Elba Rose Talks New EP, Musical Influences And More

For fans of BANKS and Lorde, Elba Rose crafts moody alternative pop tracks with hip-hop influenced percussion and patterns, featuring raw, honest and scenic lyrical storytelling and ethereal vocals. She chatted to us about her new EP ‘Magdalene’:

Your new EP ‘Magdalene’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of the EP?

Yes! So excited to have this one out in the world! I don’t think I approached it in any specific thought out way exactly, it’s really an EP of the way I was feeling and the things I was going through at the time. I think this EP is me taking ownership of a lot of things I haven’t liked about myself and learning to accept them and myself for who I am. I do a lot of free writing so writing down everything I’m feeling or thinking and then later using that to write a song and that’s how a few of the tracks from this EP were born.

Where did you record the EP and who produced it?

The EP was produced by RUINER who’s a good friend of mine and has produced all of my previous music. For the most part we work together remotely as we live on opposite ends of the country so we record and work on demos between my little home recording setup and his home studio and then I go to his home studio to record all the vocals with him. We have a very collaborative relationship in our approach to working together.

Who plays on the EP with you?

It’s RUINER and myself that you’ll hear on this EP.

One of the tracks is called ‘Fleeting Fickle’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

Fleeting Fickle was a weird one to write, it came together quite sporadically and the original demo was a completely different structure with different melody ideas for the chorus. When I started writing Fleeting Fickle I didn’t approach it with the aim to write a song about anything specific, but subconsciously I think I was initially exploring my relationship with sex and everything I was told as a girl growing up and the conflicting messages you get from society, family, tv and the media and I sort of went with it and followed that impulse. I then sent what I had to RUINER and he sent me back and totally rebuilt structure which is what you hear now but with gaps in it for a new chorus, I think I sent RUINER about 30 different voice messages with chorus melody ideas on whatsapp until we got to what it is today. Through the writing process the song slowly evolved into exploring the feeling of falling in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way about you. That’s what I love about songwriting, it can start as one thing then turn into another.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Quite a mix, I grew up listening to my Dad singing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin round the house, so I think I took some inspiration from the crooner melodies and you can hear that on this EP. Also artists like Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish and Banks played a big part for me in the writing of this EP, and I think for RUINER as well in the approach to production.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

If ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ weren’t already a movie then that would be the one, I really related to Charlie’s character, and I picked the title for my first EP ‘Wallflower’ when I was reading the book.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Currently my live setup is me, a drummer and a synth player i’ve free’d myself up a lot so that I’m only singing at the moment, it had been a while since I’d performed live until last year so I was feeling pretty anxious about performing again so wanted to make it easier on myself, but I think that might change in the next year or so which is exciting. But for recording my trusty Shure SM7B has been the mic on my last two EPs.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I grew up in a tiny village near Wisbech in the fens it’s pretty remote, sparse, beautiful, in some ways lonely but it was also a very freeing place to grow up.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the EP recording sessions?

There were a lot of firsts with the vocal recording for this EP, first time recording me shouting, belting, recording using funny voices to get interesting layering effects all of which we’re equal parts challenging because I had to step out of my comfort zone and also very funny to record, there are quite a lot of out takes from those sessions.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Oohh I’m not sure any of them see me at my happiest if I’m honest if I was going to pick one maybe Live Wire, because it’s me trying to take ownership back of myself from my anxiety and the effect is has on me. Angriest maybe Playing Pretty, that was a really liberating song to write, I was finally saying a lot of stuff that has been bottled up a bit too long or No Note, No Telephone that’s pretty angry haha. Most reflective probably Playing Pretty actually as well.

Was it a difficult EP to write?

Yes and no, some of the songs came quite quickly Blood Bath and Live Wire did, I remember being surprised with those and then doubting them because they came so quickly but others like Fleeting Fickle and Playing Pretty had a lot of rewrites and a lot of banging my head against the wall to find what I was looking for in terms of melody and lyrics.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By PR 

Elba Rose’s new EP ‘Magdalene’ is out now and can be ordered via the below LinkTree: 

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/elbarosemusic 

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