We have all grown up with singers whose songs have followed us in our wildest and most intense moments, especially in our youth. I can assure you there is a generation that has mourned their breakups and danced until dawn to Elliphant's songs. Singers like her have the power to not only create a song capable of moving your body, she also manages to make you think and reflect on the love you give to others and the one you give to yourself. Although Elliphant has grown up, she's still being a rebel trying to understand this wild world while making it enjoyable with her art, sending out a message through her songs to tell all those other rebels out there that they will never fight alone.
You have been described by the media as an eternal rebel, do you feel identified with that term? Do you think that success is an accomplice or an enemy of rebellion?
I think it’s such a compliment to be called a rebel! I never saw myself as one growing up, I just always saw myself as a bit lost and destructive! But through becoming Elliphant, all those things that used to make me feel weak in society were flipped around and instead of weakness they turned into strength and made my artistry interesting and relevant. Things like my attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, that I didn’t finish school, my quirkiness and bad mouth plus all this substance abuse was suddenly to my advantage. Elliphant gave me confidence far beyond my artistry. To be the rebel was and still is my leading star.
Your first track of 2021 is called Tekkno Scene. At that time you were not yet known as Elliphant. Who were you before and who are you now? Do you miss the time when you were only known as Ellinor?
Elliphant is an extension of Elli, I am pretty much the same person, except that now I have more strings attached to the world. Elliphant is a part of the noise and Elli was more of an observer that escaped the world and hid away a lot. I travelled very much before I was the artist Elliphant, and I loved to stay away for months hiding alone in the mountains of Himalaya or in a shack on the beach somewhere where I could witness fewer things. I would just sit around and listen to some story of a stranger or to the voices in my head and no one knew where or who I was… I can really miss that!
The name Elliphant comes from the expression “There's an elephant in the room,” which refers to an uncomfortable situation that everyone is aware of but no one talks about. Do you still feel that way?
Yeah, I do. But that’s just one meaning to the name Elliphant, also, elephants have thick skin, they communicate through vibrations and they are the biggest mammals on land and they still get scared of a little mouse! I like that as a metaphor, I feel like a paradoxical person. People think I am so tough but am very sensitive, I am a Scorpio rising and a cancer moon, maybe that’s why I am often misunderstood as being much tougher than I feel.
You have collaborated with numerous artists such as Tove Lo, Doja Cat or Skrillex, what needs to happen when two artists connect and create a song together?
Respect and curiousness, and you always need to be responsive when you’re making art together with other souls.
How does your relationship with the songs you have written years ago evolve? Would you change lyrics or melodies from previous songs?
A song is on its own when it’s out I think. I rarely go back and listen to my old songs and I never regret them or want to change them but I have noticed that they will develop and change when I sing them live on tour.
Your album Living Life Golden received critical acclaim. How do you remember those moments of success? What did the premiere of that album mean for you and your career?
I am always grateful when I can connect with the world through my music! It’s a blessing to be able to reach out and be recognised by heart with your art. I had an amazing golden moment with Living Life Golden!
Uterus marked your solo return after four years of collaborations. This topic talks about how scary the world can be. You premiered it in July 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, what is the story behind this significant issue in the times in which we live?
Uterus was released in the middle of the pandemic but also a few weeks before I gave birth to my first daughter, so I felt it was like a perfect song for the occasion. Also, it was a rebirth of Elliphant in a way. It’s a serious time we are living and we are globally fighting this virus that is a result of bad animal keeping. I think it's karma and I'm afraid it’s only the tip of the iceberg and we have a lot of challenges much worse than this on the horizon.
I look at it as a time to withdraw and reflect on our bad behaviour here on our beautiful planet. We have been taking earth and nature for granted and now shit backfire on us. I really hope this virus can help us unite in the world so we can work together to beat this and take on all these even bigger issues that we are facing because we are running out of time.
I look at it as a time to withdraw and reflect on our bad behaviour here on our beautiful planet. We have been taking earth and nature for granted and now shit backfire on us. I really hope this virus can help us unite in the world so we can work together to beat this and take on all these even bigger issues that we are facing because we are running out of time.
Your new song Could this be love? presents this feeling as a curse, when does love turn into torment?
If love makes you sad it’s not good. If love makes you feel bad it’s not good. If someone is doing you wrong you need to at least be good to yourself and leave. I think if a relationship is good you are growing as a person. You become stronger. If that’s not the case, move on.
The music video for Could this be love? seems like a mix between David Lynch's Blue Velvet and RuPaul's Drag Race, where did the idea of setting it in this cool and kitsch aesthetic come from?
Thanks, I wanted to try something new! Something that would fit my post-pregnant body because I just had my baby when we made it! I never had boobs and curves, so I wanted to embrace that. Also, the pandemic made it hard to make a video so we needed an idea that wasn’t too spaced out. My amazing boyfriend Florian and my fantastic friend and stylist Fredrik Robertson (that also stars in the video) came up with it together and had the most perfect crew. It’s so so special, I love it.
Many of the songs on your discography talk about love as a source of pain. With your collection of ballads, does Elliphant believe in true love?
Oh yes, I do! Love is the power that keeps it all together! I have big love in my life, I love my new little family so much. My daughter, her father, my cat, my friends and my family. So much love!
The artist Sophie has recently left us, what gap do you think an artist like her leaves in the world of music?
It’s unbelievable how close life and death are to each other. It’s unfathomably sad when a bright star like Sophies burn out. And it’s not her loss but ours, life is a mystery. We are all originals, and no one can ever fill anyone’s place. A beautiful flake fell to the ground and people will write songs about it.
