INTERVIEW: One 'Weekend' away from Elle Em's next single.

An exciting arrival from Meanjin's singer-songwriter scene sees Elle Em with a huge announcement for a new single titled 'Weekend'. We sent a few emails and messages back and forth to get to know her and know the full story of what's to come.

Let's start with the woman behind the music! Who is Elle Em? What influenced you most for this album?

This album has been through several major changes over the years. When I first started, my artist name was Bridget LM and now I’m finishing it as Elle Em. I feel the tracks on this album really reflect not only my journey with songwriting but my exploration in finding myself as an artist. I came about going by the stage name 'Elle Em' because I struggled with putting my music out there just as Bridget. I loved (and still do love) writing music, performing it and everything in between but promoting it I always lacked confidence in. I was telling my producer, James North, about this and he suggested coming up with a stage name so it doesn’t feel like Bridget promoting her music, It feels like purely your artist self-promoting her music. He’s someone I really admire and trust in the industry so getting that advice from him stuck with me. And I’m glad it did because that slight change allowed me to still enjoy every aspect that I already loved about music, but now I'm more confident in showing it to other people and putting it on streaming platforms. My mum was actually the one who came up with the name Elle Em! It’s just the phonetic spelling of initials for my last name. I really like that it’s derived from my name because I always strive to have a piece of me in everything I do with music so having a stage name that's still connected to my real name feels like exactly that. Having a stage name also allowed me to be more expressive with my artist aesthetic and vision. Like I stated previously, it gives me that slight separation so when I do things such as fun glittery makeup looks, wear clothes on stage I adore but just don’t normally wear day-to-day and have fun performing, I feel more confident to do so. I’m able to be my authentic artist self & I really value being authentic not only in how I portray myself aesthetically but in the writing of my music. I wear what I feel makes me confident on stage & I write with the intention to genuinely express myself. I had that mindset when writing the album too. I found inspiration from various situations in my life and there’s one track on this album I honestly never thought would see the light of day but when I went through my backlog of songs, I re-listened to it, made some changes to it with my producer and now have a love for it I didn’t have prior. This album most certainly was not all me though. If it wasn’t for the support of my amazing family, friends, musical cohort, etc., it wouldn’t be what it is today. So if anyone I mentioned is reading this… THANK YOU! I love and appreciate you.

Your next single is 'Weekend' - what kept you coming back to this song to make it the first single?

I got the inspiration to write 'Weekend' whilst sitting in a club bathroom at 2am. I saw a friend of mine that I hadn’t spoken to in a while post on social media about a new happy relationship they’re in & a big achievement they’d accomplished. I was incredibly happy for them but it also felt like a wake-up call for myself. This person is achieving their dreams & I’m 4 vodka lime sodas (& probably a fireball shot) deep on a Friday night, sitting in a club bathroom about to stumble my way home with no real idea of what I want to do. I thought “what am I doing with my life?” and decided to not only write this song about it but make changes in my life as well. Because of how this song came to be, I felt it right to have this been the first song under my new artist name. It reflects the moment I decided to change - not only myself as an artist - but as a person.

Run us through the music video! Was this your first shoot for your music? Who worked in the production team to get this finished?

I worked with the incredible team at The Empire Post to create the music video for ‘Weekend’. I can’t begin to express how wonderful it was to work with this team, especially Digby. He was absolutely fantastic & really did his best to bring to life all my ideas for this video. I’m also so appreciative to Sarah from Make Me Over Artistry for doing such incredible makeup looks for that day & Casey Garnsey for taking beautiful photos. It was truly a team effort & my admiration for everyone involved cannot be understated. This was my first music video outside of university. I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience the world of filming a music video while I was at uni. I worked with great people and It definitely gave me a bit of an insight as to how things were gonna go once I started making music videos with a professional production team. Before having videos made from my own song, I didn’t realise just how much time and effort goes into every aspect of creating a music video. It’s not just about the filming. 'Weekend' took months of planning. From the looks for each scene, the shots we wanted to achieve, the message we wanted to come across in this video. It was such a cool experience and I’m so excited to be making more videos in future.

What can we expect from the release schedule? Any pop-up shows or surprises that people aren't ready for?

I have an upcoming single release show at Black Bear Lodge on June 15th & I’ll be supported by the amazing artists Deni and Aatlas! To say I’m excited is an understatement. I also may potentially have some more shows/new music release dates in the works that I’ll be sharing very soon. Maybe even a new music video. Who knows?

Do you have a favourite track on the upcoming album?

This was a bit of a tough question because I have a favourite track to listen to but also a favourite to perform. My favourite to listen to would probably be my song ‘1800CALLMEFORAGOODTIME’. I just love how this one sounds a bit grittier than all of my other songs whilst also crafting a very distinct vibe/image through its instrumentation, vocals, effects, etc., & I’m such a sucker for that. To perform however, ‘OHMYGOD’ would probably be my favourite. It’s fun, it involves the crowd and when I sing it on stage, it feels almost theatrical with how in character I get. There are some others on the album I also love for various reasons but I don’t want to give too much away. Guess you’ll just have to find out!

I can’t write about my music without acknowledging the people who inspired me to do so. 

I have such a love for music & I’m lucky enough to be given the opportunity to share that love with an audience I feel like I’m exactly where I wanna be. Putting out my music publicly is such an exciting yet nerve-wracking thing. But if it means I get to build a community via sharing something that brings me joy to those who can also hopefully derive joy from it, I’d do it a million times over. I’m also just so beyond grateful to everyone who has ever supported me. My mum comes to every gig - rain, hail or shine. My dad inspired me to love music in the first place by ensuring I grew up in a household where you could hear him playing guitar wherever you were. My sister sang harmonies with me in the back of the car on road trips. My friends encourage me to keep going even when imposter syndrome creeps in. My bandmates Tom, Nick & Jack are not only insanely talented but also insanely funny. All my music teachers (especially Dr Dan who’s put up with me for 10 years now. Thank you!) and so many more. Thank you all & I hope you know that this song & album are a reflection of my appreciation for all your efforts. 

Elle Em's show at Black Bear Lodge is less than three weeks away. Get tickets here.