[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]Elderbrook Shares New Album, 'Little Love'

As the music space continues to flourish, there is a myriad of talented instrumentalists, singer-songwriters, DJs, and producers. Yet, finding an artist that is well-versed in all of these musical avenues is like finding a needle in a haystack. In today’s realm of EDM, Elderbrook is that needle. Since launching his professional career as a musician, Elderbrook has collaborated with some of the biggest names in dance music. From “Cola” with Camelphat to “Something About You”, this innovative artist has showcased a wide range of creativity and skill sets.

One of the qualities that makes Elderbrook so special is his powerful presence behind the DJ board. Sharing what’s he currently up to in this exclusive iEDM interview, Elderbrook pointed out that he is in the midst of a massive international tour. To prep ahead of and on the tour, he explained, “I like to do a ton of working out and mental training before a tour, however, the most important thing to me is relaxation. Sleep can be difficult, but relaxing the body and taking deep breaths throughout each day is something that really helps.”

Another form of preparation that Elderbrook accounts for is the sets themselves. Due to the fact that his festival slots are mostly 50 minutes to an hour, Elderbrook emphasizes selecting tracks that will turn the heads of festival goers that are walking by and allow for the best crowd reactions. Additionally, he aims for a higher level of energy when contrasted with club sets because he is typically playing for people who have never heard him before. Giving the inside scoop on a few of his upcoming performances, Elderbrook said, “for Coachella, my set will be more upbeat. As compared to a festival like Bonarroo, where I can get a little more weird and particular with it.”

Just as thrilling as Elderbrook’s ongoing tour is arguably his most incredible feat as an artist to date. Taking listeners on an auditory adventure, Elderbrook has finally revealed his sophomore album, Little Love. With so much to discuss about the groundbreaking compilation, he initially hit on the flow of it. Elderbrook highlighted that part of his objective was for “each track to seamlessly mix into each other”. No one would ever know that this was Elderbrook’s first time experimenting with this if he didn’t say it himself.

Helping with the flow of the album, is the title track, “Little Love (Little Interlude)”. Like the majority of the LP, it came about naturally for Elderbrook. He was messing around in the studio and had the urge to make a song that sounded like The xx. From Elderbrook’s perspective, “it separates the album in a very cool way. After that moment happens, Little Love gets deeper in feeling and emotion.” Next, Elderbrook dove into conversation surrounding individual songs throughout Little Love.

Collaborating with house music figurehead Vintage Culture, Elderbrook had to work with a more driving energetic bassline in “Talk It Over”. To match up his lyrics with the vibe of the track, Elderbrook let his voice carry, making his notes “keep going and going and going”. Then on “Walk Away”, Elderbrook stated how he drew influence from a really slow folk song that he discovered a year ago. The original resonated with him to the point that he felt the need to forge his own rendition of it. Identifying the anthem that pushed him the most out of his comfort zone, Elderbrook clarified that, “‘Beautiful Morning’ is a lot slower than what I’m used to. It was definitely a challenge making so few sounds to take up such a large space. What helped me a lot with that was using the same sound and layering it in different ways throughout the track.”

While “Beautiful Morning” encapsulates Elderbrook’s beautiful voice, there are a variety of other voices heard across Little Love. Shockingly, nearly all of them belong to Elderbrook. His standard procedure is to create the instrumental, then focus on the vocals. “Listening to the instrumental, I will just mumble things until a word appears. I use that word and see what forms around it.” Elderbrook also said that not all of the production suits one voice and sometimes he has to try a few until the optimal one is heard. This process is evident when listening to “If You Want Somebody” and “I Need You” back to back.

Even though the musical side of Little Love is spellbinding, for Elderbrook it is about the bigger picture. “Halfway through the album, it became more of an introspective journey. To take away from it, Little Love is about zeroing in on what’s important to you in life, rather than just the current day or week. I wanted this to be a message to my children after becoming a father.” Elderbrook’s connection to his two kids is heavily present in the artwork for Little Love too. His goal was to have the album cover appear like the page of a children’s book, hence the collage of butterflies, clouds, and roses. Its chill uplifting aura aligns with Elderbrook’s signature sound in Little Love.

With his unique style shining bright in the new album, Elderbrook decided to give some wise advice to artists who might be struggling to cultivate their identity. “Just write a song every single day. If it’s shit it doesn’t matter. Even if 1 in 50 is good, you will find your voice that way. The song that ends up working for you can be drawn from going forward,” he announced. Despite the immense amount of success stemming from his voice, Elderbrook refuses to take his foot off the gas. He aspires to play at Brixton Academy in London and is pumped for the remainder of his tour. Get ready to see Elderbrook play Little Love live as he trailblazes into an exciting future for electronic music.

Photos Courtesy of Elderbrook