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Monday, March 22, 2010
It's a great week for artists that I have been following for some time releasing music that everyone can hear and fall in love with as much as I have. First up is the exquisite Elouise who has the limited edition release of her Stardust EP today. You can purchase it here and read my review here. It's very magnificent indeed and fills my days with drama and swooning like you wouldn't believe. I caught up with Elouise on the eve of this exciting development to see how she was feeling...
How does it feel to be releasing your debut EP today?
I’m all smiles! It feels like it’s been a long time coming!!!!!
Firstly though let me say a massive thank you to you. You have been one of the first bloggers to follow me and support me from the start and your love for the music has really given me the drive to make this happen, and the reason i have released the EP. So thank you :)
Oh! You are quite welcome. It's been a lovely journey following you around. You've had quite the musical performance background leading up to this - can you talk me through some of the highlights and lowlights?!
Where to start... it sounds stupid to say i have performed my whole life... but ever since watching the Wizard of Oz when i was four and being completely fascinated by Judy Garland... i have pursued the dream ever since. I am still trying to find the pot at the end of the rainbow, although there have been many highlights along the way, and their fair share of lowlights..... a highlight for me would be playing ‘Little Costette’ in Les Miserables when i was ten years old. I didn’t really know what i was getting myself into back then, I just ended up at the audition after saying I’d go along with a friend... i sang ‘Frosty The Snowman’ ( which is completely ridiculous; my mum let me sing this for a Les Mis audition but there you go!) and the rest is history! It was here for the first time i saw amazing singers, and was completely drawn into the world of music and the passion that a vocal on a song can deliver to the audience. Whilst pursuing the dream there have been many lowlights, I have always got so close and it all falls through, but at the minute they are all highlights..... it’s not a good look to have ‘lowlights eh... ;)
Indeed. Actually one of my highlights was when I first came across you early in 2009 and you had a gorgeous song on your myspace page - was a real 60s girl band vibe to it called Since U Been Gone. Is that - and your other early songs - gone forever, or will they return at some point?
Well as you develop as an artist it’s all about defining your sound, and you go through many changes along the way. My inspiration has always come from the likes of Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, Barbara Streisand, Bette Midler, Judy Garland and Shirley Bassey, so it was no surprise I would channel songs from the 60’s and these amazing singers in their prime. I am still very proud of those songs, but it’s all about finding the right team and the right producer, and i think you’ll agree that the songs on the EP now, which have been produced by Steve Anderson, are truly magical. They capture everything about me, the voice, the drama, and for the first time in my career I feel like I’ve arrived!
One of the highlights - and continuing staples - of your live performances is your discotastic cover of One Night Only. Indeed, it forms a large part of my getting ready for a night out with my group of friends on a Saturday. We now know all the dance moves!! Any chance that you will release a studio version one day (I hear Steve Anderson did a magnificent arrangement of it!)?
I love the fact you get ready for your night out whilst doing my ‘One Night Only’ dance moves! The reason I put this song into the live shows is because i love ‘Dreamgirls’ the movie! I can watch it over and over again! I just love the glamour in it, the fabulous dresses, the sequins and the drama behind it all, and of course One Night Only is an amazing song, and a great show piece, although I don’t think i would record a studio version of it.... I think if anything what myself and Steve would like to do is create our own disco suite....!
The big ballads on the EP - Pretender and Another Day - have you channelling Dusty, Shirley, Karen, Agnetha and Cilla. Is that intentional or do the songs just bring it out in you?
I naturally have all of them inside of me if you know what I mean, but it’s the songs that bring it out in me. I just listen to the lyrics and the voice speaks for itself. Steve will tell you that when i record I song, I just close my eyes and do what i feel. For many years I never classed myself as a singer ~ I have never been trained as a singer it just comes out... and I find I can let my emotions out in a song. I am quite a shy person really, i am not someone who likes to talk about it if something has upset me, but the emotion will come out when I sing.
Fireman of My Dreams is quite the saucy little tune and delightful too. How did it come about originally?
Well..... no one believes me when i tell them it’s based on truth!!! I happen to have a certain ‘Firefighter’ in my life, and it inspired me to write the song. Will he turn out to be ‘The Fireman of My Dreams...... who knows.... ;)
That's very coy of you! I love the song - and it has since undergone the most dreamy transformation (live version here)! How did that happen?
