INTERVIEW – eli. Talks to Us About His New Single “make it”

The very talented young singer eli. has recently dropped his brand new single “make it” in to the world. His single “i’m sad” has racked up an astonishing 50 million streams to date! He also has a phenomenal 1.3 million monthly listeners on his Spotify…so far. That already large number is sure to go up after the release of “make it.”

We got in touch with eli. to talk about his new single, collaborations and what it’s truly like to be part of the music industry. Here is what he had to say:

You’ve recently released your brand new single “make it.” What can you tell me about the inspiration behind the song and the creative process of how it came together? 

This new track is about a really bad relationship I went through when I was younger. It’s a different perspective than I have written about before. This time, I went with a more light-hearted pop track that is full of nostalgia and more maturity than before. I made this song from start to finish in a single 10-hour session, from first idea to complete mix. Every now and then, I have magical moments like that where the creative energy flows and carries me through the entire song without having to think about it. When it comes naturally is when the work is at its best. 

You’re very independent when it comes to writing music. You write, record and produce all of your songs yourself. Who would you like to collaborate with potentially in the future? This can include producers or other artists. 

I don’t want to say I would never collaborate with another artist. I will say that I really just prefer working alone because it’s more special to me. I’m much more open to collaborating on another artist’s track than my own. I want mine to be mine. If an artist I really respected wanted me to work a track with them, I wouldn’t say no. If John Mayer calls me tomorrow and for some absurd reason would want to work with ME of all people, it would be impossible for me to turn something like that down. It’s more meaningful to me when I work on my songs myself. 

How would you describe your signature sound to somebody who may not have heard your songs before? 

I’m really not sure that I have a signature soundI do have a cohesive sound in there somewhere. I tend to always weave in those strings—the violins and the orchestral sounds you hear on my tracks. My production sounds consistent and you can always tell that it’s my voice you’re hearing, but I really don’t know how to define it. I would say my sound is undefined for the most part. You can’t box them all into the same category and that’s exactly what I went for on my next project. 

You make music so it is very likely you listen to A LOT of other musicians. Could you tell me what the top 3 songs you’re currently listening to? 

I listen to something completely different every couple of weeks. My current most-listened 3 are Hand Me Downs by Mac Miller, Yummy by Justin Bieber and South by Hippo Campus. These are by no means whatsoever my favorite songs, it’s just what I found recently. Hand Me Downsmight be one of my top 50 songs of all time though. 

What is the best advice you have ever been given? And what advice would you pass on to someone who wants to be in the music industry? 

The best advice I’ve ever been personally given directly to me came from a girl I went on one date with at the end of 2017. I had changed my major multiple times and wasn’t getting a whole lot out of college. She told me to drop out. I had never even considered it before but the mere suggestion of it made me realize that I could do that if I wanted to. I had that option. That’s all it took for me to take control of my own destiny. I told my grandpa, who I was living with at the time, and he said I should do what I want to do. Hell yeah I should! He was the only one in my family who supported my decision. The advice that I would give to someone who wants to be in the music industry depends on what they are wanting to do. I never cared about or wanted to be in the music industry. I was concerned with being an artist and doing something meaningful. If you want to be an artist, I would suggest committing yourself to doing something meaningful and offering a unique perspective to the world through your hard work or natural talent. Be more concerned with the question “What do I have to offer?” instead of wanting to run a business. Unless you’re more interested in the business side of the music industry, then I suggest you further your education through college or independent study and then network to develop connections or create opportunities. I never cared much for networking, personally.  

If you could tour with any musical icon, who would it be and why? 

Easily John Mayer. He’s not only one of the best guitarists alive, but he makes damn good music and he is one of my biggest inspirations for my own work. I’ve listened to him since I was a kid. What an incredible experience that would be! 

Is there anything about the music industry you would like to see change? If yes, what would you change? And if no, then what do you like best about it? 

I think that the industry is already changing more in the direction that I want. Consumers are more open than ever to “letting” artists experiment with sound and different styles. It’s cool. My favorite thing about the music industry right now is that artists have a lot of the power and the leverage for the first time in history. Three years ago, I didn’t even realize you could do what I currently do. Making money from music happened on complete accident for me. This probably wasn’t even possible ten years ago, but I’m really not sure. I don’t know enough about the history to say. Artists always give a lot of crap to streaming services for their payout rates and I do not understand that at all. I work for myself and I make more money than I ever thought possible. You won’t hear me complain! I’m so grateful. 

2020 is off to a good start for you with the release of “make it.” What else do you have in store for the rest of the year? 

 I have an album and a tour both coming soon with announcements very soon on my social media. I’m trying to experiment with creating more YouTube content as well. I’ll put out another album later this year too. Maybe two more this year. I’m not entirely sure. I need to let my ideas evolve over the next few months. 

Thank you to eli. for taking time out of his day to answer our questions! As he said, he’ll be making some big announcements regarding his album and tour very soon, so make sure you go give him a follow on his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can listen to “make it” and all his other masterpieces through Spotify so go give that a listen, you won’t regret it! Watch the video:

eli. - make it (official audio)

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