Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: There was a lot of music in my childhood. I was a tie-dyed folk-festival kid and I played Irish music on the fiddle. But there’s been big gaps – I didn’t find my singing voice until adulthood: I took a copy of The Artist’s Way to India and uncovered I wanted to sing. I would climb down into a cove by the sea and sing into the waves where no-one could hear me – that was the beginning of things.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Elly Hopkins”?
A: The zenith for me is the live experience – getting people in a room together and making a thing happen. More than ever, this is how we should be gathering and connecting I think. There’s an alchemy that can happen at a live gig: when it’s good, everyone gets a bit magically adjusted by it, artists and audience alike.
On the practical side of things,I have long avoided social media and content creation but am starting to pull my socks up and have a go at it now. There’s lots of good to be found in it, it’s an interesting journey to be on.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: I’m a long time fan of Margaret Glaspy. There’s an uncompromising honesty in her writing and the way she writes feels like a conversation between her voice and her guitar, rather than traditional accompaniment.
I think all you need to write songs is an active emotional life so for me, there’s always something to write about. The challenge comes in cultivating the conditions to stay with a song idea until it’s formed. A bit like growing a seed – giving it the attention, space and patience it needs to come into being.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Cecile.”?
A: I had this experience onstage with a massive star. They were invited up to guest with a band I was playing with and I hoped for some camaraderie but they kind of steamrollered over me, or so it felt, and it stirred up some intense feelings of inadequacy and jealousy. I started writing the song as a way of soothing myself and then it kind of turned into a fun tune.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Honest.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Cecile”?
A: ‘Cecile’ is the first song from a 5 track EP I recorded earlier this year. I had a dream team to record with, Scott Hammond on drums, Stuart Oliver on bass and Connor Jones producing – excellent musicians and wonderful people. The time together in the studio was easy-going, focused, and productive – I couldn’t have asked for more. The quality of the experience is so important to me, and I do think it finds it’s way into the end result too. Recording is capturing moments in time, like sonic insects in resin.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: This is my first single – I’ve wanted to do my own music for a long time but it really takes some guts and self belief to put yourself out there, and I’ve had to work on that. A lot of that courage and self-determination I’ve been mining for comes through in the songs, I’m told. I hope it inspires people to do beautiful things that are scary.
A great drag queen (Taylor Mac) once said ‘nothing’s worth doing unless it makes you nervous’ and that has been a guiding principle. That and ‘Life shrinks or expands in relation to one’s courage’ – Anais Yin. I collect a lot of cheesy quotes.
In terms of goals, I want to continue to work with great musicians, make excellent art and to make music that moves and connects people. And to enjoy it. It’s a privilege.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: For me one of the best songwriters and all round musicians is a bluegrass artist called Tim O’Brien – I’m sure I’d learn a thing or two on a co-write with him!
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: It sounds obvious but as a musician I think it helps if you really love music and that you continue to feed and nurture that love. The worst thing is to be doing it with a fixation on external markers of success. That sucks the joy out of it.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Keep scribbling silly things in your little notebook and try not to worry too much. Make room for the creative paradox: what we make matters hugely, and also not at all. And remember: no-one really knows what they’re doing!