Well, this is how i always intended the song to be. We had to take the live version of the song and make it into a record, and who would get this more than Steve Anderson! Steve has the ability to create the most beautiful string lines and guides me through all the harmonies and bv’s to create the most gorgeous dreamy song. I absolutely love it, no one makes songs like this anymore and it’s nice to have a bit of dreamy fun amongst my dramatic torch songs.
What's it like to work with Steve and Terry (Ronald)?
It’s just a complete privilege in every way. Steve is giving me that chance to shine and i am so grateful for everything he is doing. It can be very rare these days that such a huge and influential producer takes someone under their wing and believes in them, so I feel extremely lucky to have this team around me. The song ‘Pretender’ came from Terry, and I think it is such an amazing song, Steve then re-produced the song into the epic that you hear now, and it just shows what the right team of people can achieve.
Where does your imagery come from - it's not just in the dresses, it's sparkling across your EP and in your performances...
I know! It’s just all in my head! I have always had a very strong vision of how this would work and what i want to create. Sometimes my ideas are way off scale right now, but I hope one day I can make it all happen. The imagery does come from the dresses, the shoes, the sequins, but then from all my feelings on heartbreak and love, and it shows in all the colours of the rainbow, that quite rightly are sparkling all over the EP! Of course I bring all this to every performance and try to tell a story through every song, and bring the audience into my world for a short time.
How was the Polly Rae show (Elouise recently performed the opening slot on Miss Polly Rae's burlesque show in the West End of London)? What songs did you perform? Were you ever tempted to get a little bit naughty for it at all?
The show was amazing! I was so thrilled to be the special guest for Polly! The show received rave reviews and I have no doubt she will go on to become a huge star. I tried to link my set so it ran smoothly into Polly’s show, and so I touched on the other side of being a woman... our emotions, as the songs I performed are all based on love and heartbreak. For the show I performed my ‘One Night Only’ , my epic ‘Another Day’’, the dreamy ‘Fireman of My Dreams’ my heartbreaking ‘Pretender’ and then I did a medley of ‘I’m A Rainbow’ into ‘The Runner’, a very discotastic song by the Three Degrees!!!
Love your version of The Runner. Maybe you could duet (trioette?!) with Bananarama on their new single version of it?! Actually, I have a whole albums worth of duets I'd like you to do (including Don't Let Go by En Vogue with Sammy Taylor, So Close from Enchanted with Adam Tyler and As Long As You're Mine from Wicked with Adam Garcia. Plus I have a brillo updated version of Enough Is Enough all dancey and disco in my head with Simon Curtis!) Are there any classics you'd love to do with a dream duet partner?
Oh my goodness! Well I love ‘Enough is Enough’ more than life itself....so any day!
It’s a tough one to pick a song to be honest. I love so many songs, many of them by Barbara Streisand, Dusty, Shirley Bassey and Diana Ross. Although how can you do a cover of their songs because they are so iconic and incredible. I’d love for Shirley to take me under her wing for a duet... then I can go to town on the sequins even more.... and I’d also love to do a duet with Michael Buble. We are both capable of carrying off huge songs, and bringing that true emotion to a song, that I think this could be perfect match... in my dreams! ;)
I love your suggestions here though! I really like Sam Taylor’s music; he has a very warm tone to his voice that I love. I really like his cover of Communication on his myspace, so yes I’d love to do a duet with him, and as for Adam Garcia... who would say no.. ;)
And what's next for Elouise? A debut album?
Well that’s what I’m striving towards. There’s a couple of songs that I’m really excited about, one is called ‘I Owe You Nothing’, which sounds like the next Bond soundtrack, and the other is a cover of a Matt Monroe song which has one of the most beautiful and heartfelt lyrics that I have ever heard. I was completely drained after recording this song.
As for time, I can’t say when or how long the album will take, so this is why I’ve made the limited Edition EP, as a way of saying thank you to the fans, and a taster of what is to come. This EP is very personal to me, for many reasons, I made a promise to someone close to me that I would make this happen, and it is because of him that I was able to make the EP, and I really wanted to make it special which I have. It’s like a story when you open it up, and like you said the imagery is sparkling all over it. There are not many of the EP’s, this really is a very special limited edition, and I hope you all love it as much as I do... x
So there you have it. A peak behind the glitter - now go buy the EP :) And check out "The Elouise Directory" below :)
How does it feel to be releasing your debut EP today?
I’m all smiles! It feels like it’s been a long time coming!!!!!
