Elinor ‘‘TAR is a very personal journey through the depths of my soul. Again, it wasn’t planned to be so. Amidst the years of its coming into being I was just facing said personal struggles that forced to face myself to a point of death-serious necessity. Therefore it subtly mirrors the journey I went through and personally means a huge empowerment to me. Surely it is not solved. My music never gives finite absolution but keeps the end open. There always is a next step to take.
Tar is the rich and sumptuous creation of musician and producer Elinor Lüdde . It is a perfectly woven tapestry that is captivating but also demanding of the listener. It is an album that breaks the boundaries of music and creates evocative sounds and imagery, an album that is experienced rather than explained. Is it a diverse musical pallet that makes Tar so unique?
‘Thank you! I would not necessarily say that my pallet is what makes TAR unique but rather my interest in sound and in the question how to convey feelings through sound, how to build the place with sound that I want to create with a certain song to convey the underlying meaning. Coincidence plays a certain role and the urge to try new things and to challenge myself with things I never have done before.
Tar is an album without any musical boundaries. Was it created intentional so?
‘’Hahaha, actually my very first intention with TAR was to create something very minimalist. Only piano lines, a bit of vocals etc.. But for some reason this did not fullfill me and my private life took such a turn that I needed way more tools to express what was in there. I almost never do write intentional. I guess my music might seem like as if there was a bigger plan behind it but ultimately a lot of it is just simple evolvement over time.
It is incredibly beautiful but also carries at times a visceral sense of tension as on Albedo?
‘‘Thanks again! Yes, there is a lot of tension. Thats not unusual for my music though. The rather unusual thing is that I am more content with the soft and pure beauty of the moment as shown in Albedo or in Sørunej. I begin to discover myself in that which is pretty exciting to me.
Its personal and subtle metaphors?
‘Yeah, this is pretty much answered already I suppose. It is very personal, but kept within metaphors. I want people to hear their own stories in it, to use their own interpretations.
Doe Fin represent the conquest over despair and the triumph of the individual to overcome?
‘Yes and no. It represents a certain new level of contentment. At the same time it is a very dreamy, uncertain state of being. It symbolizes a calmness and quietness, but it is no ultimate triumph. Rather the pause before the next volcano that is to erupt. Certainly underneath lays a subtle strength. All I am looking for is the home within oneself. That is a place that can grow.
Its cinematic scope. The importance to create evoke images created by music?
‘I’m not sure if I get the question correctly, but if my music creates images in the listener’s heads and takes them to places I am more than happy. Thats a question I have in my mind throughout the process and that defines decisions I make: is that place, that movement, that feeling told correctly or is something missing? Is something too much? Especially when it comes to the use of reverb for example. Thats why I mix my music myself. There is so much I influence by doing so that I couldn’t leave to someone else. My music is too much also a matter of sound design.
Is it more important to create a mood and texture where the song takes you, rather, than hitting conventional beats that tie you to a genre?
‘‘For me it is, yes, of course. But thats just the way I do music. And thats me being content with the difficulties which come up with this within a music industry that does not leave much (or any) space for side roads and side steps. I don’t know what exactly I am doing but I know that I want to do it that way. It is just my way of expression. And I don’t want to get bored.
What inspired you to create music? And your continual evolution of it?
‘‘Thats a hard question. And I am sorry, but I have to answer with a cliché: it is life that inspires me. My very own progression. Actually my music and my self-progression are so neatly tight up with each other that I couldn’t tell which has the bigger impact on the other. They definitely are strongly connected. And then, naturally, everything that surrounds my life. My music is my way of reflecting life. And I am very curious.
And how do you define uncompromising?
‘Uncompromising is when you make decision of which you know that they won’t lead you towards the easy or comfortable road but which mean progress for yourself and for the people around you. When you look exactly into the deepest darkness of yourself, the place where it hurts. Uncompromising at the same time does not mean ruthless. It is important to see the difference. Searching for truth can only be done uncompromisingly. (Sorry, this sounds a bit dramatic. I sometimes tend to do so.)
Final thoughts
‘Thanks for these questions! They made me rethink my own process again after I have been wrapped with to-dos and stuff. Was a nice chance to reflect again. What I think is just crucial to everything is to try to find your own way of doing things. It may leave you a bit lonely at times but it pays off. I strongly believe in that. I am truly thankful for everything I had the chance to do and for everything I made myself accomplish so far. That is priceless.
Top 6 albums of all time
''I can’t answer that one. It would take me a week to do so, haha. Sorry.
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