EMQ’s With ELOAĦ
EMQ’s With ELOAĦ
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Austrian Experimental/ Progressive Rock band ELOAĦ. Huge thanks to their Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Elmar, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Greetings! I’m Elmar, and I contribute to ELOAĦ as one of the voices while also playing the acoustic guitar, piano, and flutes. Our journey began in 1995 when I expanded my singer/songwriter solo approach to a musical joint venture which grew into a collaborative project with multiple musicians. Our later albums have evolved from my original style blending in elements from rock, new age, jazz, experimental music, and pop. Recently, we’ve solidified a stable lineup, featuring Orion Roos on electric guitars, Peter Douwenga on bass guitars, Johan van der Meer on drums and percussion, Dominik Mittergradnegger on saxophone, Lila Herderberg on vocals, and myself.
How did you come up with your band name?
The name “ELOAH” originates from Hebrew and holds multiple potential translations, one of which is “coming from above”. This particular meaning resonates deeply with me, as it perfectly embodies how I receive inspiration. To me, creativity feels like a force descending from higher realms, finding its expression through the music-writing process. Additionally, our fondness for improvisation played a significant role in choosing this name, as the three “Mondstein” albums are entirely based on spontaneous musical explorations. Moreover, I opted for the unique character “Ħ” instead of the regular “H” in the name to pay homage to the Planck constant. As a scientist, I have always been fascinated by this fundamental physical constant, which holds immense significance in the realm of physics.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Originally I am from Graz, Austria, where the band was founded, but I moved to Leeuwarden in the Netherlands in 2008 where I have been living since. The metal & rock scene here in the North of the Netherlands is great, both in Leeuwarden where our label BigBadWolf records is based, and in Groningen, where Orion Roos and Peter Douwenga, our guitar and bass guitar player, live. There are lots of concerts, many pubs and venues to perform, and also a number of well equipped, affordable rehearsal rooms.
What is your latest release?
Our latest release is a soft pop-rock / ballad album called “Proud to Love You”. Please check it out here: https://song.link/ProudToLoveYou
Who have been your greatest influences?
I find myself drawn to the melodic rock and metal styles embodied by artists like Savatage, as well as the enchanting sounds of Celtic and new age music of Loreena McKennitt. Additionally, singer/songwriter music and chansons, like Herman van Veen, resonate with me on a deep level. As an adult my musical quest also led me to discover a passion for jazz, with artists like Keith Jarrett captivating my heart. Whereas my experiences and musical tastes are deeply personal and unique to me, in ELOAĦ, each member has their own distinct story and preferences, contributing a wealth of diverse elements to our music. I think our band’s strength lies in the varied backgrounds and individual influences of its members, which come together to shape our sound and style.
What first got you into music?
When I grew up I received formal classical piano training and later I took lessons in classical singing. As a teenager, I took it upon myself to expand my skills by learning the acoustic guitar and tin whistle, opening up a whole new realm of musical styles for me to explore. Throughout this exploration, my love for various genres grew.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
To be honest, I am perfectly happy with the musicians I play with at the moment. More than that, I feel blessed that I have the possibility to work with such talent, and I am grateful that the current members of ELOAH enjoy the music I write as much as I do. Thus, my greatest wish would be to continue this collaboration as long as everybody is happy with it.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
This question is difficult for me to answer since we play a variety of styles. There are a couple of scenarios I can envisage: a small acoustic show in an intimate atmosphere with a set of soft and jazzy songs would be great – so no festival at all. On the other hand, we could make a setlist with the songs we are currently working on, which are mostly hard rock and heavy songs, and for that, a large audience and big speakers would fit greatly. In the end, I think this is something for the audience to decide as well — how our fans would like to experience us — and we would then do our best to accommodate their expectations.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
What do you consider weird? The greatest gift fans have ever given us is their attention, their passion, their empathy – in my opinion, when a musician plays from the heart, there is nothing greater than somebody listening, co-experiencing the emotion that the music describes. I don’t recall ever getting any (material) gift from a fan that I would consider to be weird, though.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thank you for listening, thank you for enjoying, thank you for sharing your emotions.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I don’t know. I think that death may not be the end of everything but might be a transition to something else, whatever that may be. So bringing somebody back would mean undoing this transition, and I don’t want to do that to anybody, especially not if I don’t know what it actually meant for them.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
What I enjoy most about being a musician is undoubtedly the freedom of expression. I cherish the moments when inspiration strikes, bringing forth new songs. I eagerly practice and rehearse them, and I take pleasure in recording and performing them. To be honest, there is nothing about being a musician that I hate. I believe that hating anything is not a wise use of one’s energy in general. If there are aspects that I don’t particularly love, I prefer to let them go and not give them any attention at all.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Increase the price for music so that more musicians can afford living from their art.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Savatage: “Streets – A Rock Opera”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
For a pleasant listening experience, a high quality hi-fi equipment is necessary, so not only the source matters, but also the player, the amplification, the speakers and the location are important. Analogue media has a certain charm, of course, but in my opinion high resolution digital recordings at a high sampling rate offer the best listening experience these days.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
My personal favourites are a gig with the band at the Musichouse pub in Graz many years ago, and a solo performance on the piano improvising during a video of a solar eclipse in a big planetarium in The Hague last year. Very different experiences, but both equally enjoyable – at least for me.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I am a scientist, a father of two sons, and have been training martial arts for 28 years. Music holds a significant place in my life, and I cannot imagine living without it. However, I cannot imagine dedicating myself solely to music, either.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Why only five? Every since my 20th birthday I have invited 30 to 40 people to a dinner party, all my friends from the different worlds I live in, and bringing together my friends from music, science, martial arts and others has always proven very exciting, and I am already looking forward to the next party this October.
What’s next for the band?
We are busy with a couple of projects at the moment. The recordings of the drums for our upcoming hard rock album have just been finished; a few days ago I recorded the last female vocals for this album, and the recordings of the bass guitar have just started. At the same time, I am preparing the pilot tracks for the album after this one, which will include gospel and rap, something completely different again.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
http://eloah.at
https://facebook.com/eloahmusicsite
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2X5VTDaqVKqdthtPPW1IhY
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
ABeing an Austrian living in the Netherlands, I honestly have no idea whatsoever. Luckly, I have a very good friend who is British, and he says: “It could be a bap, a barm or barm cake, a batch or a bun, it is a regional thing. Cobs and rolls are longer and thinner, and a Cob is likely to have a crisper crust.
What people call Muffins tend to be these https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/moist-chocolade-chip-muffins/, but I would say these are American Muffins. These are English Muffins, which are a bit like Baps https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6947/english-muffins/
but would typically be toasted and often eaten with something sweet like Honey on them and this is the same, or at least similar to a tea cake, which is also normally eaten freshly toasted.”
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for our interest in our music, it is highly appreciated! More ELOAĦ music is on its way and will be available in 2024 when our next album – “The Book of Pain” – will be released. In the meantime, we will keep you updated via Facebook. Enjoy our music & stay tuned!
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