Ecca Vandal

Biography

Ecca Vandal is a South African-born alternative rock singer, songwriter and rapper based in Melbourne, Australia. Vandal's first album, Ecca Vandal, was released in 2017, and her second, Looking for People to Unfollow, was released on 22 May 2026.

Early life and education

Ecca Vandal was born in Louis Trichardt, South Africa, to Sri Lankan Tamil refugee parents. When she was a child, her parents left South Africa with Ecca and her older sisters, and moved to Australia, settling in Melbourne. Vandal grew up listening to gospel music, before discovering soul, hip hop, and '90s R&B in her sister's record collection. After this, she "became obsessed with jazz music".
Vandal attended the Victorian College of the Arts, studying jazz as part of a Bachelor of Creative Arts.

2013–2016: Early years

In 2014, Vandal released her debut single “White Flag”, co-produced with Kidnot and Hadyn Buxton. The track later appeared on a double A-side 7-inch single, “Battle Royal” / “White Flag”, released in 2015.
In July 2015, she played at Splendour in the Grass.
On 29 January 2016, Vandal's debut EP, End of Time was released, with her performing a promotional national tour throughout February.

2017–2021: Self-titled debut album

On 28 July 2017, Vandal released her first single, "Broke Days, Party Nights", from her then-upcoming debut album, with an accompanying music video. On 22 September, the single "Future Heroine" was released, along with its music video. On 12 October, Vandal released the third single, "Price of Living", featuring Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, and Jason Aalon Butler of Letlive. On 20 October, Vandal released her debut self-titled album. Thomas Smith, of NME, gave the album a rating of 4-out-of-5 stars. In November 2017, she performed a national tour for the album. In December, she made her UK tour debut, supporting Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. She then returned home to perform at the 2017 Falls Festival.
In March 2018, Vandal supported Incubus on their Australian East Coast tour. In April, she released a music video for her track "Your Orbit", featuring Sampa the Great. June saw Vandal perform at Download Festival on the Avalanche Stage. In July, she performed at Afropunk Paris 2018, held at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, France. On 24–26 August 2018 Vandal performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals back in the UK, and in September performed at Reeperbahn 2018. In November, she collaborated with Birdz on his track "Place of Dreams". In December, Vandal joined the lineup for the inaugural Good Things Festival.
Vandal appeared on Hilltop Hoods' album The Great Expanse as a featured artist, which was released in February 2019. She appears on the tracks "Be Yourself" alongside feature artist Nyassa, and "Exit Sign" alongside feature artist Illy. "Exit Sign" debuted at #44 on the ARIA Singles Charts. Vandal appeared at the 2019 Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, Tasmania, performing with Two People and Slag Queens. She was featured on the single "In My Mind" by Alice Ivy, released on 10 July 2019. On 10 December, Vandal co-wrote and performed the vocals for League of Legends' new champion Rell's theme song.
On 21 February 2021, Vandal was featured on Void of Vision's re-imagined version of their single "Decay" from their 2019 album Hyperdaze.

2024–present: Looking for People to Unfollow

On 7 August 2024, Vandal released the single "Bleed But Never Die", followed later in the year by the more trip-hop-styled single "Then There's One".
On 27 February 2025, she released the single "Cruising To Self Soothe". Through March and April she supported Limp Bizkit on the European leg of their 2025 Loserville tour. On 13 November 2025, Vandal released the single "Molly" along with accompanying music video.
On 4 February 2026, Vandal released the single "Bleach", along with its accompanying music video directed by Vandal and Richie 'kidnot' Buxton. Alfie Sansom from Argus Far called the song "a spiky, screaming self-reflection with a sharp edge [...] as though Trench took an acid plunge".
On 1 April 2026, she released the single "Sorry! Crash!" on streaming platforms ahead of the release of their second album. Alessandra Rincon from Ones to Watchs said, "At its core, “SORRY! CRASH!” lives in that disorienting space between losing control and letting go of the need to hold it together."
In April 2026 Vandal performed at Coachella in California, and in early May she performed in Newtown, Sydney, accompanied by bassist Richie Buxton and drummer Dan Maio. Her second album, Looking for People to Unfollow, released on 22 May 2026.

Personal life

Vandal's partner in music and life is Richie Buxton.

APRA Music Awards

The APRA Music Awards were established by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers, and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.