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Emerging artist and award-winning composer ELDR has recently unveiled her brand new EP, 'HÖLY STRANGER,' following her critically-praised debut EP 'Defender' in 2019, with her new EP taking on a bold and mesmerising direction. With the release of her EP, she sets an immensely vivid tone with her four-track offering, with the tone of the EP matching the explorative ideals. She has spent the last couple of years composing soundtracks for the likes of BBC, Sky Arts and Film4.
Here at The Lowdown, we had the opportunity to speak with ELDR about her new EP, her plans for the rest of the year and more. Keep reading to check out what she had to say!
Welcome to The Lowdown! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
"Thank you so much for having me! I'm an artist called ELDR, born and bred in London. I was brought up believing in a kind of theosophical esotericism (Helena Blavatsky vanguard), and then I dabbled in all kinds of religious ideology before accepting I may never know the true meaning of life. Music for me is purely instinctive. I'm self-taught and believe in the mystical power of sound. I'm on a mission to connect with my widest tribe of listeners with my latest EP. I also compose soundtracks for film and TV under my human name - Marina Elderton."
You have recently released your new EP. What has it been like for you to get your own music out into the world?
"It's a very indulgent and liberating act of self-expression! To be honest, making music can also be a painful process. It's dense with these euphoric highs and lows, and I don't think independent musicians talk enough about the incredible challenges we face mentally and financially to keep doing the thing we love. This is why I genuinely feel a great sense of joy with each release, because it is a gesture of survival in a s**t storm!"
How long did the EP take to come together, right from the initial writing stages?
"I recorded the first demos for the EP while I was pregnant, and my son is two and a half now, so that pretty much sums it up! Two of the tracks, 'Weak Potion' and 'Headstone' had been lurking in me for quite a few years before that though. Sometimes songs decide when it is necessary for them to come into existence I think. But other ones were way faster! I wrote 'Friends' in about an hour while messing around with an autoharp I was given for Christmas in Poland. From there, my dear collaborator Knut Jonas Sellevold helped produce and mix the final masters. I'm very grateful to everyone who has been involved with the more recent creative aspects and visuals too. None of that can be realised in solitude!"
Do you have a favourite lyric from the EP?
"'Weak potion,
My nation's drunk
On an ocean
Of false quotation.'" - From 'Weak Potion.'
Going back to your roots, how did you first get into music? "There was always a piano in my house growing up, but I was quite secretive about my interest in music. When I was a teenager, me and an old friend would escape to these music rooms in our school and improvise ideas. She played guitar and I sang/played piano. It started with stupid comedy songs trying to be like Tenacious D, and then it escalated from there into something far more pretentious!"
Who do you derive musical inspiration from?
"There are so many it's impossible to condense them, but unquestionably, artists like PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Warpaint, Nirvana, Nick Cave, and more recently, Alice Coltrane, Big Thief and Alabaster De Plume."
Do you have anything in particular you would most like to achieve with your music in the coming months/years?
"A sense of collective healing, and expansion for all! Plus, a record deal wouldn't go amiss!"
Is there any particular message you would like conveyed through your music?
"Resist the shackles of self-doubt and accept your darkness. Spread love like your life depended on it!"
Thinking ahead to this year, what else do you have lined up that you can tell us about?
"I'm very much looking forward to working on my next tracks, which are already brewing. I'll be playing a few live EP shows with a full band too, plus some soundtracks for films to keep the coffers coming in!"
Finally, do you have a message for all those who support you?
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your ears, reciprocity and love! It and you are everything. Please tell your friends and neighbours about me!"
ELDR's new EP, titled 'HÖLY STRANGER' is out now and is available to purchase and stream through all major music purchasing and streaming outlets.
By Rachel Dempster
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