Nieve Ella talks new album ‘How Long Will It Take?’: “The world is crumbling day by day, so we might as well just be open and honest”

Nieve Ella has announced her long anticipated debut album ‘How Long Will It Take?’ along with details of a 2026 UK tour. Speaking to NME, she shared how she’s embracing some of her biggest insecurities to unlock her most ambitious sound yet. READ MORE: On the cover: Nieve Ella just wants to have fun Set for release on October 16 and featuring huge singles ‘Drive’ and ‘Bite Back’, as well as the deeply personal ‘Standing On A Pane Of Glass’ the album comes on the heels of three critically acclaimed EPs from the former NME cover star – with the alt-pop singer ready to tackle more vulnerable subject matter, but lean into a newfound sense of confidence along the way. “It’s been a long journey,” she told NME over Zoom. “I’ve been releasing music for four years now, so I’ve got to this point now where I’m so ready to cement what my sound is and what I want to say.” The title of ‘How Long Will It Take?’ comes from the feeling of self-doubt that emerges in your 20s – as you navigate identity, relationships and self-worth, and start to realise that “growing up” is meant to be an ongoing, messy process. Check out the full interview with Ella below, where she revealed how working on the 11 tracks became a coping mechanism during one of her most difficult times, why she wanted to use those strong emotions to create something “epic”, and what she has taken from her support slots with Inhaler, Wolf Alice, Yungblud to make her upcoming tour the best yet. Nieve Ella ‘How Long Will It Take’ album cover. CREDIT: Press NME: Hi Nieve! Let’s talk about the themes in the album. Why did you want to lean into that sense of feeling behind and lost? Recommended Nieve Ella: “Well from the start of last year, I really started to crumble within myself. I had just turned 22, and as you move through your 20s you start to feel the pressure to become this emotionally mature person who really knows what they’re doing and understands the world. That pressure felt like it started to take parts of me, and I was losing parts of myself along the way. “The album is about me growing and learning that nothing is really linear, but that all stems from how I was not doing well mentally. I was unaware of how unwell I was for a while, and by the end of last summer I realised that this is what the album needed to be about. “I’d been working on the music for nearly two years, because I knew I wanted to release an album in 2026, but I was just writing and seeing what ideas came and went at first. It only really hit me at the end of summer, and I thought ‘I know what I need to write about… and it’s about myself and how mentally and unwell I was’. Working on it has been like therapy for me. So this has become an album about where I’m at, where I was, and how I’m still coping.” It sounds like it was a cathartic experience leaning into those insecurities and doubts, and channelling them into something you can share with the world… “Yeah, it really helped me cope with everything. Most of the time that I was in the studio I was also getting therapy whilst I was there, so working on it helped me in a lot of ways. I was having these sessions where I was understanding how I felt, and then I’d be able to go into the studio and be like ‘This is how I feel. Now I’m more clear on it, we can write this.’ Because of that, it’s like I’ve soniced everything in my brain into 11 songs… which is really fucking cool.” In an age of influencers and everyone trying to put their best foot forward on social media, why was it important for you to turn the other way and embrace those self doubts? “I’ve never been somebody to keep in everything that I feel. I’m naturally a very charismatic, emotional person. That’s how I was brought up, and I think it’s not only important for me to have that, but also it’s important for the world to have it too. What is the point of sugar-coating things? It feels like the world is crumbling day by day, time goes so fast, and it’s easy to get lost in it all, so we might as well just be open and honest. Really, all we’ve got is emotions and experiences in life, so let’s just talk about them and realise it’s OK to cry.” Something that keeps on popping up is that idea of the never-ending staircase. When did that image come to you, and what does it symbolise? “It started when we wrote the song ‘How Long Will It Take?’, which is the last song of the album. That song to me is a representation of everything that I explore throughout the album. The thing that kept coming to my mind at that time was The Truman Show and that last scene where he’s walking up these stairs and he’s exiting. That scene has always played out in my mind and stuck with me. For me, it captured that feeling of ‘I want to get out of this place that I’m in, but I feel so stuck in it. Every day feels the same, so when is this going to end?’ “At the same time though, I’m a very spiritual person [so the staircase can also reflect] the ongoing cycle of life and how your soul never really dies. There is no end, and there’s peace with that. That for me is very freeing, and it pushes me to create music that makes me feel hopeful. It makes me realise that there’s something more than just this box you’re living in. Being able to then share it with other people is something I really love. I hope it makes people feel a bit more free and a bit more open.” Nieve Ella by Yana Van Nuffel You tackle some vulnerable, heavy themes, but this is by no means a timid album. Musically it sees you become more ambitious and confident than ever before. Was there a sense of “go big or go home” in the writing process? “At the start it wasn’t really like that, but I think I cracked into that feeling when I was writing ‘Drive’. It felt different and like I wasn’t just hiding behind my guitar anymore. From there, it hit me that you can create anything you want using literally any instrument… so we set about creating such a big sounding album. We really tried to challenge ourselves with what we had in the room and see how big we could make it sound. “This is the debut album, after all! I wanted for it to sound like it was this massive fucking theatre piece. I want people to listen and go, ‘Whoa, I didn’t expect that’. I have big feelings, I have big emotions, so let’s use them to make it feel epic.” Why did you want to follow up two really brazen singles ‘Drive’ and ‘Bite Back’ with ‘Standing On A Pane Of Glass’ – an emotive track you said you wrote at your “lowest low”? “Well I originally had the idea of calling the album ‘Tender And Teeth’ to represent the really sad side of it and the really tough side of it. I changed the title in the end, but I still feel like the album can be explained in that way. I wanted to show how it has both sides of me – the emotional, sad person, and the person who wants to stand up and fight. You can see in the tracklist, the first half feels really tough, but the second half has something a bit different.” Let’s talk about the huge shows you’ve played recently – including a slot with Yungblud at his Bludfest festival. He’s also been very honest with fans about mental health and that sense of pressure. What was it like for you to be invited out there by him? “We’ve got the same management, and he is somebody that I admire. He really represents a lot of things that I strongly believe in, including the importance of just being yourself. It was very exciting to be there and to see how he has made this community where fans aren’t scared to be themselves. “I feel like I am weirdly now a part of that community because I’ve been around them so much. I fit in with that fan base, which is so cool because at my shows I have a collective of people that are very similar. They have similar interests, similar styles. So being at Bludfest was so empowering. I loved being involved, I think it’s great and he’s amazing.” You’re headed out on your biggest tour to date soon. What can we expect? “With it being the biggest one yet, I feel like I have to make it even more special. I’m playing in some dream venues that I’ve only been able to play at previously by supporting other artists and bands. Those experiences have made me into the artist I am, so the fact that I get to perform there now as a headliner with my band is just insane. “I’m going to simply try and honour the fans as much as I can, and make it into a real experience for them. It’s going to be way more of a show than it’s ever been. I want to create it like this theatre thing where when you leave you can say ‘That was insane. I feel so connected and I feel like there was a story told there.’” Has there been anyone you’ve played with, where their style of playing live has impacted how you will approach these upcoming shows? “I genuinely believe that everybody I have especially supported has all given me something to take with me. I remember supporting Inhaler on their first proper tour about three years ago. It was seeing how the band are all best friends and they all take time to show that they really care for their fans which stuck with me. With Girl in Red, it was how Maria [Ulven Ringheim] is completely herself on stage. She really doesn’t care how much time she’s talking and telling jokes on stage, because it shows that she’s not stressed and it makes each gig unique. “There was also Wolf Alice who I saw at the Troubadour in LA. There, I realised how Ellie [Rowsell] is both this powerhouse but also the most gentle soul. She explodes in her vocals, and then pulls herself back together. That’s really hard to do, to deliver this explosive performance, then bring yourself back together to do an emotional song. That’s what I want to do.” Nieve Ella’s ‘How Long Will It Take? is out on October 16 and available for pre-order here. The 2026 headline tour kicks off in Glasgow in November and tickets go on sale August 7 at 10am local time. Visit here for tickets and find a complete list of dates below. Nieve Ella’s 2026 headline tour dates are: NOVEMBER 4 – Glasgow, Barrowland 6 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, Newcastle University 7 – Leeds, Project House 8 – Manchester, O2 Ritz 10 – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre 13 – Norwich, Waterfront 14 – Birmingham, O2 Institute 15 – Bristol, Electric Bristol 17 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town 20 – Cologne, Die Kantine (Germany) 22 – Zurich, Exil (Switzerland) 24 – Vienna, Grelle Forelle (Austria) 26 – Prague, Meetfactory (Czech Republic) 27 – Warsaw, Oczki (Poland) 28 – Berlin, Columbia Theater (Germany) 30 – Amsterdam, Melkweg (Netherlands) DECEMBER 1 – Paris ,La Machine Du Moulin Rouge (France) 2 – Antwerp, Trix (Belgium)