About Me
“At once sweet and sassy, celebrating reckless behavior with a charmed wink."
-- Time Out New York on Siren Song
"Wry, unapologetic, sassy and flirty, this tiny ukulele princess is not your typical acoustic act…Bisker is pretty and poised, maintaining the perfect balance of passion and deadpan…the audience absolutely adores it."
-- Phrequency.com
"Almost impossible to stop replaying in one's head after hearing...she certainly has something unique to offer and is someone to keep an eye on."
-- The Deli Magazine
"Brooklyn's fishnet-clad femme fatale."
-- BUST Magazine
"Sweet Soubrette...sings beguilingly of love....with great spirit and sass. It's a short but sweet album, leaving the listener wanting much more."
-- Collected Sounds
"Subtle and lovely."
--Ben Krieger, Jezebel Music
Debut CD Siren Song now available for purchase!
Sweet Soubrette features the vocals and ukulele playing of NYC’s Ellia Bisker, whose original dark love songs are wickedly captivating, with clever wordplay and a sound like Regina Spektor meets the Magnetic Fields. Catchy melodies and a sultry vibe make Sweet Soubrette dangerously seductive.
While Sweet Soubrette features the ukulele, this is no novelty act--instead, this folk-inflected indie-pop band uses unusual instrumentation to highlight powerful songs with compelling vocals and a mesmerizing stage presence in performance.
Sweet Soubrette is led by New York native Ellia Bisker, whose contemporary influences range from the dark theatrics of the Dresden Dolls to the biting humor of the Magnetic Fields to the surprising arrangements and poetic lyrics of Regina Spektor. She is backed by a band of classically trained musicians (including a drummer who is a professional circus musician). Together they create melodic, witty songs that are by turns seductive, funny, and tragic. "There's nothing more romantic than a doomed romance," asserts the song "Suckerpunch," and there is an undeniable charm to Sweet Soubrette's stories of love gone wrong (or about to crash and burn). This band is a perfect Valentine for those who prefer their chocolate bittersweet.
Local shows in NYC and Brooklyn's indie music scene have included venues like Pianos, Sound Fix, Rockwood Music Hall, and Sidewalk Cafe. Other appearances have included Boston's Middle East and Club Passim, Philadelphia's World Cafe Live, and a tour of France. Sweet Soubrette’s debut CD, "Siren Song" (MH Records) released in February 2008 to critical acclaim and received high rotation on national college radio. On the title track, a mermaid sings to beguile a shipwrecked sailor, and shimmering harmonies evoke a sea of beckoning mermaids. The album itself is a similarly irresistible invitation into deep new waters.
Sweet Soubrette's second album, "Days and Nights," is now in progress.
Watch video footage
Reviews:
"Wry, unapologetic, sassy and flirty, this tiny ukulele princess is not your typical acoustic act. But her humorous – if jaded – outlook on love is refreshing, and her witty commentary sets the stage for an entire evening of mellow, comedic rock. Covered head-to-toe in silver sparkles (including big, sparkly fake eyelashes), Bisker is pretty and poised, maintaining the perfect balance of passion and deadpan....She's accompanied by violinist Heather Cole, whose fluid, haunted melodies compliment her punchy playing, and add a hint of melancholy to the humor. Bisker is tongue-in-cheek funny – Jeanine Garofalo funny – and the audience absolutely adores it."
--Kate Bracaglia, Phrequency.com
"In the final performance of an extensive evening of Ukulele performances, Ellia Bisker lived up to her stage name, "Sweet Soubrette", enchanting our audience with seductively simple melodies and clever lyrics. While her chosen instrument is barely bigger than a bread box, her stage presence filled the large auditorium with ease."
--Peter Wise, Artistic Director, Berkshire Fringe Festival
"Sweet Soubrette packs 'Siren Song' to the brim with bobbing vocals that sway from wispy to very straight forward. Hit or miss, each song explores very different elements from the Hawaiian influence with ukulele to country and even dreamy, electronic music. Some songs, like 'Lucky to Be Here,' are almost impossible to stop replaying in one's head after hearing them. The aforementioned track is echoed and glitch-y with layered vocals and an honest energy. The intensity of Sweet Soubrette bleeds in and out of the the record but you can pick up pieces of it in some of Ellia Bisker's tangled, strumming songs. With her sometimes Dolly Partonesque singing and multiple styles of instrumentation, she certainly has something unique to offer and is someone to keep an eye on. Also, who can resist mermaids and songs reminiscent of sea shanties?"
-Lauren Piper, The Deli Magazine , Fall 2008
"Opening for Cirkestra Saturday at Wired Cafe in Bethlehem was Sweet Soubrette, a striking woman wearing fishnets, a sparkly dress, enormous fake eyelashes and a disarming smile. Armed with just a ukulele, she sang funny, occasionally bawdy, occasionally deep songs of doomed romance. The beauty and sincerity of her voice transcended the act from a mere curiosity to a moving performance. And the vaudeville vibe led perfectly into the show by Cirkestra, five musicians with day jobs in the circus."
--Josh Berk, The Morning Call
"Ellia Bisker's sea chanty was fantastic. She delivered--to these ears, anyway--the best line of the evening: 'I've sent a few sailors to watery graves / when they followed me into the waves.' The bridge between romantic entanglements and briney imagery was flawless."
--One of the judges of the 3rd Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition
"Ellia Bisker was one of my favorite unsung stars from the Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition. She markets herself as a poet as well, and indeed, the lyrics are the key to her charm. “The Siren Song†is one of my favorites. There was a neat little song that took a famous coffee line from Airplane! and turned it into several verses of clever imagery and word play. And let’s not forget how ravishing she looked in that glittery, feathery, completely over-the-top outfit. A winner from start to finish."
--Ben Krieger, Jezebel Music
