Elliphant on Provocative Pop, Overcoming Obstacles, and Touring with Charli XCX

Brianne Nemiroff

Swedish pop sensation Elliphant is quickly becoming the “It Girl” of the music industry, catching the attention Diplo, Skrillex, Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio) and Dr. Luke. And while it’s often an artist’s dream to work with any of these producers, Elliphant worked with all of them on her first EP “Look Like You Love It,” released in April 2014. She has since been touring the world and currently opens for Charli XCX, who’s also making her mark for her own music as well as for co-writing a familiar song called “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea.

Born as Ellinor Olovsdotter in Sweden, Elliphant creates a sound that fuses genres like hip-hop, R&B, electronica and synth-pop, though some might describe it as a fusion of M.I.A. and Gwen Stefani. Her music led her to be the flagship artist at Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records, which is also the home of Kesha, Juicy J and Bonnie McKee. Elliphant’s debut album is now in the works with a release planned for early 2015.

On October 24, Elliphant will open for Charli XCX at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles. She took a moment with Entertainment Voice to discuss her favorite producers, the meaning behind her stage name, and her definition of “provocative pop.”

How did you come up with your moniker Elliphant? Do you feel you can express yourself in a different way by using that name instead of your given name?

Elliphant: For me, it was an obvious choice not to be Ellinor as a musician, but I definitely wanted to play with my name somehow because I want it to be a big part of who I am. I wanted it to be like a painting, something outside of me that I can work with and find new meaning. That’s what Elliphant has been really good for. It was a joke in the beginning, a name for a spontaneous project. I took this name because I thought it was funny and it worked very well with the music I was doing. It just felt natural. I’m finding many reasons why Elliphant was a good name for me. I wanted to represent animals, the jungle and nature. I think it’s perfect. It’s a big emotional animal. And the word “phant” is powerful in itself. Everyone can be a phant. My fans can be phants.

You’ve had a rough upbringing and have traveled all over the world even before touring. What is it about your childhood and travels that has influenced your music or your work ethic?

Elliphant: I think it was everything. I think about traveling and the choice to get away from my bubble, my identity center and what I’ve been. I started traveling at 17. I [got away] from that personality I had in Sweden, a personality that was very destructive and angry with its past. [Once I got away from that personality], that’s when I had my first amazing sexual experience, that’s when I started singing in front of people, [and] that’s when I had the power and the courage to break through who I thought I was. Even if I love my family and my friends, it was very important for me to leave them to break through weaknesses. I don’t necessarily think [that my] going to India was the main reason. It was the fact that I traveled. [That was] the reason for me becoming who I am today. If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have had the courage [to do music]. The more you see [in the world], the less you know, [but] the more you understand how small it is and how amazing life is, you can’t waste one moment. Through traveling, I now have the courage to be the person in front of you guys, and it made me Elliphant.

You call your style of music “provocative pop.” How would you describe that?

Elliphant: It’s not provocative in the way that I express myself. I try to be off-tune and do it wrong in order to make it right. [Going back generations], folk music was a morph of other generations of music. If it wasn’t really rock, they started calling it pop. With [anything off-tune that was] R&B in the ’90s, they would call it pop. It became a very expressive [realm] of music. But pop today is put in a box. I’m going to be part of that original [concept of] pop. I’m so inspired by all types of music, everything from hardcore metal to folk. I don’t have any idols. I don’t have any special generation of music where I get inspiration from. I want to be provocative and off-tune without following a red line. Even if a person loves me from one song, they might hate another song. I want to go big without following the rules.

You’re influenced by a wide range of genres: old-school hip-hop, reggae, ’90s R&B, pop and electronica, to name a few. Is there one style that you’re more drawn to than others? Is there one particular style that you have a hard time channeling in the studio?

Elliphant: The hardest songs to make are the ones [lyrically] written in the moment. You have so little time and those songs are hard to explain. I wish I could write more content and [condense them] into shorter lyrics. But [regardless] my songs are up to the listener. I still work on my songs like I do my art. I just want it to be free for the listener to find its own purpose of the track. I try to keep to that. That’s what I’m good at. But I should constantly challenge myself with things I’m not good at.

I don’t have any [song or genre] I like more than anything else. I just know that there are things to work on. I want to work longer on tracks. I want to be a better producer. I feel like the tracks [I’ve released] are at 70 percent. I want them to be at 100 percent. I want to have solos on the track, instrumental solos, but it’s not what people want. I want to have more songs that tell long stories like in the ’90s. Up until now it’s been very stressful as I’ve been all over the world. I’ll have two days with one [producer] and not be able to [develop] the vision all of the way. I don’t know if I’ll have time to do that for the first album, but that’s where I want to take it. I want to bring in more tribal [sounds] and ethnic sides, like African women’s singing, to the project. I just want it to be more real. I want to show people that with a good pop melody you can also listen to [powerful] lyrics.

On your EP you worked with some of today’s biggest producers and DJs: Diplo, Skrillex, Dr. Luke and Dave Sitek. Is there one particular producer that brings out the best in you?

Elliphant: Most producers work very much with programs but Dave Sitek works very analog. It’s very special. I don’t come from music, so that was the closest experience to how I want to have it in the studio. With Skrillex we had amazing chemistry. We had one full week in Sweden a year back. It’s easy to make music with him. With Diplo it was a very social experience. There was so much work that came out of [working with him] as he introduces me to amazing people. But I’m still looking for that perfect collaboration. I think the combination of people is what makes the most out of my project. All of them have a very distinct sound, so it’s hard to make a choice for [who brings out the best in me].

You’re currently touring with Charli XCX. How has the tour experience been? Are there any collaborations in the works?

Elliphant: She’s not only an amazing artist and girl, but she’s also a person I like a lot. She has been in this industry for a long time. She’s going to be very busy for a while, so probably no collaborations in the [near] future, but our relationship is very important to me. What made this tour special is that I’m usually playing for 21-and-over clubs. I’ll [generally] perform at midnight. I never really got the chance to play for the youth [market]. So this tour has been good at that. I’ll play as early as 7 p.m. and that’s a very good experience for me as a person and for my project. Those kids [are the future] and it’s been really good to express myself to these kids.

There’s a wide range of female artists topping the charts right now but you definitely stand out due to your range of vocal stylings, wardrobe and overall message. What do you think makes you stand out amongst other artists?

Elliphant: It’s a matter of appreciation and energy. The reason why I never did [music] before was because no one pushed me to do it. No one ever asked me to come and make music, so that’s why. I’m [obviously] not against it. But I’m not dedicated to this specific art. I’m just dedicated to art. I think it’s honesty that brought me so quickly into the arms of Skrillex. We had a really good, honest and cool conversation, and we became friends in 45 minutes. I think that’s what it’s all about, not being pretentious. I never had a sound that I wanted to work around, so I could be open and bring in so many different people in this project, [and] there are so many people who have something positive to say about it. If you have a sound, it’s very sharp but you’ll also be in a bubble.

I come from a failure family. I come from diagnosis [and] drugs. I can be a good reflection of coming out of that and being a winner. You don’t have [to fall back into it]. I think it’s easy for people to be interested in my project, with me as a person, even if they’re not necessarily super excited about my music.

Elliphant will perform alongside Charli XCX at the Mayan Theatre on October 24.