, Kelly Lee Owens and Angel Olsen, but rather than mirroring the sound of her influences, she focuses on the atmosphere and feel.

A natural collaborator, the last year has seen her forced to write songs alone in the bedroom of her small London flat. Constricted by the need to stay quiet while recording vocals Maella found life in making her production more vibrant and dynamic.