Firstly though let me say a massive thank you to you. You have been one of the first bloggers to follow me and support me from the start and your love for the music has really given me the drive to make this happen, and the reason i have released the EP. So thank you :)
Oh! You are quite welcome. It's been a lovely journey following you around. You've had quite the musical performance background leading up to this - can you talk me through some of the highlights and lowlights?!
Where to start... it sounds stupid to say i have performed my whole life... but ever since watching the Wizard of Oz when i was four and being completely fascinated by Judy Garland... i have pursued the dream ever since. I am still trying to find the pot at the end of the rainbow, although there have been many highlights along the way, and their fair share of lowlights..... a highlight for me would be playing ‘Little Costette’ in Les Miserables when i was ten years old. I didn’t really know what i was getting myself into back then, I just ended up at the audition after saying I’d go along with a friend... i sang ‘Frosty The Snowman’ ( which is completely ridiculous; my mum let me sing this for a Les Mis audition but there you go!) and the rest is history! It was here for the first time i saw amazing singers, and was completely drawn into the world of music and the passion that a vocal on a song can deliver to the audience. Whilst pursuing the dream there have been many lowlights, I have always got so close and it all falls through, but at the minute they are all highlights..... it’s not a good look to have ‘lowlights eh... ;)
Indeed. Actually one of my highlights was when I first came across you early in 2009 and you had a gorgeous song on your myspace page - was a real 60s girl band vibe to it called Since U Been Gone. Is that - and your other early songs - gone forever, or will they return at some point?
Well as you develop as an artist it’s all about defining your sound, and you go through many changes along the way. My inspiration has always come from the likes of Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, Barbara Streisand, Bette Midler, Judy Garland and Shirley Bassey, so it was no surprise I would channel songs from the 60’s and these amazing singers in their prime. I am still very proud of those songs, but it’s all about finding the right team and the right producer, and i think you’ll agree that the songs on the EP now, which have been produced by Steve Anderson, are truly magical. They capture everything about me, the voice, the drama, and for the first time in my career I feel like I’ve arrived!
One of the highlights - and continuing staples - of your live performances is your discotastic cover of One Night Only. Indeed, it forms a large part of my getting ready for a night out with my group of friends on a Saturday. We now know all the dance moves!! Any chance that you will release a studio version one day (I hear Steve Anderson did a magnificent arrangement of it!)?
I love the fact you get ready for your night out whilst doing my ‘One Night Only’ dance moves! The reason I put this song into the live shows is because i love ‘Dreamgirls’ the movie! I can watch it over and over again! I just love the glamour in it, the fabulous dresses, the sequins and the drama behind it all, and of course One Night Only is an amazing song, and a great show piece, although I don’t think i would record a studio version of it.... I think if anything what myself and Steve would like to do is create our own disco suite....!
The big ballads on the EP - Pretender and Another Day - have you channelling Dusty, Shirley, Karen, Agnetha and Cilla. Is that intentional or do the songs just bring it out in you?
I naturally have all of them inside of me if you know what I mean, but it’s the songs that bring it out in me. I just listen to the lyrics and the voice speaks for itself. Steve will tell you that when i record I song, I just close my eyes and do what i feel. For many years I never classed myself as a singer ~ I have never been trained as a singer it just comes out... and I find I can let my emotions out in a song. I am quite a shy person really, i am not someone who likes to talk about it if something has upset me, but the emotion will come out when I sing.
Fireman of My Dreams is quite the saucy little tune and delightful too. How did it come about originally?
Well..... no one believes me when i tell them it’s based on truth!!! I happen to have a certain ‘Firefighter’ in my life, and it inspired me to write the song. Will he turn out to be ‘The Fireman of My Dreams...... who knows.... ;)
That's very coy of you! I love the song - and it has since undergone the most dreamy transformation (live version here)! How did that happen?
Well, this is how i always intended the song to be. We had to take the live version of the song and make it into a record, and who would get this more than Steve Anderson! Steve has the ability to create the most beautiful string lines and guides me through all the harmonies and bv’s to create the most gorgeous dreamy song. I absolutely love it, no one makes songs like this anymore and it’s nice to have a bit of dreamy fun amongst my dramatic torch songs.
What's it like to work with Steve and Terry (Ronald)?
