Feature: New Music from Elga Fox

Elga Fox is a musician living in Dublin. With new music on the way, I spoke with Fox about her upcoming single launch, how she got into music, and her love for her growing fan base online.

When did you first start playing music?

“I first started playing music about 10 years ago. I took up guitar at age 30 and it opened up a door to songwriting for me, after fantasising about writing a song for years! I’ve always loved singing and trained my voice under the guidance of lyric singer Alan Leech. It’s one of the best things I ever did.”

Where are you originally from?

“I grew up in Co Leitrim, and moved away from home age 17 to travel and study, and after a short time living in Italy and Spain, I returned to Dublin in 2003 to study acting and I haven’t left since!”

Who inspires you the most?

“There are so many people who inspire me, especially those people who remain kind and compassionate in the face of adversity, but [there is] no one person or artist I could name that would inspire me the most. At the moment, I’m gaining a lot of musical inspiration from Freya Ridings. I saw her live at Three arena back in December 2019, supporting Hozier. She was incredible. I loved her raw real vulnerable performance, delivered with such strength. I’ve really enjoyed her lockdown livestreams too and I can’t wait to see her live again.”

When did you start to pursue a career in music?

“Music has sort of been a complimentary pursuit to acting. For the first few years it had been mostly a passion pursuit, part of my journey of healing; music has been massively therapeutic.

It has given me a great outlet for creative expression and freedom. It feels empowering to be able to do my own thing, especially as an actor when you’re often waiting around a lot to be hired. It’s only really in the last two or three years I’ve been pursuing it more seriously.”

When did you start to engage such a large fan base online?

“I accumulated a fair amount of followers after featuring on YouTube channels Facts and Try. Having the existing fan base has really helped in promoting the singles. I set up a patreon last year and started building my YouTube channel during lockdown and uploading home acoustic recordings of my songs and some covers too.

My following on youtube/patreon started to grow but is much smaller than instagram, but they are loyal and very supportive listeners. I’ve been doing weekly livestreams on YouTube and a lovely little community of listeners has grown there. It’s really kept me going this last year and I’m very grateful for that.

I get a lot of people messaging me saying the live online performances and the songs are really helping them. This has reinforced my belief that music can be really powerful and healing in that way and help us through the darkest times. And of course enhance the good times too.”

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How would you best describe your music style?

“I’m never quite sure how to describe my music, but I would say it hovers over folk, blues, and jazz. My sound is still evolving, and always will be I feel. I love trying out different ideas and styles till I find what sits and resonates best for the song. Maybe Irish Soul is a more concise way to describe my style. Ask me again next year, it might have evolved to Leitrim rap or something haha!”

How many singles/albums have you recorded so far? “I’ve recorded several singles, three more recently at Darklands Studio with producer Dan Doherty.”

Has COVID affected your career?

“COVID has definitely affected my work, but it has pushed me to build the YouTube channel and perform online. It’s been a learning curve adapting to the strangeness of performing to your mobile phone in your sitting room, it can feel like playing into a black hole sometimes, and it took a while to get used to – it’s definitely a bit disconcerting. But after persisting with it, I gained faith and confidence thanks to the listeners messaging in the live chat, that I can still connect with an audience despite not having that instant feedback and that “feel” in the room that all performers miss and long for so much.

I’ve only ever live-streamed on YouTube, I feel it’s a safe space at the moment and the subscribers are there exclusively for the music. I love how interactive it can be, and the support has been fantastic.”

What is your new single about and how long did it take to write? “You’ve got the Edge” is about how being in a toxic relationship is like a game of poker. It’s definitely a losing game.

It took me a couple of months to write about four years ago. I generally don’t write songs quickly, I like to let it percolate slowly, and not force it. I’ve been itching to record this one for ages, so it was great to finally bring it into the studio, and now I can start to move on to the newer material.”

When/Where did you record it?

“I recorded it at Darklands with producer Dan Doherty. He’s so easy going to work with and very encouraging and creative. This song is really stripped back and we tried something different. Dan played some simple piano chords and with a hint of synth, so the vocals are the main focus on this track. It’s sort of exposing in that way, but I’m hoping it will help people connect more with the emotion of the song.”

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When will it be released and where can we find it?

“It’s out on the 21st May on all platforms. I hope to have a music video post release on YouTube too!”

You can find Elga’s social media handles and website through this link: http://elgafox.contactin.bio/