Some artists are just a part of your life without you really thinking about it. Elissa P. is one of those artists. I’ve been listening to her for about 5-6 years now without reflecting about how good she actually is. But that has changed now. This incredible artist is getting more and more into my limelight. She was one of the first I wanted to interview for this series. So here she is:
For those who haven’t heard about you, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?
I grew up in the South Loop of Chicago. I studied 10 years of classical piano, starting at age 6, and also got pretty heavily involved in the Chicago youth writing world. There were a lot of cool creative programs in the city, and this combined with the support of my family helped give me the courage to start writing songs. Thinking back, my poor family must have a really high threshold for repetitive sounds.
I first heard you on Disaster for Breakfast EP together with Brenmar, how did you guys hook up and do you still do any music together?
We met through our mutual friend, Michael Silvestri who ended up playing bass on the EP and with our band for the next couple of years. I haven't worked with Brenmar in ages, but we are still friends. I had the pleasure of catching up with him in Chicago recently over some twilight whiskey at Bijan's. You've gotta catch that guy at 3am between flights these days!
What is your purpose with your music?
I want to mix pretty sounds with a personality that is very true. I have a pretty unromantic albeit humorous view of the world, and I don't think I can really emote through any other persona. But the music intrinsically means so much to me! So, I guess my purpose is to entertain in a genuinely absurdist way. All while drowning your heart in tender chord changes.
To me at least, there seemed to be a bit silence between the release of Prize Pig back in 2006 and your album Quickie Calendar in 2010. Were you up to anything special between those releases?
After releasing Prize Pig, I was living in L.A. and Brenmar moved to Brooklyn to work with These Are Powers. I basically had to reapproach my process of building songs. I'm grateful for this challenge because I learned a lot about the craft, as well as my own style. But there was a definite learning curve, which slowed things down for a bit. I knew I had to keep putting my ideas out into the universe somehow, so I was running around playing at laundromats with my Boss loop pedal and making videos with kids from the film school. It was a great four years in terms of development, and I ultimately ended up meeting my new bandmate Ryan Casey (KaeoFLUX) throughout the process.
Would you mind telling us about the creative process when you’re making music?
I'd say most of my initial kernels are a melody or cadence of some sort. I am attracted to dreamy big band patterns, jumbled out of order with the occasional half-step. I usually play around with this deconstruction until something I like blossoms. It's a very loose process to figure out what the brain wants to hear. I almost never build around a lyric.
How did you hook up with Marathon of Dope?
I feel like Tom has always been in my life, somehow. I can't even recall the first time he contacted me. It must have been back in the Disaster For Breakfast era. We've been working together via internet for over five years, and finally toured together twice in the last year, first on the east coast, and this past winter through Europe.
Any upcoming projects?
Yes! As I mentioned before, I am now working with Ryan in our new band, Kodacrome. I initially assumed this would simply be the new incarnation of Elissa P., but Ryan has actually massaged a new and braver sound out of me. We spend a lot of time considering sound sources, texture and structure, and he challenges me to be more patient and technical, without sacrificing any emotion. Here is a video we made at De Kreun this past December: http://vimeo.com/19479688
Final question, I know a lot of people are curious. Could you tell us more about Rhyming Robot?
Rhyming Robot is a project I started with my friend, Eric Meltesen. We began by writing a feature and adapting it into internet shorts exploring the life of poor naive Rhyming Robot who cannot make a rhyme. His is a story of brotherhood, and character as he intermingles with others who can't quite reach their expected potential (i.e.: his pet Toothless Piranha). Puppets trying to find their place in society. At the end of the day, it's a way for us to be social while still creating something. I'm the type of person who gets anxious when I relax (nothing like a sunny day in the park with friends to make me want to shoot myself), so Rhyming Robot is a way for me to avoid becoming a total hermit. You'd be surprised how many more people want to talk to me when I have the robot in tow!
Shout outs?
I want to shout it out for every roommate, family member and neighbor who has heard me playing sandpaper arpeggios in the middle of the night. I'll do everything I can to repay you for your patience!
www.elissap.com/
www.kodacrome.com
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