Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I come from a small town in the southern part of Nigeria, nested in the more popular city of Port Harcourt. Like most artists, I was exposed to music quite early as a kid. My folks generally love music, especially my dad, my fondest memories of him are when we will both listen to a show called “Country Classics” that runs from 10pm into the mid night every saturday. No one in my family could sing to save their lives Lol, it came as a surprise to everyone that I could even hold a note and had such a strong passion for music, their surprise translated into support. As for why I choose to do music full time, I can’t say it’s one thing, it’s a mixture of many things, from it being a gift, an escape and coping mechanism, my family’s undying support, to the fact that I just couldn’t function at a regular job however hard I tried, all lead me down this path.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: Completely self taught
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Eluozo’?
A: I was really into country music coz of my Dad, so Jim Reeves, Don Williams, Dolly Parton and the likes were my first contact with music, as I grew I started to consume any and everything that sounded pleasing, RnB, HipHop, Afrobeats, all of the greats, past and present in these genres inspire and influence me a great deal.
Eluozo is actually my grandfather’s name, I was told I may have gotten my musical gifts from him coz he was the only one in the lineage that had an artistic bone, he played a weird instrument I don’t even know the name of and sang, but not professionally, just by the fire side to the kids and stuff. So the idea is… I sing, he gets the credit to his name, technically I’m in a band of some sort, a really creepy one LOL.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘It’s Christmas’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yes there’s always a story behind every artistic piece, this one was inspired by the love and happiness that somehow the whole world feels at christmas. I always say “there are not enough christmas songs in the world, and there’ll never be” coz if we can learn to extend the atmosphere of love we have at christmas all year round, half the world’s problems will be gone.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: I honestly can’t say, you know an artist is like a dead fish, we just helplessly go with the flow.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: “The words!” – Artists, especially in and around the RnB genre are usually judged based on their vocal dexterity, but that doesn’t mean much to me, I think the lyrics of a song are what makes it powerful, not hitting high notes or riffing and running, those are nice, but I want the words in my song to be tweeted, printed on t-shirts, framed etc. long after I’m gone. I describe my sound as “Universal” because every single genre in existence influences my sound.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I’d say yes it’s been fulfilling, I know there’s more in the realm of possibilities, but I think my music has given me just as much or even way more than I’ve given it, for that I’m grateful.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: If I could meticulously describe it, then it wouldn’t be a gift LOL. There’s a bit of mystery and magic to it, and it can start from pretty much anything, sometimes a sound, like when I hear the beat first, I just know what direction to go idea wise, sometimes it starts with the idea, like a song title or a melody idea. Basically it starts with a sprinkle, I trust the process, a word becomes a phrase, and then a sentence, and slowly grows into Verses, chorus, refrain and the whole thing is fully formed.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: In life, the loss of my sister (the third member of my band, I’m living for 3) In Music, I’ve lost nothing, well I’ve lost opportunities, deals and stuff, but they weren’t mine in the first place so I don’t think of those as losses, I consider music the leveler, whatever life takes from me, music returns.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: When I lost my Job and told my Father I wasn’t going to bother finding another one, I’d build some type of spiritually and financially rewarding system based off of my music. He was genuinely worried for me but reluctantly supportive. Exactly 6 years since that decision, I have a home, a beautiful wife and a kid on the way. He visited me at my place a short while back just to say he’s proud of me (my dad is African, the Nigerian kind of African, getting him to voluntarily say he’s proud of me is right up there with winning a grammy).
I may never be rich and famous, but I already feel fulfilled and immensely blessed.
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