North London’s Eljé is carving out a distinctive sonic space in the music world. The 21-year-old vocal powerhouse recently released her invigorating new single “Bout To Lose It,” which is, without question, a track set to expand your summer playlist.
Cradling a rich tapestry of intimate vocal harmonies and pulsating electronic rhythms, Eljé’s musicality captures a sense of youthful vivacity teeming within the UK’s underground scene. “Bout To Lose It” manifests as a celebration of the recent revival in UK garage and house genres while maintaining Eljé’s commitment to candid, melancholic storytelling. With her melodies playing a flirtatious game with dreamy chords and the rhythmical heartbeat of the drums, the Gloucester-based artist skillfully showcases her stunning vocal range with an elegance that has become synonymous with her style.
Through the tracks’ sleek production, Eljé thoughtfully negotiates the tumultuous landscape of mental health, intertwining her personal narratives within the music’s high-octane house textures. As she confirms, “‘Bout To Lose It’ is a song that captures how I was mentally feeling at the time, how much mental health can make you feel disoriented. I really hope this song can reach a lot of people and they can relate to it.”
Having discovered her voice at the precocious age of 10, Eljé’s rise to the forefront of the UK music scene has been marked by her ingenuity and prowess. The digital landscape echoes her presence, with her debut single “Peach Squash Sunday” taking TikTok by storm and boasting over 300K streams on Spotify alone. Coupled with the addictive number “Stuck In Our Ways” under her belt, Eljé’s latest ballad is already gaining traction with over 2M views on TikTok.
Below, we spoke to Eljé about her influences, making music, “Bout To Lose It,” and her goals for the year. Keep scrolling to read our conversation.
Can you dive into your musical journey and tell us how you started out and how you got where you are today?
I have always loved singing since I was young, as most people would tell you. But to be honest, I actually only started to take my music seriously around three years ago. My sixth form did not take my passion for music seriously, and it really knocked my confidence, so my mum really pushed me to get my grade eight singing exam done during lockdown, and from then, I naturally got more into music!
I joined an artist development program a couple of years ago and was just quietly working away writing and recording until I decided to post one of my demos on TikTok last October and thought, “Oh s**t, this has gone viral, so I’m going to have to release something now and stop being so shy! “
Who are some of your key inspirations and influences?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of Damien Marley, Mary J Blige, and John Legend. I remember on the long journeys from London to Gloucester, me and my mum would always sing our hearts out to “Were Gonna Make It,” and I would also get the CD cover out and sing all the lyrics of the John Legend Album “Evolver.” As much as my mum would not think it, she actually played a big part in me loving music with her musical taste as well as my sister.
My sister would always make mixes on CDs, and we would listen to them all the time. My sister has a beautiful singing voice as well! I would always be very jealous of her voice and her having singing lessons, but it also inspired me as well! I started off making slow RnB/Lofi music, and my two main influences were Lianne La Havas and Cleo Sol. Their voices are like honey! However, I love to listen to old-school hip hop like Slum Village, Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Tupac, etcetera… I also love the underground scene as well. There are a lot of cool artists I love like LEN, Jim Legxacy, Louis Culture, and SamRecks to name a few.
In a parallel universe, what would you be if not a musician?
Haha, I love this question. It made me smile. I always wanted to be a lawyer or a journalist. I have always been obsessed with watching Stacey Dooley and Ross Kemp going to different countries and exploring crime and gang activity. I also would have loved to be an estate agent. That selling sunset program has me hooked! To be honest, I can actually see myself doing journalism one day!
Let’s talk about your latest record, “Bout To Lose It.” What inspired the record and what were you going for?
“Bout To Lose It” is a song about feeling mentally done and drained. Some days I would wake up and think about how much I have left in me. I would be thinking, am I going to get out of this dark place? Of course, I still have low days or times I feel overwhelmed, but I have got more coping mechanisms and people around me to help me with that.
I really wanted to capture the feeling of just feeling like your head is spinning out of control and how internal thoughts can overwhelm you and make you feel like you are drowning! I have actually had a lot of messages from people who have opened up to me about being in a very dark place and feeling like they can’t go on any longer and saying how this song has taken them out of that place as they feel like someone else can relate and put into words how they feel. It always makes me tear up when I get those kinds of messages.
How are you hoping your fans and followers will receive the song?
I just really hope people will be able to relate and know that the feeling of “Losing your mind” is okay and normal and that it is something a lot of people go through. I know so many people, including myself, who come across so bubbly and like everything is okay on the outside, but internally they are really struggling, and I just hope this song can bring together a community of people that can help each other and just feel like they aren’t the only ones. I recently set up a discord, so I am hoping I can really build that community up soon!
GUESS recently picked up “Bout To Lose It” for one of their summer campaigns—are you much of a fashion gal?
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw they used the track! I am obsessed with shoes. I have an addiction to buying shoes. I would love to work with Nike someday to create my own pair or just do a campaign with my music! I think I have my own style, but to be honest I am trying to stay quite hidden at the moment. I have never wanted music to be about how I look.
I just wanted it to be about the music and the message behind it. I sadly think today, we focus way too much on artists’ looks instead of their music, and I do not want to be part of that. That’s mainly why I hide behind my TikTok videos. People, of course, do know what I look like, but it’s just something I don’t want to focus on too much.
This record aside, what type of person do you have in mind when you make music? Is there a specific audience you imagine when creating songs?
I just want to create a really bubbly scene around me. I want to be an approachable artist, I want to be creating communities with my fans where I can do pop-up events and meetups. Although some of my music is written about mental health, a lot of my music is outside of this topic, like my first two releases. I just want to create a really fun atmosphere at my shows and events for my audience.
What are your hopes and dreams for 2023?
This year my focus is on building a bigger audience and fanbase and just getting as much more music out. My biggest fanbase is actually in America, which really excites me, and I hope I can get over to the US this year. I have got some exciting collaborations coming up. I really want to land a sync deal within the next year. I would love to become a global artist as I love to travel! Hopefully, I will be hitting more radio and festivals as well within the next year.
