Meet Elderbrook, The Grammy-Nominated Electronic Artist Who Can Go From Dance To Gospel Music
Meet Elderbrook, The Grammy-Nominated Electronic Artist Who Can Go From Dance To Gospel Music

AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 12: Elderbrook performs onstage at KCRW Event during the 2019 SXSW Conference … [+] and Festivals at Elysium on March 12, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Saucedo/Getty Images for SXSW)

Getty Images for SXSW

Elderbrook (real name Alexander Kotz) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. Though he has been classified as an electronic artist and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Song in 2018 for “Cola,” ask Elderbrook and he will tell you he could not limit himself to one category,

That versatility, that can take him from electronic to gospel, is making him not only respected by peers like Diplo, it is winning over fans Stateside. Tonight (November 23) he will play a sold-out show at L.A.’s iconic Troubadour, following sold out gigs this month in New York and Toronto.  

As Elderbook continues to pick up fans and commercial success thanks to songs like “Something About You” and “Old Friend,” I met with him in L.A. to talk about his love of beach cities, the Gorillaz and how he keeps pushing himself as an artist. Meet Elderbrook.

Steve Baltin: You’ve been out here working with people, yes?

Elderbrook: Yeah, I’ve been writing with a lot of cool people. I’ve been writing with Diplo recently, which is definitely a cool experience. I’ve been writing with loads of people over here. I just write better when I’m over here.

Baltin: Ella Mai, another Brit, was telling me the same thing. Why do you think that is?

Elderbrook: I think a lot of it for me is just getting out, cause I live in London. I spend all my time in London and when you travel and go and experience something new you’re a little bit more vulnerable and that comes through a bit more in the music I think. That’s why I like coming out here anyway.

Baltin: Do you feel that vulnerability when you listen to stuff you write here?

Elderbrook: Yeah, it takes leaving your surroundings and going other places to really figure out what it is you want to do. And I get to work with some amazing people out here. It’s good vibes.

Baltin: Are there certain songs of yours then you hear that LA vibe?

Elderbrook: Definitely. I think the things I write out here I would never have written them in London because I’m stuck in my same ways, I work with the same people, which is great. And I do write some good music in London, don’t get me wrong. But I like to travel. I never like spending too much time in one place anyway. I feel a little cooped up.

Baltin: Besides L.A. what other places are most inspiring for you to write?

Elderbrook: I really, really love Australia, which I was lucky enough to go to on tour last year. I also love Barcelona. I like cities on a beach. There’s a vibe I like about cities on a beach because everyone is chilling out, everyone is having fun. But everyone is still working as well.

Baltin: To you what are the classic quintessential beach songs?

Elderbrook: There’s a Canadian guy, goes by the name Bahamas (real name Afie Jurvanen), acoustic, really chilled-out vibe. But, to be honest, as soon as you say beach I just think “Brown Eyed Girl.” I don’t know if they mention beach, do they? It’s the most beach-y thing I’ve ever heard. It sounds to me like the beach.

Baltin: I know you have been working on an album. I talk about this with many people and you don’t need an album anymore. But for many artists there is a feeling of completion that comes with a full album.

Elderbrook: For me the last two years of my life I’ve been working towards this body of work and it feels, to me, like it all needs to be in one body of work rather than a song here, song there. I guess it depends on the artist. A lot of people are okay releasing singles every now and again, but I do like some sort of the unity between the songs that make sense. Maybe in the last two years I’ve written a hundred songs, 150 songs. And now that I see some of them standing out and coming together, ones that work in the same way cause I’ve written songs in so many different genres — electronic, more indie stuff, sometimes it sounds gospel-y, sometimes it sounds hip hop — I see some rise and come together.

Baltin: Is there one genre you feel more comfortable in?

Elderbrook: No, I couldn’t do it. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I want to listen to 1920s, 1930s gospel. What works for me is I can experiment with other genres cause I sing over everything so the productions can be different as long as I’ve got the same voice, which obviously I do have the same voice (laughs) going over them all.

Baltin: Who are those artists, who for you, can work in all styles and still be recognizable?

Elderbrook: I think Gorlliaz, that was the first one that came to mind because they’ve got fast ones, slow ones, big ones, small ones. But also I think someone like the Black Eyed Peas. That is a weird one I know. But when I was a lot younger I maybe listened to their first two albums, I’m talking about when I was 10 or 11. All of their songs are just good songs, they’re not necessarily any genre, which is what I think about Gorillaz, and actually LCD Soundsystem as well. All completely different things — some funny, some emotional, some sad, whatever. They all work.

Baltin: Is there a best time for you to play?

Elderbrook: Playing later in the night definitely helps with my kind of music just cause it’s real high energy and when I’m on stage I’m jumping around. It’s a full-on workout.

Baltin: Are there moments, whether it is the Grammy nomination in 2017 or playing a Grammy party this year, where you feel like you have arrived?

Elderbrook: I don’t think anyone really ever feels like they’ve arrived anywhere. As you achieve things, in any line of work, the goal posts get further away and you go on to the next thing. Though obviously I’m so grateful my song “Cola” was nominated for a Grammy, amazing, it’s all about looking for the next thing and how you’re gonna progress. I never really wanna be complacent because at that point you stop growing.

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