Indie-folk duo Naz and Ella are releasing their debut single Love Is Love after being recognised by BBC radio.

The pair, who are both 22-years-old and live a road away from each other in High Barnet, have been friends since meeting at the age of 15 in an English class at Queen Elizabeth Girls' School, in Barnet High Street.

They started playing together in an all-girl rock band called Ulterior Motives, but over the years, their music style has mellowed into soothing guitar sounds filled with harmonies.

Their debut song was selected for Tom Robinson’s BBC Radio 6 Introducing Mixtape segment, before being chosen as track of the week, and last Saturday, Naz and Ella were also invited to perform their single on BBC Beds, Herts and Bucks.

They describe how it felt to play live on air on a well-known radio station for the first time…

Can you tell me about your music style?

We both play acoustic guitars. Naz usually plays the rhythm, and Ella plays fingerstyle and lead guitar parts. We also harmonise throughout our songs which is something we’re often complimented on when we gig.

As for style, we describe our music as indie-folk. It combines elements of a variety of genres including contemporary folk, singer-songwriter and Americana.

Can you also tell readers what to expect from your new single? What is it called?

Our debut single is called Love Is Love. It’s about the freedom to love whom you want irrespective of gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc.

It’s quite a soothing track. It has a soft, sweet guitar melody, a lot of harmonies and earnest, honest lyrics.

How did it feel to perform your single on BBC Beds, Herts and Bucks last Saturday?

It was a really great experience, we were really excited to play. We had to wake up at 5am to be there for 7am. The staff there made us feel really at ease – we were very nervous as this was our first time on a well-known radio station! We got a real buzz from playing live on air.

We feel so grateful for the opportunity. We’ve been playing together for around seven years now, since we were at school together, so it was rewarding to have a song that we’ve been working hard being heard by a large audience.

We’d love any chance to perform live on radio again!

Have you got an album or an EP too?

We are currently working on our EP which will be available to stream and download in January. We’re planning an EP launch party and hoping to get some local acoustic acts to play during the night.

How did you meet?

We met at school. We were in the same GCSE music class but didn’t officially meet until we were put together in our English class. We then formed an all-girl rock band and that’s when we started playing together.

Did you have a shared interest in music?

Yes, we both loved writing our own music, playing guitar, and always wanted to be in a band. We performed a lot at school concerts but always wanted to play at proper venues which we got to do when we formed a band.

Had you been in any other bands or solo before that?

As we mentioned, we used to be in an all-girl band called Ulterior Motives – we had more of a rocky sound playing electric guitars rather than acoustic. Ella has played in a couple of other bands, one being a 10-piece soul fusion band.

Where did your interest in music begin?

We have both been interested in music since we were children.

Naz: I’ve always loved singing since I was a kid and dreamed about performing live on stage. I have been writing songs since I was in primary school and wanted to play guitar so I could write music too but I wasn’t able to have lessons until much later.

Ella: Yes, I wanted to learn guitar for as long as I can remember, and I remember dreaming about performing live on stage when I was very young! I started learning piano in primary school as my mum thought my hands would be too small for guitar. I started learning guitar when I got to secondary school.

Have you got any more coming up or any performances elsewhere in London?

We’ve performed at most of the open mic nights in our area and play yearly at Picnic In The Park, a local festival. We’ve also played at Barnet market, local street parties and in February we organised a charity fundraiser and raised £250 for two charities based in Nepal that Ella volunteered at.

We’re currently not gigging very much at the moment as we are focusing on our EP. However, we are currently planning an EP launch party in January.

Naz and Ella’s music is available to download on their website: nazandella.com