Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook
WHO is she?
ELENI DRAKE started singing and writing her own music when she was about 13 “but truly I only started taking it seriously about 2 years ago when I brought out my first independently released EP”.
“My musical background has always been a tug of war between jazz and indie ballads. I love both genres equally and I guess I’m still trying to figure out what genre it is that I prefer to play. But for now, I’ll offend both genres and poorly construct both of them into my music.”
“My love for music came when I was super super young. My father spun me my first ever vinyl which was Breakfast in America by SUPERTRAMP when I was 5 years old, opening me into the world of THE BEATLES, LED ZEPPELIN, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (the list goes on), then around 7/8 all my grandad would play was jazz from the OG’s themselves, FRANK SINATRA, ELLA FITZGERALD, BILLIE HOLIDAY and I instantly fell in love with their mellifluous words, and mesmerising melodies.”
“Around the same time, I remember going to HMV (what a little throwback aye?) with my ma, and I came across a blue album with a swimming baby. Having zero clue what to expect, I picked it up (alongside Titanic soundtrack may I add) and put on that record that was called Never Mind. Fuck me. It changed everything. I was hooked to the messy guitars, and raw vocals. So I guess my thanks go to my grandad, my father, HMV and my mother for being obliviously cool, and letting her 8 year old child indulge in the wonderful world of NIRVANA. And the rest is history. I was gifted my school teachers guitar, and started pissing off my parents and neighbours from a young age with my shitty guitar playing and attempt to sing.”
WHAT is the inspiration behind her songs?
“My music is a reflection of real events in my life. I try to be as open and honest as possible through my music, as I struggle to express it in conversations with friends. It’s a little easier to tell a microphone how you really feel, rather than those closest to you sometimes. Strange right?”
“My new EP Vanilla Sky is about really coming to terms with accepting myself. Accepting that love and life don’t always go your way, accepting that death is inevitable, accepting that sadness comes and goes, however so does happiness. Do I think I’m a unique individual going through these things alone? Fuck no. So I’m hoping a handful of people can listen and relate.”
Photo: Amber Van de Sande
WHERE is she from?
“I was born in South Africa, Jo-Berg, but moved to Southend on Sea in Essex when I was around 3. Spending my teenage years over there, I moved to London at 16 and have been here ever since.”
“In all honesty my music taste hasn’t changed at all, it’s merely expanded. I’m still listening to the same songs 15 years later, and loving them just as much as I did the first day I heard them. London however, is so wonderfully eclectic, with such diverse music pouring from every street corner. I guess after meeting some friends throughout the years, who are exceptional Jazz musicians, I really opened my eyes into delving more into that direction. So much soul and passion runs through the veins of Jazz, it’s hard not to totally envelop yourself in it.”
“I now live in Brixton, and truly the streets are drowning with great music, such a rich history of unknown music happening here, and it’s right on my doorstep. It hasn’t changed my own music taste per se, but it has given me the understanding that it’s ok to expand and open your ears to new things, because there’s a very high chance you’ll love it, and at the very least appreciate the passion that goes into making that music.”
WHY are people drawn to her music?
“I’m going to be honest, I have no idea if anyone out there is drawn to my music. Much like any other band/artist, I just hope it touches people and makes them feel the same way I do when I listen to the music I love.”
WHEN can I listen to her EP?
“The new EP Vanilla Sky drops in September this year, with 3 singles coming out before. I’m very excited to get this record out there. I feel like for the first time, I don’t care too much about what anyone thinks of it, I just want it to do its thing, and I hope people find it, and enjoy it along the way”.
“Melbourne Blues being the first single on the EP holds a dear place within me. I wrote that song about travelling around New Zealand and Australia with my two best mates and truly, I don’t think I’ll ever experience happiness like that ever again, but every time I’m in a good place, or if in a certain moment I feel untouchable, it reminds me of that kind of happiness – hence ‘it feels like Melbourne Blues’.”
HOW can I get to know her better?
Listen & Watch: Spotify // Soundcloud // Youtube
Like & Follow: Facebook // Instagram
The Five Ws of 