ELI is a singer / songwriter from London who has been making waves across the music world. Not only is she an amazingly talented solo artist, she’s also making a name top-lining with DJ’s and producers.

In an interview I asked ELI how her love for music started? 

“My love for music started when I was around 10 years old. My mum had a Yamaha keyboard that had all these amazing sounds on it, and I would experiment and make beats every day after school.“

“I had two songs in particular that I would record repeatedly and try to perfect, and I gradually got better at arranging. It was just a natural thing for me, and I was drawn to creating music.” 

“I also really enjoyed singing and theatre at school and would perform at every chance I got. It all just felt right, and I went with it.“

Listening to ELI you can tell she is a natural vocalist, in her debut single ‘Rather Be’ the smooth jazz styled vocals are effortless.  The track has a lot of thought behind the use of instrumentation and arrangement, paying homage to the genres that have influenced her. 

“I grew up listening to a lot of different genres like Gospel, Jazz, Broadway, Reggae and Pop.“

“There would always be artists like Jimmy Cliff, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston and Mary Mary playing in the house on a Saturday morning but as I grew older, I steered off into more defiant genres like rock and nu-metal. I think as a way to rebel against my Christian upbringing.“

“I was heavily into that for a while and so my early music was a big amalgamation of pop-rock, jazz, and spiritual lyrics.  Soon after I discovered soul, indie and trip-hop artists like Lianne la Havas, Beck and Sevdaliza and that helped to mature my sound a bit more.“

ELI’s debut ‘Rather Be’ was released back in 2019, and is a credit to what a talented songwriter ELI is.

“Rather Be was inspired by the idea of communicating with someone who’s in denial. It’s about expressing to someone who refuses to acknowledge your feelings and wanting to be in any other situation except the current one.“

ELI isn’t just an amazingly talented solo artist, she also recently collaborated with Asketa & Natan Chaim on the track ‘Fantasy’ I asked her how this collaboration came about? 

“Yes! So, I was sent the instrumental through a company of writers I work with.  They wanted a cool, hooky topline for it and when I heard the track, I vibed with it right away. “

“I put down the first couple of ideas that came to me  I and sent it back. The label really dug it and wanted to release it. A couple months later it was out on Hexagon HQ! “

“The guys are amazing producers, and the track is a cool blend of chill pop and future house.” 

ELI is an immensely talented songwriter and artist and is set for big things, here’s what she had to say about her future plans.

“I’m currently working on a few projects that I’ll be releasing later on in the year. I’m really excited to share them and can’t wait for everyone to see what I’ve been up to, but I think a big goal of mine right now is to go on tour. Maybe supporting someone cool like Moses Sumney or Mereba. That would be insane!“