Digital Cover Story 22: Elijah Waters

"I met a producer and I got drunk at his house and we recorded something. He was like come back, come back, we'll record something serious. I was like, nope, I've never will. But then I did.”

Photo Credit: Klara Waldberg

If you’re a fan of good music, then surely you’re aware of the thriving music industry in the Netherlands - yes, although it’s a rather small country, it’s brimming with talent. Whether it’s hardstyle, EDM, carnival music (although songs like ‘Helemaal Naar De Klote’ or ‘Sex Met Die Kale‘ are somewhat an acquired taste but hey, you do you), R&B and Hip-Hop, it’s guaranteed that there’s something for you. Pushing the boundaries of genre and lyricism is Elijah Waters. The Rotterdam-based singer-songwriter is floating somewhere between experimental funk, hip-hop, and soul, with his sound having been heavily influenced by the music he grew up with. “I was always into music, and my father has a big record collection. I would always begin there. When I was growing up, I listened to a lot of Big L, Notorious BIG, a lot of soul music like James Brown and Otis Redding, and when I got older, I listened to a lot of jazz. A lot of music, everything really.” However, a career in music wasn’t always on the cards, and it wasn’t until he randomly recorded a song with a producer that he started to get a real taste for it. “Nobody around me really played instruments or made music. So I started skateboarding when I was a kid and then a few years later, I met a producer and I got drunk at his house and we recorded something. He was like come back, come back, we’ll record something serious. I was like, nope, I’ve never will. But then I did.” Now, Elijah knows that he’s chosen the right path for now.

Words by Antonia Kuenzel

Since the Dutch music scene is still a rather small industry compared to, let’s say, the UK, I was wondering whether it inspired him creatively and sonically at all. “I gravitated towards some of the rappers early on, and also some older music” he reveals, but “didn’t really know any other musicians at first because I was outside skating and didn’t think of anything else. But then when I started making music, it was cool, it was fun. There are people like Rimon and Cero Ismael who are very good artists. And it’s all intertwined with each other because it’s such a small country. It’s very ‘gezellig’.”

“I want to be heard, and I want to inspire people. If I do it in English, I’ll reach more people.”
- Elijah Waters

Photo Credit: Klara Waldberg

Elijah is singing exclusively in English. So considering that it’s not his native language, I was thinking - would music in Dutch be a possibility for the bilingual artist? Certainly so. But, there is one condition. “If Pixar makes a Dutch-themed movie, I wanna do my first and only Dutch album for the soundtrack. That would be a dream come true,” he shares with me. So if you’re reading this and you work at Pixar or know someone who knows someone, you know what to do! For now, he’ll continue singing in English - for a good reason. “I want to be heard, and I want to inspire people. If I do it in English, I’ll reach more people,” he expresses.

Today, his long-awaited EP ‘Arranged Escape’ has finally landed, and after having worked on it for a while, the 8-track EP is everything that his fans could want and more. Bursting with sonic vibrancy, profound storytelling, and vulnerable depth, this project further introduces Elijah as an artist and proves that he’s here to stay. Although it’s been two years in the making, the actual sessions he spent on it were minimal. “Two songs on the EP were made on the same day in December 2019, so it took us two years. But we spent maybe six sessions on it”, Elijah reminisces. Only six sessions I ask surprised? That’s some Dutch efficiency right there. “We made ‘Help’ and ‘This Is The Dawn’ on the same day, and ‘Lose Control’ and ‘Enticing’ on the same day as well. It was efficiently made but we had a hold up because of the pandemic. But now we are here, and it’s meant to be,” he clarifies excitingly.

With mental health being a key theme throughout the EP, and topics such as social anxiety, depression, and general low mood being in the spotlight, Elijah explains his motivation for speaking up about it. “I’ve got ADHD and am diagnosed with some other things I don’t want to talk about. I think it’s been a problem for adults since the beginning of society, but in this day and age it’s easier to speak about it,” he proclaims, yet recognizes that there is still somewhat of a stigma. “With each generation, it’s getting better. The next generation will be more open because we’re still not there yet. And I want to be an advocate for that. I want to take part in the awareness to see how to, you know, to try and make it better for yourself.” His main goal is for his listeners to being able to relate. “I would like to think they will. Obviously, that’s the biggest achievement of music”, he says.

Photo Credit: Klara Waldberg

“I want to take part in the awareness to see how to try and make it better for yourself.”
- Elijah Waters

Photo Credit: Klara Waldberg

So now that his EP is out, what else is Elijah Waters up to? “I will obviously have a release party, which is gonna be really, really fun”, he reveals. For those who would like to get to know the person behind the music, I would encourage them to stop by his Instagram as he is sharing vlogs about his daily life, something he’s enjoyed doing since he’s a kid. “It’s just me going around with my camera. I used to make these skate videos when I was a kid. So now it feels natural. I just bring a camera, film some stuff, and then just edit it into a story.”
Next to that, moving to London seems to be a realistic option for Elijah in the next year - only recently, he’s travelled to our capital city and connected with many like-minded creatives [“One of the people I connected with was Fred Wave, a very talented artist and producer. We re-connected from back in November.”] over here which has intrigued him to explore the creative scene over here more. “I move all over the world. I mean, the world is your oyster,” he reflects when I dig deeper about his future plans of moving here. Wherever the world takes him, it’s no doubt that the talented artist will take over by storm.

Watch the visuals for recent single ‘Help’ below!