interview:ELIZA
She was signed at fifteen. She left. What followed was what she calls her uni years, a period of freedom, experimentation, and unlearning. The Darkening Green is what that unlearning eventually produced. An artist working entirely on her own terms, making music that excites only her, and trusting that to be enough.
We spoke to ELIZA about commitment, creative freedom, and what it means to lead with feeling first.
Interview BY kofi owusu
The Darkening Green” feels less like a reinvention and more like a deepening into who ELIZA is today. What shifted in you over these past four years that made this record possible?
Thank you so much for listening.
I finished writing and making the record in Jan 2024. Then had my son, Rex which was a big change but the crux of the record had been made and Rex came to the studio with me to tweak and finish the production. So the biggest shift of my life happened after this album. So that makes sense that it comes across as a deepening rather than a complete transformation. There’s always deeper to go in one direction and I hope to go even deeper. Always up for a complete transformation too!
“Anyone Else” is your first real love song after 25 years, why do you think it took this long to arrive?
In some ways every song I write is about love but this is definitely my first “romantic commitment of love” song. What stopped me from writing it sooner is probably a fear of commitment and maybe a feeling that I didn’t deserve it. I've always believed we are all just children in need of all the love in the Universe but it’s easier said than done to know that about yourself.
Your earlier career came with a very defined image, and then you stepped away from that system. Looking back now, what did leaving the major label actually give you creatively and personally?
I don’t know for sure if it was just the major label system or if it was my management which I had had from the age of 15 but stepping away from the situation I was personally in gave me a lot of freedom to create in a way that suited me. I think I can be quite trusting and easily persuaded so I have to be careful about who I keep around me and what their motives are. It’s important to me that the music is completely separate from business. Money is important, we all need it to feed our families but I don’t want it to be what leads the music in anyway and it can be difficult to avoid that motive in the music biz. I’m sure things are changing in some respect. I wouldn’t be able to comment on how the majors or industry standards are now, only on my own particular experience then.
There’s something very simple and sincere about the way you talk about love on this record, almost like stripping it back to its essence. What did you want that song to feel like more than anything else?
I just wanted my partner to know what he means to me. And for him to know I love him.
You speak about the world “losing heart”, where do you feel that most right now, and how does music become a way of holding onto something human?
For some reason the leaders humans have chosen or had forced upon us want to harm and murder our own children and people. They are destroying our beautiful planet in the name of greed. Our systems are broken. And the feeling that we’re losing heart relates to a feeling of hopelessness with all that’s going on.
Music is heaven in comparison. If you want to get back to the moment and just be, there’s always music. If only music could lead us.
You’ve described that period post-Parlophone as your “uni years”, a time of freedom and experimentation. What did you unlearn during that phase that still shapes how you make music today?
To do what excites me and only me. Haha. Sounds selfish but if I’m not feeling my own music, then why would anyone else?
There’s a clear thread in your work now about choosing a slower, more “real” path. In an industry that rewards speed and output, what does it take to stay committed to that?
Lots! I’m constantly wondering if I should be doing more or am doing the wrong things in order to attempt connection rather than just doing what I love and being zen about it, letting connection be natural. Social media can be so brilliant in sharing creativity, but I’m sure that’s not where I wanna spend a lot of my time. It’s a constant back and forth on whether I could be sharing more of my inner feelings and thoughts on there or whether I should just always let the music do the talking. There’s so much I want to say out loud about the world and what’s goin on. I want to fight the good fight. But not sure I want to spend time online. It’s a constant battle. It would be ideal to use social media to say “meet here in real life - let’s play music, let’s talk, let’s bring power to the people, let’s organise our love!”
“If I’m not feeling my own music, then why would anyone else?”
You’ve worked closely with Phairo across your projects. What does that creative dynamic look like in the room when something really clicks?
When Fin (Phairo) does something that really moves me or when we are vibing together and it clicks with vibrancy, you would probably hear a scream and a squeeze of excitement from me. I can’t contain my joy. Pure magic. We’re so lucky we have such a great chemistry and friendship.
Your music feels quite intimate. How do you translate that closeness into a live setting without losing its softness?
I don’t know, it probably does lose a bit of softness in the live setting but that’s all part of the fun!
Your influences from D’Angelo to Radiohead to The Smashing Pumpkins feel more present in this chapter. Do you feel like you’ve finally made music that reflects what you actually grew up loving?
Since the beginning of this project - with A Real Romantic I’ve been feeling that way.
Motherhood, spirituality, and activism all sit within this record without feeling heavy handed. How did becoming a mother shift your perspective on the themes you’re writing about?
Well, as I said he wasn’t born yet but he was in my tummy for a lot of it so I’m sure something was going on. Maybe knowing I was bringing a little human into the World brought out more of the mission to spread the word of love and bring freedom and harmony to all beings. No-one can be free unless we all are.
Do you tend to start with lyrics, melody, or feeling first? And did that shift at all while making The Darkening Green?
Hmmm interesting. People always ask about melody or lyrics and never feeling. So I would say feeling then melody then lyrics. And it’s always been that way for me. Heart first. I’m a feeler !
