Elijah Miller on his inspirations, naming instruments and jealousy

At the beginning of last year, I stumbled upon twenty year old singer/song writer, Elijah Miller, our first interaction involving a Catfish and the Bottlemen mosh pit and a lost phone.

Ever since then, his music has completely enthralled me.

Elijah released his debut album, The Garden (and other short stories), just over a year ago and it is a 50 minute, fourteen track album. Lyrically, it is packed with his raw and profound takes on love, heartbreak and jealously. It is full of soulful guitar solos, that somewhat bares resemblance to the work of Isaac Gracie, which eventually builds into bigger and somewhat heavier choruses.

Since then, Miller has released two more singles, 'Paris' and 'Alfred Benson;', which are considerably more upbeat than tracks on The Garden. The contrasts in mood between these tracks are incredibly well handled, showing the range of Miller’s talent. Paris is a catchy song, with a snappy hook and a memorable chorus. The lyrics flow at a perfect pace, with lines such as ’my pride and your habit to lie foreshadowed our demise’ and ‘now it's been two years since we haven’t spoken, and if you care I’m still trying to quit smoking’.

Below, see Elijah Miller.

I had some questions for Elijah Miller and these were his answers - we spoke about his new music he’s currently working on, naming instruments and his sun-dried tomato and basil loaves (which are apparently out of this world).

It’s been just over a year since you released your debut album, The Garden. How did you find the process of making that?

Making the Garden was a weird process, I did everything in my room over about two months. Half of the tracks were already written but I re-recorded a few of them.

I always work to a deadline so was quite stressful and I was moving to London at the same time. I think I blocked out the recording and mixing memories because of all the stress.

Fast forwards five years from now, where can you see yourself? Do you think you’ll still be making music?

Five years from now I imagine that stylistically I will have changed a fair bit. My style has definitely taken a turn since the album to a more upbeat vibe so who knows.

Maybe I’ll be doing yodelling by then…

Do you name your instruments?

I don’t actually get much of a chance to get attached to my instruments because most of them are around for a few months and then move on (my dad runs a vintage guitar and amp store… Shout out Miller and Sons Vintage) but I have my own back line of acoustic and electric guitars. My acoustic doesn’t even deserve a name based on how much he loves snapping the G string after a few days of use…

Who are your main musical influences?

My big influences at the minute are MGMT, Kings of Leon, Band of Horses, Little Comets, IDLES and Vampire Weekend.

Which song of yours is your favourite to perform?

At the minute, probably Paris. It’s just nice to have a bit of a boogie with the crowd rather than stand and awkwardly watch people cry.

What are the main themes/topics for most of your songs? Do you think these will change over time?

Heartbreak is always going to be a big one because it never really leaves after you’ve been royally fucked over by someone. Jealousy is a really really big thing for me, but it’s something I work on by writing about it and then realising I’m not alone when people connect with it.

Are you working on anything right now?

I’m working on a lot of things right now. I have about 6 or so new tracks that are slowly going to work their way into live sets. It’s my favourite work I’ve done by far.

Do you come from a musical background?

Yeah - so I grew up with my dad being the leader of worship at a church, I would see him performing most Sundays and he taught me how to play guitar. My siblings also do music, my brother Coby is in my band and my sister Molly is an insane singer… My two younger brothers play too. Wesley’s 15 and can play guitar 5 times better than me!

What new/present music do you like?

So, there’s this punk band called IDLES I’ve been listening to for a few years. Their second album just charted number four or five… They’re definitely worth checking out.

Do you have a hobby that isn’t music?

To be honest, everything I’ve been doing for the past 6 months has been music, although I’ve got really into baking bread… My sun-dried tomato and basil loaf is out of this world.

You can listen to all of Elijah Miller's music on all major streaming platforms and follow his instagram here https://www.instagram.com/lijah_miller/ to keep up with any upcoming news.