MELBOURNE’S EIJSMA SERVES US STRONG SYNTH-POP WITH DEBUT SINGLE ‘EVEN IF IT KILLS ME’
Heading into the tail end of 2020 with brand new music, Melbourne’s Eijsma makes her debut single release a confident one - a synth-pop bop in ‘Even If It Kills Me’.
A reflective track that sees Eijsma eschew restriction and the notion of compliance when it comes to her creativity, ‘Even If It Kills Me’ is a hit of vibrancy that has the listener muttering the same question after first playback:
“Why must I be ever so complying?”
Recorded by Eijsma during the weird and unpredictable year that has been 2020, ‘Even If It Kills Me’ takes on extra impact when perceived through a lens of someone who has lived out most of the year in lockdown, wanting to break out and just get back to normal.
The music is spirited, with Eijsma’s vocals delivered with a rich depth that evokes a mix of sounds from Kate Bush to MARINA and St. Vincent.
A classically trained musician, Eijsma (aka Ella Blackburn) has been brought up in a family of creatives however with this project, she embraces a new side of her artistry.
“‘Even If It Kills Me’ is a diss at the perfectionism and obsession that came with studying classical music for twenty years. You need to work so hard to fit into a particular style and a particular box; it’s a place where technicality is favoured over creativity."
"It’s very high pressured and there are certain standards to uphold; you’re not allowed to relax or be yourself. It’s reflecting on that time in my life, but in a style where I’m starting to actually write the songs that I hear in my head, and that I like to listen to.” Eijsma
Working on the track in a Northcote studio with producer/engineer Gareth Thomson (Kylie Auldist), with additional instrumentation by James Bowers (Remi, Sex On Toast) mastering by Grammy-nominated engineer Andrei Eremin (Tones And I, Hiatus Kaiyote), Eijsma engaged new levels of her artistry as she explored layered synth textures and 80s-influenced pop sounds.
“Coming to this sound has been a long journey for me, moving away from classical music and then realising that I needed to collaborate with other artists. As a solo pianist in the type of music I was playing, you tend to be very isolated; it took a while to gain the confidence to start creating and producing my own material, and then reach out to other musicians, particularly ones that I admired in the Melbourne music scene.” Eijsma
Though ‘Even If It Kills Me’ is Eijsma’s official debut release, the songwriter and musician has shone as a bright presence on the local Melbourne scene in recent years.
Injecting self-aware humour and wit into her music to match the expertly delivered sonic ideas she created, Eijsma is set to further introduce audiences to herself as we head into Summer 2020 and the New Year.