Elderbrook Talks "Cola" In An iEDM Exclusive Interview

You've heard the song. Now meet the man behind one of the biggest hits that dropped last summer.

Elderbrook, one of the top EDM artists to watch in 2018, sat down with iEDM in an exclusive interview to discuss the popularity of "Cola," and his reaction to being nominated for a Grammy award this year for Best Dance Recording. The innovative musician would go on to tear the house down, and make the crowd go bananas, in Brooklyn's Knitting Factory later in the evening. 

“A couple of months ago, I was walking to MTV in London. My manager had me do stuff with them. He looked at me and said, ‘Oh! You’ve been nominated for a Grammy.’ We were like, super, super, super surprised because we didn’t even think that there was any possibility of that," Elderbrook told iEDM. "We didn’t think that was ever in the cards. We were a bit taken back. We still had to do the work that needed to get done for the day but it was amazing. We absolutely had no idea it was going to happen. We kind of went out for a few drinks to celebrate."

The British songwriter and producer deserved to tip a couple of cold ones back. The song became a huge success. "Cola" wound up selling over 200,000 copies. The summer months proved to be fruitful for Elderbrook, as "Cola" quickly became a club anthem in numerous hot spots throughout Europe and America. Not bad for a young guy who has the whole world ahead of him. 

"It put me on the map for a lot of people. Eventually, I ended up in New York for the actual Grammys. It’s kind of crazy,” he laughed.

One of the many people who took notice of Elderbrook's talent was Robin Schulz, one of the biggest names on the EDM scene today. Elderbrook called Robin's remix "incredible.”

“With Robin, we wanted to get him on board and get his take on it. We were super happy with how it turned out. He kind of changed my vocals to make it more melodic. I really liked it,” he elaborated.

Elderbrook explained what his experience was like at music's biggest night of the year. The prestigious honor of being invited wasn't something that was lost on the multi-talented artist. To say it was a memory that would last a lifetime would be an understatement. The upcoming vocalist says that the Grammys are "massive" and "always there."  

“It was a lot of fun. Doing the red carpet was an experience that I won’t forget. I think it’s the fact that you see it on TV: the red carpets, and everyone walking down them," he said. "To actually be part of that, and doing it yourself, is a really cool feeling.”

Music fans thought the collaboration between Elderbrook and CamelPhat was a dream come true. Elderbrook gave iEDM the scoop on how "Cola" came together between him and the popular duo. 

“Basically, we just had a session in London. They heard one of my songs from a couple of years ago, ‘How Many Times,’ which is kind of a big club song in Ibiza. We just went into the studio to see what would happen. We wrote three songs," he stated. "I guess, at the time, when we were writing ‘Cola,’ we had no idea what would happen next. We weren’t really overly excited about it at the time. Once we listened back, a few months later, we went, ‘Oh! We did this. This is one of the three songs. This is okay! This is alright.’"

"Cola" turned out to be more than alright because a label in the United Kingdom was incredibly thirsty for it. The people behind-the-scenes had a feeling EDM fans would guzzle the track up.

"Defected Records signed it. We didn’t have high hopes for it, to be honest. We didn’t think people would really get it. It’s a bit of a weird concept. It’s pretty much a siren going on for three minutes, with me whispering vocals over the top, which on paper, doesn’t sound like it would work all that well. I guess it did, ” Elderbrook grinned.

Before departing, Elderbrook wanted to share a tidbit that might surprise even the most cynical of music fans. His inspiration to perform came from watching teen heartthrob and actor Drake Parker, who starred in the hit Nickelodeon show, Drake & Josh.  

“The reason why I got my first guitar is because I was watching Drake & Josh on TV. I thought he was pretty damn cool. So I got my guitar, and it turned out that I could actually play it alright. Better than all of my friends, who also got guitars. I guess I went from there," the vocalist laughed. "Eventually, I started using the computer. That opened the door to the world of electronic music. I found my own little home.”

You can check out Elderbrook on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SoundCloud.

Check out more exclusive iEDM interviews featuring your favorite DJs HERE. 

Banner Photo was graciously provided by Kevin Jackson Jr. You can view more of Kevin's work HERE.