From Music to Mind: Elohim Talks Coachella Excitement, Music Production, and Mental Health
Photo by Rebecca Bloch
[UNPUBLISHED:] First and foremost, thank you for sitting down with us today. We wanted to commend you for including mental health themes in your music, especially in BRAINDEAD, and for starting your mental health hotline a few years back that offered immediate therapy for people. How do you think times have changed with talking about mental health and raising awareness around mental health?
[ELOHIM:] Even since I put out “Xanax,” which is the second song I ever put out, it’s changed already…and that was only 5 years ago. It’s changed so much. I feel like it’s way more talked about now. I did a national campaign with GoDaddy about mental health, the size of which was insane. I feel like that wasn’t happening before. I feel like I was some, even a small part, of opening up that conversation more. I feel proud of that. Obviously, it’s still a work in progress, but we’re getting there.
[UNPUBLISHED:] We agree. As mental health advocates, we feel like it’s important to incorporate all of the different platforms to raise awareness and make changes. You’ve mentioned in the past that you’ve had to put on a persona to separate your inner, mental self from your external self. We were wondering, for the young creators/creatives out there, if you have any advice to separate themselves from their anxieties around sharing their work or potential stage fright?
[ELOHIM:] I think I have severe stage fright, except for when I actually get on stage. I feel like the lead-up is very hard, knowing that there are a lot of people out there. My biggest advice would be to trust your gut, make music (or whatever work you put out) that you love, and if you love what you do and what you create, I think everything will just fall into place. Just know that it’s not always going to be perfect. There are going to be hard times when you feel like giving up…it still happens to me, all the time. Just trust your gut and keep pushing through.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you feel like a good artist has to have one of those moments where they are in that downfall, where they feel like they just want to give up, to be successful?
[ELOHIM:] No, and I think a lot of people have that mentality and I don’t think that it should be a thing. I don’t think that this whole grind mentality…and I mean it is a lot of work, it is a grind, and you have to be willing to do that. But also, I think, especially in the entertainment and music industry, mental health and taking care of yourself need to be talked about so much more and treated. I talked to so many artists who ran into struggles that nobody knew about. They don’t want to tell anybody because they are afraid. When you’re so afraid to talk about it, that’s when the tragedy happens, that’s when people turn to drugs or God forbid, take their own life. We need to be able to talk about this stuff and make it a more normal conversation. We’re all just human beings and being human is the strangest thing on this planet. It’s so weird. Sometimes, I just wonder, “what is happening?” Everyone and everyone’s minds are so unique. I think having empathy and compassion is so so important. We need to take care of ourselves. And that grind mentality, having that breaking point is just not something that we should normalize. Looking at situations like Kurt Cobain, it’s somewhat idealized. People turn to that situation and think, “oh, he’s so cool,” but you have to know, or at least I think, that he was struggling severely, mentally. It’s not fun…I’ve been there and I’m constantly battling that. It’s not pretty and it’s not cool. It’s actually quite horrible. I think it's hindered my success because I genuinely go through that so frequently.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What are some ways that you’ve pushed back that feeling? Do you practice any self-care rituals?
[ELOHIM:] Therapy and there are the everyday practices that can help you. Going for a walk, exercising, meditation, breath-work, eating healthy, all these things can help. But when I’m in it, severely, and having a full-on panic attack, those things don’t necessarily work and I have to turn to medication because that’s the only thing that will actually work. I think it’s important to talk about that and say that it’s okay. Because it can be a bit discouraging when you’re online and you see people posting things like, “to help my anxiety I just journal,” but I know that journaling isn’t going to help me when I’m having a panic attack. You can practice these everyday things that, ultimately, can help you. It’s okay to know that these other coping mechanisms aren’t always going to work. I always carry around peppermint oil, it helps me so much. I have one in my pocket right now. I was just putting it on. It helps me so much. When I’m having a panic attack it does help but it’s not enough to fully reduce the feeling. When I talk about this, I want it to be super genuine because it’s a true struggle and a lot.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Thank you for opening up about this, being so transparent, and normalizing this because to some people, especially those who are not in the various entertainment industries, speaking up may seem like a weak point. We think that it is very powerful to have people in the industries come out and say “it’s okay to turn to prescribed medication when you need it, you shouldn’t have to suffer.”
