Ella Mar

Ella Mar is the project of Brooklyn based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Hila (Ella Marie) Tako. Her music lives in the space between fragility and force: evocative, raw art rock that oscillates between tenderness and intensity. With the vocal expressiveness of artists like Mitski and St. Vincent, jazzy undertones, and lyrics that cut straight to the nerve, Ella Mar confronts depression, addiction, destructive relationships, and love, creating an emotionally immersive world that leaves the listener with a sense of catharsis.

Born and raised in Rishon LeZion, Israel, Ella received an extensive jazz education at the Tel Aviv Conservatory, a branch of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan. She studied with leading Israeli jazz musicians including Yuval Cohen, Yonatan Voltzok, Danny Rosenfeld, Michal Cohen, Harel Shachal, and Gilad Ronen, and performed multiple times as a solo vocalist with the Israeli Big Band. By age 17, she had entered the Israeli professional jazz scene, performing in venues such as Beit Haamudim and HaSimta Theatre, and at festivals including Jazz BaSdera.

In 2015, as Hila completed her studies, her original project Ella Mar began to take shape. She performed her songs in notable Israeli venues including The Zone, Levontin 7, Hoodna, Mazkeka, and Cuckoo’s Nest, and released her debut EP, Joy and Pain. In 2019, Ella was selected to perform twice at Canadian Music Week, Canada’s largest music festival. Later that year, she released her debut album Embodimental, which received positive reviews from international music blogs such as Divide and Conquer (US), Femmusic (US), and York Calling (UK), and garnered airplay on local radio stations including KZ Radio and IDC Radio. In September 2022, she released the single “High Anyway” alongside a music video, earning praise from publications such as Visual Atelier 8 (Italy) and Lefuturewave (Netherlands).

As of 2026, Ella Mar is based in New York City, performing regularly at venues such as Pete’s Candy Store, Cassette, and Threes Brewing, while currently working on her second full length album.

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