Mental Health, Vulnerability, and Kings Elliot's New EP, Bored Of The Circus
[UNPUBLISHED:] I loved your new EP! Do you have a favorite song from the project?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] “Someday, Somewhere” is my favorite off the EP. It evokes so many different emotions from hope to despair and kind of pulls you into a whole different world.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was the process of creating Bored Of The Circus?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] Many sleepless, tearful nights writing, producing and finessing every single part of the songs on this EP with my main collaborator and one of my best friends, Conway Ellis (halfrhymes). To be honest it’s my favourite part.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there any significant meaning behind the order of the songs?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] In my eyes it’s the perfect order to take you on a journey. It starts with something very raw and intense like “Til I Die” and then finishes with the soothing soundscapes of “Someday, Somewhere.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] What about the release were you most excited about?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] I was most excited about having people hear the songs I’ve been incubating for so long. It’s so freeing to get them out there and finding out which songs speak most to which people.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Where did you find your inspiration for this project?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] My inspiration lies in my experiences, the things I feel and need to process and get out into songs. I also take a lot of inspiration from random beautiful songs from the 40s and 50s too.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I know that you are a huge mental health advocate and center a lot of your music around that topic, is this something you’ve always focused on?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] No, I was never focused on mental health as such. I always just wrote about the things that take over a lot of space in my mind and it just happened to be very centered around mental health because that’s been my main struggle for a long time and it bleeds into every aspect of my life.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you think other artists can learn to be more vulnerable with their emotions like you have?
[KINGS ELLIOT:] I think everybody has a completely different journey and for some people, it is easier to not speak publicly about what goes in their minds. Everyone should be able to decide for themselves whether it is helpful to them or not. But if someone wants to talk about their emotions but doesn’t have the courage to do so because they feel shame, then I sincerely hope they find courage in other people’s stories, realizing they are not alone and that letting out can be extremely liberating.
Photo by JC Verona