INTERVIEW: Pamela's Sarah Ellen on their debut EP ‘It’s Nice To See You Here’: "Art is at its best when it imitates life, and life is full of contradictions."
Interview: Jett Tattersall
Published: 15 July 2026
Over the past 12 months, Australian duo Pamela - made up of Sarah Ellen and Josh Kempen - have quietly been carving out their own space in the music scene with their unique and high concept take on indie pop.
After signing global record deals, including with EMI in Australia and Polydor UK, Pamela released a teaser, spoken word, 30 second‘ single’ ‘The Invitation’ last year, followed by their debut single ‘Chain Reaction’ one week later. A number of singles followed, and last week they released their debut EP It’s Nice To See You Here.
Pamela’s music is a skilful blend of guitar based rock and traditional pop music, combined with dual vocals from both Ellen and Kempen. On first listen, their songs inhabit a style of indie pop that is comfortingly familiar, but assumptions quickly disappears as the songs take an unexpected sonic twist - sometimes more than once - that is thrilling on first listen.
The EP kicks off with their latest single ‘Pandemonium’. Opening with a distorted, fuzzy guitar it is arguably the rockiest song on the EP, with a growling, 1960s, slightly psychedelic feel. In many ways the slightly woozy soundscape mirrors the lyrical content of falling for someone new: ‘Put your body on me / Stop me like the police / Tell me that you want this.’
The following track ‘Standing In The Rain’, which moves between a lowkey verse and a jangly chorus, looks at the other side of ‘Pandemonium’, when that first mad rush has developed into deep, committed love: ‘Romance isn’t mystical / It’s standing in the rain and saying ‘stay’’.
‘Point of View’ perhaps exemplifies best the twists and turns Pamela’s music can take in a single song. Starting with a harder, constantly strumming guitar, it then tumbles into a softer, melodic pop sound with dreamy vocals from Ellen, and a addictive, repeated refrain ‘And I can’t I won’t I don’t ever understand.’
‘Better Than Before’ is a jaunty indie pop gem, with the duo singing of recovering after heartbreak (‘I’ve got sunshine in my pocket’), while ‘Skin Contact’ is a moodier, slinkier song with a hint of synths, that speaks of frustrated passion: ‘Might as well explode / Can't fuck me through the phone.’
The EP ends with ‘Half Of Me Is You’, which is perhaps the highlight of the whole EP. With a completely different sonic cadence to the rest of the EP, it begins as a gentle, lush ballad before introducing an electronic squeal and subtle synth shimmers in the second verse. Through some of the EP’s most gorgeous melodies, the lyrics tell of the anguish of being in a relationship where you are giving yourself up for the other person ‘I can’t keep on changing me for you…trading me for you,’ before coming to the realisation you are part of each other: ‘Half of you is me / And half of me is you.’ It is a beautiful way to end the EP.
It’s Nice To See You Here is the perfect introduction to Pamela, and once you dip your toes in they are destined to take over your speakers. With both connective stories and what can only be described as intriguing, immersive soundscapes they are a band that pull you right into their world, and can only get bigger from here on in..
To support the release of It’s Nice To See You Here, Pamela have embarked on their first ever headline tour across Europe and the UK before returning to Australia for a string of shows across the east coast in August. Tickets are available now here.
We recently met with Sarah Ellen from the band to find out more about Pamela and the creation of It’s Nice To See You Here.
Hi Sarah! So good to chat with you today. I want to jump straight in to your song ‘Better Than Before’. You’ve described it as being about the exhale after heartbreak rather than the collapse itself. Where did the song begin, and what drew you to exploring that particular moment rather than the heartbreak itself?
I think there's already so much music about the collapse itself. We've all heard the songs where someone's at rock bottom. What interested us more was the moment afterwards, when you realise you're actually going to be okay. There’s also something more interesting to me about contradicting a feeling with a sound.
The song feels very direct and immediate. When you’re writing, how do you know when you’ve said enough?
That’s a great question. I try to say just enough to tell the story, but not so much that there's no room for interpretation. The best songs become mirrors, in my opinion.
It’s a track that tiptoes the line between melancholy and optimism beautifully. Is that emotional tension something you’re consciously drawn to as songwriters?
Absolutely. I think art is at its best when it imitates life, and life is full of contradictions. I’m really drawn to that duality. It feels much more honest than painting emotions as one dimensional. We wanted it to hold two opposing feelings at once.
I want to chat a little about the beginnings of Pamela. You two met as housemates, how did you and Josh first realise there was a shared creative language between you?
The funny thing is, we didn't. We just kept writing because it was fun. We lived together for years in Kingsford writing songs with absolutely no intention of releasing them. We weren't trying to start a band. We'd just finish dinner and wander into the lounge room with guitars. It was probably when we played our first show with our friends and family we realised maybe we should take it a bit more “seriously” haha.
Before Pamela emerged between you, what artists, albums or musical worlds were shaping your tastes?
