Name : Elmar C. Fuchs
Music genre: Pop
Other genre: Alternative / art-rock
Websites or Social Media Pages
http://eloah.at/
What Musical Genre Do You Feel Best Describes Your Music And How Would You Describe Your Sound?
Alternative, art-rock The sound is based on a mixture of improvisation and singer/songwriter kind of music, sometimes with rock, pop, and spoken word elements.
How Did You Get Your Name? Is There A Story
The story is rather short. During the first recordings in 1995 we did not have a name, and had recently heard about the name “eloah”, which loosely translates into “coming from above”, which we liked since it was somehow reminiscent of the inspiration which we felt was coming from somewhere else. So we chose it as provisional name and changed the “h” letter to h-bar (ħ), the symbol for the reduced Planck constant, so that the “elementary quantum of action” would be part of the name. I studied Physics at the time, and I was fascinated by that number.
What Are or Have Been Your Musical Influences?
Speaking only for myself here, as I child I had classical piano lessons and I liked singer-songwriter style music; later on, rock and pop influences became more pronounced. Over the past couple of years I also found a deep admiration for jazz.
What Are You Working On Now? Any Future Collaborations We Can Look Forward To?
We just finished the “Mondstein Chronicles” jazz / art-rock trilogy, the last part (Part 1: Awaken the Gods) will be released in a few days. At the same time, we are working in the studio on a pop/ballad album (drums have already been recorded, working on bass guitar at the moment); and we have are preparing a rock/metal album for next year.
What Is Your Ultimate Goal In The Music Industry? What Is Your Plan Of Action?
We make music because we like it. Our ultimate goal is to continue to do so until that changes, and we are happy if there is an audience who likes what we do. At the moment, we focus on recording and composing.
What Is Your Favorite Track To Perform Live and Why?
We have not performed life for some time. When we still did, my personal favorite was “sweet little witch” from the 1998 album “just blood”.
What Has Been The Biggest Challenge In Your Career Thus Far?
All musicians in our band have careers other than the band and live happily that way. In so far, my biggest personal challenge was to keep the music – the band – alive when I moved to the Netherlands in 2008 – where I found new musicians to play with, and simultaneously kept in touch with most of my previous colleagues in Austria.
What’s Your Typical Songwriting Process?
I pick up the guitar, start playing and singing, pick up pen and paper, write down the lyrics, and repeat the song, improve upon the lyrics and the chords until nothing changes anymore. I cannot do this on purpose, and I am grateful whenever it happens. Alternatively, we just improvise together (which was the process for the three Mondstein albums).
How Has Social Media Influenced Your Career As An Artist?
Not really.
What Are Some Tracks and Artists Currently On Your Playlist?
I actually mostly listen to our own songs, and I am very old fashioned in that I don’t use playlists but prefer to listen to CDs in my car. When I am not listening to our own songs, I mostly enjoy discovering new bands on samplers from music magazines.
What Did You Do Before You Started Making Music?
I have been making music from childhood on. However, I earn most of my money being a physicist.
Any Advice For Young People (Men or Women) That Want To Succeed In The Music World?
That I would like to answer with a cliché: follow your heart and do what you enjoy – you ain’t good at it if you don’t enjoy it.
What Would You Change In The Music Industry If You Were A Top Music Executive?
I would increase the rates musicians get paid for streaming and downloads.
How Do You Feel About Originality?
In my opinion, originality is the special something that makes you recognize a band or a style, the idiosyncrasy you should strive for as a band.
Is There Anything Else We Should Know About You Or That You Would Like to Add?
Well, we like to experiment with different styles, different singers – and different musicians in general. So be prepared for some variety in our musical repertoire – in other words, if you like one song, that is great – but it is possible that you will not find a very similar song easily. On the other hand, it is less likely to get bored too quickly with our music. It’s not all easy listening – but it’s all created with devotion, enjoyment and love.