In Circles is a song crafted with love. Maybe this is why the listener cannot help but love it since the very first moments of listening to it. Atmospheric, with strong doses of psychedelia, impressive songwriting.
Read our interview with Elephant Castle below and find out what’s going on in the artist’s mind when talking about music making!
Describe your sound in three words, please!
I’ll give you two words and a compound word;)
Retro Inspired Indie-rock
Elephant Castle… What is the meaning of this name?
In 2019 I was in London with my wife and we were on the Bakerloo Underground Line that terminates at Elephant and Castle. I was frantically trying to come up with a name for the project and the next day when I woke up we’re talking about names and Elephant Castle popped into my head and I heard it differently. It made me laugh and I also saw a bunch of art ideas flying through my mind. I shared it with some friends and most of them laughed and either thought I was joking or laughed and then said they liked it or it was weird. I loved it. The more I’ve thought about the name the meaning has become deeper and deeper. Elephants hold a lot of symbolism in different cultures. One parable that I’ve thought a lot about is the blind men and the elephant which is essentially about blind men who have never seen an elephant trying to conceptualize it by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant and tries to describe the elephant based on their limited experience. The blind men describe the elephant very differently based on the place they are touching. They end up thinking each other is being dishonest and end up getting in a fight about it. The moral being humans claim absolute truth based on their limited experience and ignore other people’s truth which is likely just as true as their own. We should all be open-minded and realize we’re all trying to figure out the whole existence thing.
In Circles is a song about acceptance! So what would you say is the process to embrace who you are? And how much is music part of it?
I can be long-winded and this is an underhanded throw. Haha! The process of embracing who you are is so different for everyone so it’s hard to speak of anybody’s experience but my own. It sounds kinda woo woo but for me, it involves learning who I am. I have to be honest enough with myself to admit and realize certain programming in my mind and unravel it to see who the person behind the mess of wires is. Accepting yourself can get complicated quickly, so it’s not such an easy subject to be lyrically concise about. In Circles jumps around quite a bit lyrically, but I know exactly what each line means to me as a part of that process. For me, music is a release and an output to process things.
You have been a member of a touring band for many years until you decided to make music solo. Firstly, how did you take this decision, and secondly, how does it feel?
I loved touring with them. I miss them. They are such amazing people and I have so many incredible memories. Doing my music became a necessity. My creative energy was being used up constantly but it was never as satisfying as writing and singing my songs. It feels so much more exciting risky/rewarding having equity in the songs I’m playing. It’s like having real skin in the game.
While you are not new to the music scene, we’d like you to go back a few years and tell us what were the main challenges you faced when first started making music and how has the scenery changed now? Is it better, worse, different? What advice would you give to someone who is just starting?
Well, I started writing and performing when I was a young teenager. The music industry has changed a lot since I’ve been doing it. For me, probably the largest challenge was not caring what people think and doing the music that I wanted to do. I always wrote how I thought other people wanted me to. My word vomit of advice to somebody starting out is to focus on writing amazing songs. Study great songs. Don’t get too distracted with technical things. There is always time for that later. Make amazing songs and keep your energy on the content you are creating. Spend time on the “WHY” you are doing music. Get very close to the reason why. It’s the backbone. Lastly, music is so subjective. Don’t get caught up in the critiques or the compliments. Keep your head down and write amazing songs. Don’t be so precious with everything. Just keep focusing on writing a better song next time.
How do you spend your day when you are not making music?
Well, I try to not work on the weekends which is nearly impossible. On an ideal day off, I’d go on a hike with my wife and then play video games all day!
What does success mean for you going forward?
Great question! Success moving forward means consistently making new people aware of Elephant Castle and bringing joy to them if they connect with the music!
What should we expect from you in the near future?
What you can expect from Elephant Castle are more singles and some music videos!
Thanks Elephant Castle!
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