WOODES ANNOUCES DEBUT ALBUM ‘CRYSTAL BALL’ WITH VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE ‘EUPHORIA’
Since debuting in 2016, WOODES (Elle Graham) has undoubtedly made an impact in just a short few years.From releasing two critically acclaimed EP’s, to having multiple tracks featured on radio, playlisting, and press across the globe, the Queensland–born, now Melbourne-based artist quickly carved out her own fresh and vital identity in Australia’s indie-pop scene, and hasn’t stopped since.
Her upcoming debut album ‘Crystal Ball’ is where finally all the elements of the WOODES universe come together. Due for release on October 2nd, album ‘Crystal Ball’ is a body of work years in the making. In total, Elle wrote 40+ songs for the LP, with much of the writing taking place during a three-week stint in Los Angeles with Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Scott Effman and others.
She also had a once in a lifetime opportunity where she recorded with Alex Somers (the producer behind one of her favourite records, Valtari by Iceland’s Sigur Ros).
Giving you a taste of what to expect from the album, new single “Euphoria” (out now) was co-written with The Kite String Tangle, and shines with energy and positivity. Shimmering with pulsing synth, saxophone, and keys, and a chorus rise that can only be described as “euphoric”, the single is a celebration of the feeling of connection and elation when finding and falling in love.
(Woodes) “We've [TKST] collaborated a bit in the last twelve months, doing a couple week-long writing trips for songs on my record.
It was written imagining it being played live, imagining it being so big and building at the end of the set, and sung all together. It's really fun collaborating with Danny as we just add more and more ideas, and think on a very similar wavelength."
The music video sees Elle journey through an unknown mythical dark forest clad in an ethereal white robe, as dark figures flash past her in a medieval dance of damsels and heroines.
‘Crystal Ball’ is the encapsulation of everything Woodes has been envisioning since her debut; her early years at Victorian College Of The Arts shaping her ideas about composition and songcraft, her years at a leading modelling agency informing her visual aesthetic and eye for interesting fashion, her passion for collaboration, and working with a range of creative industries forging a complex artistic identity.
Even her love of gaming, sci-fi, and fantasy have come into play as she teams up with figures in the Twitch and Minecraft communities for the release. Elle has enlisted Reuben Gore (who built the famous Splendour Minecraft) to build a “Crystal Ball village” world on a private Minecraft server for fans to enter on the album release and explore, interact with each other and WOODES herself, join missions, build other villages and more. Check out the trailer below.
(Woodes) "I started playing Minecraft in 2017 with my housemates, I thought it was more for kids, or not as exciting as some games, but immediately was drawn in by how infinite the possibilities were, and how social the servers were for hanging out in groups.
From Berlin to NSW, my friends all hung out and went on adventures and I knew I wanted to build my album within the Minecraft world.
Seeing the Splendour in the Grass Minecraft go up, I immediately reached out to the creator of it, Reuben Gore, and now we're planning all of the different components together. It's a really fun project, to showcase the record this way & get to hang out with my community during the release too."
The whole construction will be live streamed regularly on Twitch from now until the album release, giving fans a special ongoing insight into the album, and the Minecraft world-building process.
WOODES debut album ‘Crystal Ball’ will be released October 2nd via Believe Digital.
>> Pre-orders available here <<
Latest single “Euphoria” is out now on all streaming services.
>> Watch the video for “Euphoria” here <<