A symbol for radical self-love, acceptance, and expression, Elohim is making the world a more compassionate place, one song at a time. There’s a sort of magic that Elohim radiates and is able to instill in her music that penetrates the soul of the listeners. That magic derives from her ability to be transparently vulnerable through her artistic expression – the type of vulnerability that’s liberating. Her unapologetic and honest display of emotion has attracted a whole army of love warriors that’s constantly expanding day-by-day. Elohim took a beautifully humble moment to talk to SPIN about her relationship to music, being talented at a young age, mental health, crossing over to Twitch, collaborating with music industry legends, and more. Be sure to check out her latest release, “Bring Me Back” right here.
Who is Elohim and how did you come to life?
Elohim started because of my own struggles with my mental health and it’s evolved into a community of love, acceptance and empathy. At the beginning, my only way out was to write so I just kept writing and producing every night until five in the morning and I eventually had songs I wanted to share. The first song that clicked for me was ‘Xanax’. I thought people would not understand what I was singing about, but it turns out a lot of humans are suffering from exactly what I’ve suffered from most of my life. I felt completely alone my entire life until I released that song and started openly and authentically speaking about my struggles.
Tell us about your sound – where does your style originate from and what have been your biggest visual, social, and sonic influences?
I grew up strictly studying classical piano but on the side I was so interested in alternative and electronic music. Then when a family friend introduced me to Radiohead, my mind was blown… I didn’t realize music like that existed. I’ve been obsessed with sampling noises, singing weird tones and creating sounds from scratch since I got my first laptop with Garage Band.
Being technically talented in so many areas, what does your typical songwriting/production process look like? Is there a set formula or does it consistently evolve and shape-shift along with your ideas?
First of all thank you, that is a very kind compliment. The process for me is always changing which keeps the creative process so exciting and new. It’s also dependent on who I am working with. If I am alone there is no telling what I will start with! But for the most part I am very inspired by interesting synth sounds. Once I find the right sound and chords, the lyrics and melody start to pour out. I also enjoy coming up with ideas while driving or showering.
You’ve been recognized as the ultimate dream-collaborator and with so many great features/collabs with giants like Louis The Child, Skrillex, + Quinn XCII, what’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about collaborating with other artists?
I love working with other talented artists because the end result of a collaboration shows the best parts of each artist. I always want to leave feeling excited and happy about what we created, and it’s important the other artist feels the same way. The most successful collaborations are truly equal partnerships because of the trust you put in the other artist. The outcome is then always the best, most authentic piece of work.
Was there a definitive turning point to your success? When did you realize the magnitude of your impact within the industry/community?
There’s no one moment, it’s been a journey but when I’m on stage commanding a full crowd, that brings me such a feeling of empowerment and strength and success. The other moments for me are the conversations with the many friends I have made through my music. The deep conversations at 2 am about real life issues: our anxiety, our panic and our brains. Those are the moments that mean the most to me and equal success in my mind. The rest is just an added bonus.
Being a known advocate and voice for mental health awareness, you’ve been able to grow a loyal fanbase that’s become an incredibly compassionate community; by being very vulnerable and open about topics such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and beyond – In what ways has the pandemic shifted your perspective on mental health and what new information have you gathered in staying creative through those tough times?
The pandemic for me has been interesting because I am prone to severe anxiety and panic disorder. Those disorders are triggered by being outside of my house, and for the last year I’ve been home in my safe place. There have been times when I have felt weeks of slight depression more than my usual panic. It’s very scary because I worked so hard to be able to leave the house, go on tour, get on planes, perform on stage and I am scared of a setback. Just a few nights ago I did my first show in a year! I was feeling amazing and about an hour before my set everything hit me like a bag of bricks I started spinning out and threw up. That being said once I threw up it was go time and I had a flawless show and felt completely alive. I share these stories because for so much of my life I felt completely alone and if I can reach one person and help them feel less alone I’ve done my job here on earth.
The 2020 tour hiatus hit each artist differently in very unique ways, some struggling more than others. Enlighten us on your experience.
I was totally and completely devastated. I was in Michigan on my “Group Therapy” Tour, the most special tour of my entire career. The meaning behind it and the love and purpose was just absolutely incredible. So when I left my meet and greet in Grand Rapids and my tour manager said “this will be your last show” I just broke down. I broke down because of how special the tour was and how hard I had worked physically and mentally to prepare and put on the best shows possible. Once I got home I didn’t want anything to do with music. I was extremely sad. Once I got through that I turned that time into something positive and created some of the greatest music I’ve ever made.
Tell us about one of your most memorable or cherished touring memories.
Every night on the “Group Therapy” tour was one to write home about. We cried, we sang, we talked, we danced, we had emotional purges. It was out of a movie. The amount of love and empathy in these rooms was unbelievable. I had multiple people working at venues come up to me personally saying they’d never seen anything like it. I want to be surrounded by loving kind and empathetic humans. That whole tour which was only a quarter of the way complete was full of the most memorable meaningful moments.
Now despite the curses 2020 brought to the collective masses, it also allowed artists to take a step back, reassess, and re-prioritize certain aspects of their personal + creative lives. You managed to enter the stream-verse and recently launched a channel on Twitch. What led to this decision and how has this impacted your relationship with your fans? Would you recommend this to all artists?
During this last year we all felt a physical disconnect, while still having that very human eagerness to emotionally connect with one another. I realized a lot of the friends I have met over the years, we’ve never gone more than a year at most without seeing each other. Social media wasn’t cutting it and it felt truly disconnected. As soon as I launched my Discord and Twitch channels it was like we were all back together again in a way. The connection felt even stronger than ever. I would recommend this for any artist that is interested in having real life friendships with their community and listeners. It has brought us all even closer than before. We have this safe space where we can all be there for each other not just me answering as many dms as I can. Shows were always our place to all get together and connect and now we have this place! It is really super life changing.
In what ways do you wish to inspire up and coming artists/producers that are aiming to get their chance in the spotlight?
I truly hope to inspire authenticity. I hope that an aspiring musician might look at me and see that I stayed genuine to my passion and purpose. No matter what. I want to inspire aspiring musicians to have a part in every aspect of the process visually and sonically. I feel so much more empowered and confident knowing my craft and being able to produce myself.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give aspiring creatives that you either got from a mentor or that you wish you would’ve gotten?
Create, create, CREATE! Your craft is so important to your dreams. Stay true to you and just keep creating! Take advice but trust yourself. You have what you need inside of you. Surround yourself with only people who lift you up and bring out the best in you.
As we’re looking ahead seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, how are you both planning to propel your career forward in 2021?
I have made an incredible amount of music I am proud of and have the greatest team so we are really putting together a special plan for the rest of the year. In a way quarantine felt like a reset and in a weird way a lot of us needed a bit of a pause to our usual way of life. We are lucky to be here and I want to make the most out of LIFE! Really looking forward to getting back to live shows and festivals.
Is there anything on the horizon that you can share with us?
All I can say is that my new song ‘Bring Me Back’ with GRiZ is the very beginning kick start of this next year full of the most music I’ve ever shared and the most ME music I’ve ever shared. It will be a journey and I cannot wait. I feel alive!
Take a chance now and manifest something.
LOVE, HEALTH, LUCK AND HEALING .
Any last words for the SPIN-verse?
I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Check out Elohim’s transcending and electrifying performance below! For more exclusive sessions, head over to SPIN TV.
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