[ELOHIM:] Definitely. Sometimes, I see other artists and think, “oh my gosh, they seem fine,” which can feel very isolating and lonely. I’m always so surprised when an artist hits me up in confidence and says they’re struggling and want to talk to me about going on medication. It’s like, “Woah, I had no idea that you struggled.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] Going back to your roots a little bit, you’ve stated that you’re a classically trained musician. Do you think that your training has helped you succeed in becoming a one-woman band?
[ELOHIM:] Definitely. Growing up, my dad pushed me to practice a lot. Doing the whole one-woman show took a lot of practice, doing it over and over in a room by myself and learning all the parts. Now, it’s kind of second nature, which is great. I can learn songs a lot faster, which is really cool. The practice schedule definitely helped my work ethic now.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Is anyone else in your family musical? Or was it just your dad who was pushing on practicing?
[ELOHIM:] My dad and my brother. My brother was learning guitar and I was learning piano at the same time.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Oh nice! So you were a duet?
[ELOHIM:] No, we never made music until recently. And now, we make a ton of music together.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Wow, so what is your role in this collaboration? Keys? Production?
[ELOHIM:] Keyboards. We love collecting synths and making weird sounds. I love working with him because he’s so great at guitar which is such a different sound for me. I get so inspired and I feel like it’s a new sound.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Have you figured out a way to mimic the guitar sounds on the piano or synths?
[ELOHIM:] Yes, you can do that. It’s crazy, having a laptop you can make anything you want basically. So yes, there are ways to mimic it which is fun.
[UNPUBLISHED:] When you’re doing this and creating all of this music, what does your creative process typically look like? Do you hear the melody before the beat? Vice versa? Lyrics? How does it work?
[ELOHIM:] I would say that it’s always different. Sometimes I’ll just be driving and I’ll think of a melody or lyrics. For my song “Fuck Your Money,” I was driving home from the gym and I started singing it. I sang the drop in my head and then I went home and made the song that same day. I actually had a song, “Little Idiot,” which is about a best friend breakup. I got an email the night before and I went in the next morning and it just poured out of me because it was just so real, from my heart. So, it’s always different. Sometimes I’ll just go in and just make sounds and not write an actual song. It’s always helpful to just save sounds because you’ll never know when you can use them.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Talking about Coachella now, what are you most excited about this year?
[ELOHIM:] I’m excited to DJ at the Do LaB on Sunday (April 24th) at 9pm which is so cool. I’m excited about that. And tonight (04/22), I’m singing with Louis The Child which is going to be a lot of fun. I haven’t sung with them in a while. We were all apart for so long due to the pandemic. But I’m excited to be back together.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Who are you most excited to see?
[ELOHIM:] I want to see Jamie xx but we play at the same time. Maybe I can catch a tiny bit of his set. I can just run off the stage and go catch his set…kidding. It’s always fun to see the headliners and see what they’re doing.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Well, we’re excited to catch your set. The Do Lab has a very interesting energy.
[ELOHIM:] Oh yeah, the energy at the Do LaB is very loving, king of hippie-ish energy. My parents and all their friends are kind of hippie-ish so I feel like I fit right in.
[UNPUBLISHED:] As a parting gift, what do you wish interviewers asked about more? Is there a question you wish you would’ve been asked but have never been asked?
[ELOHIM:] That’s a good question…that’s the question! Hm…I do like talking about the process of making music. I think that’s cool, especially as a woman in music. Talking about the actual production side of it and the creation, I love talking about it. I guess people do ask about that and mental health, I think people feel comfortable enough asking me. I like silly questions, too.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Okay, we can ask you a silly, well…kind of silly question. What’s your favorite conspiracy theory?
[ELOHIM:] Oh my gosh, that’s a good question…you’re good. I feel like it’s on the tip of my tongue which I love but I just can’t remember right this second. What’s yours?
[UNPUBLISHED:] Probably the fact that birds aren’t real.
[ELOHIM:] That’s a great one! Wait…how do you find these? I want to look them up! I think you should start a podcast entirely about conspiracy theories.
Photo by Rebecca Bloch