We actually came from completely different musical worlds. Growing up, I was listening to everything from Billie Holiday to Red Hot Chili Peppers. I loved dance music and big pop melodies, while Josh was immersed in The Strokes and The White Stripes. On paper, our tastes probably shouldn't have worked together, but I think it's our differences that make us such curious collaborators. We're constantly introducing each other to worlds we might never have explored on our own.
On that, are there influences that still sit at the core of what you do now, even if they’re not immediately obvious in the delicious music you create?
In some ways yes. Although, when I set out to write music I’m always hoping to create something new, not something that sounds like something else.
Do you remember the first song where you thought, “Yep, this is us. This is the sound”?
Josh & I have written albums worth of music, I mean, we were living together for 2 years and it was our hobby so needless to say, we have been on a journey with it. What I’ve come to learn is that as long as there is some sort of drum kit and a bass involved, as well as our two voices - it’s Pamela.
As the doorway into this run of singles and ultimately It’s Nice To See You Here, how long had you been consciously building the foundations for this chapter?
Unknowingly, years. Consciously, maybe 2 years.
Your debut EP title – It’s Nice To See You Here - very picture-book delightful. What does that title mean to you, and how does it speak to your journey as a duo and the creation of the EP itself?
We wanted the EP to feel like opening the front door to someone. It's such a simple sentence but it's incredibly warm. After spending years writing privately, releasing these songs felt like inviting people into our home, our friendship and the little world we'd created together. It felt less like saying, "Here's our music," and more like saying, "Come in."
Pamela is just as much a visual candy store. It’s so pretty. You’re also a filmmaker - was that visual identity always paired with your sound (even in your mind/sketchbooks), or was it something you discovered over time?
For me, the visual world is almost as important as the music. The visual element is something I take very seriously as an artist. It was something I put a lot of thought into right from the beginning because it felt like such an important extension of the music, it definitely wasn't something we discovered over time. To be honest, directing the music videos and editing them myself was initially a result of not having the budget to pay for someone else to do it. I've always had the attitude of, "If you want to get something done, you've got to do it yourself." Now, I love it, it feels more personal this way.
The track ‘Standing In The Rain’, I love it. It really stayed with me. “Let the heart get bruised /let the pride get drained”. It feels like a love song, but encompassing - about the people we choose and the people who choose us back. Where did that one come from?
’Standing In The Rain’ came from this realisation that romance isn't actually found in the big moments, it's found in the decision to keep choosing someone. The lyric, "Romance isn't mystical, it's standing in the rain and saying stay," really became the thesis of the song. We wanted to write about the kind of love that isn't glamorous, but endures. The love that asks you to soften your pride, risk getting hurt and choose each other anyway. To me, that's far more romantic than the fairytale version we often grow up believing in.
And how did you approach the instrumentals? There’s something almost opening credits to an indie comedy about it.
I love that description! We love using organic instruments because we feel they have the most soul. There's something about hearing fingers on guitar strings or a real piano that feels deeply human.
The Great Escape marked your first international shows. Was there a particular moment during that trip when it really sank in that what you’d created with Pamela was connecting with audiences beyond Australia?
The Great Escape was incredibly exciting and it honestly still feels that way now. At this point, we still feel undiscovered. We're still playing to half-empty rooms, opening for other artists, and most people walking into the venue have never heard of us before. There's something really special about that. Every person who stops to listen feels like a genuine discovery rather than an expectation. I think we're in this beautiful stage where we feel small, in the sense that nobody really knows us... yet. Haha. There's something incredibly freeing about that. There's no pressure to be anything other than ourselves, and every show feels like we're earning one person at a time. It’s been rewarding connecting with new fans.
How does a Pamela song change once it leaves the studio and becomes part of a live set? Is there a pre-show ritual you and Josh swear by?
After a song leaves the studio, it stops belonging to us. They become everyone's. That's one of my favourite parts of playing live. As for rituals... Josh and I usually just have a quiet moment together before we walk on stage. After years of writing in living rooms, it still feels important to look at each other before every show and remember that's where all of this started.
What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned from each other since coming together for Pamela?
One of the biggest things Josh has taught me is to trust my own instincts. I think, as women, we're often taught to second guess ourselves, to soften our opinions or wait for someone else to validate our ideas before we believe in them ourselves. Stepping into my twenty eighth year, I'm realising just how valuable my perspective is. Josh has always treated my ideas as though they belong in the room and that has been invaluable to me. It's been a really important lesson that extends far beyond music.
It’s Nice To See You Here is out now via EMI Music. You can download and stream here.
Follow Pamela on Instagram, TikTok and their website.
IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU HERE TOUR
21 July – The Lower Third, London, UK
9 August - La La Las, Wollongong, NSW, AU
13 August - The Workers Club, Melbourne, VIC, AU
15 August - Eureka Hotel, Geelong, VIC, AU
20 August - The Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSW, AU
21 August - Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, QLD, AU
22 August - Elsewhere, Gold Coast, QLD, AU