It’s just a complete privilege in every way. Steve is giving me that chance to shine and i am so grateful for everything he is doing. It can be very rare these days that such a huge and influential producer takes someone under their wing and believes in them, so I feel extremely lucky to have this team around me. The song ‘Pretender’ came from Terry, and I think it is such an amazing song, Steve then re-produced the song into the epic that you hear now, and it just shows what the right team of people can achieve.
Where does your imagery come from - it's not just in the dresses, it's sparkling across your EP and in your performances...
I know! It’s just all in my head! I have always had a very strong vision of how this would work and what i want to create. Sometimes my ideas are way off scale right now, but I hope one day I can make it all happen. The imagery does come from the dresses, the shoes, the sequins, but then from all my feelings on heartbreak and love, and it shows in all the colours of the rainbow, that quite rightly are sparkling all over the EP! Of course I bring all this to every performance and try to tell a story through every song, and bring the audience into my world for a short time.
How was the Polly Rae show (Elouise recently performed the opening slot on Miss Polly Rae's burlesque show in the West End of London)? What songs did you perform? Were you ever tempted to get a little bit naughty for it at all?
The show was amazing! I was so thrilled to be the special guest for Polly! The show received rave reviews and I have no doubt she will go on to become a huge star. I tried to link my set so it ran smoothly into Polly’s show, and so I touched on the other side of being a woman... our emotions, as the songs I performed are all based on love and heartbreak. For the show I performed my ‘One Night Only’ , my epic ‘Another Day’’, the dreamy ‘Fireman of My Dreams’ my heartbreaking ‘Pretender’ and then I did a medley of ‘I’m A Rainbow’ into ‘The Runner’, a very discotastic song by the Three Degrees!!!
Love your version of The Runner. Maybe you could duet (trioette?!) with Bananarama on their new single version of it?! Actually, I have a whole albums worth of duets I'd like you to do (including Don't Let Go by En Vogue with Sammy Taylor, So Close from Enchanted with Adam Tyler and As Long As You're Mine from Wicked with Adam Garcia. Plus I have a brillo updated version of Enough Is Enough all dancey and disco in my head with Simon Curtis!) Are there any classics you'd love to do with a dream duet partner?
Oh my goodness! Well I love ‘Enough is Enough’ more than life itself....so any day!
It’s a tough one to pick a song to be honest. I love so many songs, many of them by Barbara Streisand, Dusty, Shirley Bassey and Diana Ross. Although how can you do a cover of their songs because they are so iconic and incredible. I’d love for Shirley to take me under her wing for a duet... then I can go to town on the sequins even more.... and I’d also love to do a duet with Michael Buble. We are both capable of carrying off huge songs, and bringing that true emotion to a song, that I think this could be perfect match... in my dreams! ;)
I love your suggestions here though! I really like Sam Taylor’s music; he has a very warm tone to his voice that I love. I really like his cover of Communication on his myspace, so yes I’d love to do a duet with him, and as for Adam Garcia... who would say no.. ;)
And what's next for Elouise? A debut album?
Well that’s what I’m striving towards. There’s a couple of songs that I’m really excited about, one is called ‘I Owe You Nothing’, which sounds like the next Bond soundtrack, and the other is a cover of a Matt Monroe song which has one of the most beautiful and heartfelt lyrics that I have ever heard. I was completely drained after recording this song.
As for time, I can’t say when or how long the album will take, so this is why I’ve made the limited Edition EP, as a way of saying thank you to the fans, and a taster of what is to come. This EP is very personal to me, for many reasons, I made a promise to someone close to me that I would make this happen, and it is because of him that I was able to make the EP, and I really wanted to make it special which I have. It’s like a story when you open it up, and like you said the imagery is sparkling all over it. There are not many of the EP’s, this really is a very special limited edition, and I hope you all love it as much as I do... x
So there you have it. A peak behind the glitter - now go buy the EP :) And check out "The Elouise Directory" below :)
- My review of Fireman of My Dreams
- Elouise's One Night Only is one of my fave songs of 2009
- Sneak peek of new song I Owe You Nothing
- Pretender review (2)
- Pretender review (1)
- Gay Times intro to Elouise
- My 'A Night Under The Stars' Review
- Puffta interview with Elouise
- Poptrashaddicts Stardust review
- Dontstopthepop Steve Anderson interview (discussing Elouise)
- Dontstopthepop Elouise/Kylie post
Tomorrow: Simon Curtis. It's gonna be mega.
Labels: Bubbles of fizzy pop, elouise
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