Interview: Eloah (Written)

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life bring you an interview with progressive and alternative rock band, Eloah.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

Hello, I am Elmar from the band ELOAĦ. I have been playing music for as long as I can remember, learned classical piano from early childhood on, and taught myself to play acoustic guitar when I was a teenager. The first band I formed was a school band called “Even Odd,” and when I was 19 years old, I started with ELOAĦ.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Some have called it “art rock” or “progressive alternative,” but that can easily create wrong expectations. In my opinion, we play pop/rock music, mostly in a singer/songwriter style, with influences from jazz and ambient.

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

We released an album earlier this year called “Proud to Love You,” which is a compilation of love songs. Currently, we are working on a hard rock album entitled “The Book of Pain,” which will be darker, heavier, and faster.

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

Making music is very rewarding for me. First and foremost, it is a way for me to express and, in the process, experience and release emotions, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant. For example, this morning I was in a very, very bad mood. However, when I picked up my guitar and wrote a song about the pointlessness of existence, it made me very happy. Conversely, in moments of bliss, I also love to write songs. Lately, I’ve written a number of love songs and gospels in situations like that, which, in turn, has also made me very happy. In a nutshell, regardless of the situation, if I can convey it through my music, it brings me tremendous joy.

5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?

Especially in the beginning, the more challenging aspects of music creation have often been the discrepancies between the music I would have liked to produce and the music I was able to produce. I have been working on this issue for many years, and with success, as the best recipe to overcome them is simple and well-known: practice, practice, and practice.

6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

I don’t solely measure our success in terms of likes and followers. I am content and completely happy when we have finished a production that every musician who contributed is satisfied with, and that I enjoy listening to myself. Of course, we maintain an online presence, but not on every platform and not constantly. Likes, followers, streams, and downloads are indeed a nice form of recognition. For instance, I recently visited Japan and gave a few CDs to my hosts. Since then, Tokyo has unexpectedly become the city with the most streams on Amazon Music, and this trend has continued for the past few weeks. Naturally, we are pleased about that, but it’s not the primary reason I make music. Even if we had zero downloads or streams, it wouldn’t deter me.

7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

Music is undervalued. With the exception of the most renowned artists, it’s nearly impossible to make a living solely from music, unless you’re on a constant tour and selling a significant amount of merchandise. I would suggest increasing the compensation for downloads and streams so that musicians can earn at least ten times more revenue. This change might lead to a reduction in the quantity of music consumed, but it would undoubtedly result in a greater appreciation for the music we do have.

8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?

Please listen to our tracks and share the music with your friends if you enjoy it.

9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?

I have been training Japanese martial arts for over 25 years. Whereas music keeps my soul healthy, martial arts keep my body healthy and in shape.

10. Where can people find you?

Please take a look at http://eloah.at or https://song.link/ProudToLoveYou to directly listen to our latest album.