Ep34: Eliza Shaddad on picking the right size font
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Hi there, and welcome to my conversation with Eliza Shaddad, recorded on 19th January 2021. Keep scrolling down for links to everything we discussed in this episode, grab Eliza’s back catalogue from Bandcamp and visit her website to sign up to her mailing list.
[Content warning: as always, some friendly swearing.]
In this conversation, we discuss:
- how the pandemic forced Eliza to deal with her true nature
- planning the perfect productive day for maximum music making, health and emotional wellbeing
- the self-imposed pressure of picking the right sized font
- EPs versus albums as an artistic statement
- building a sustainable music career while always being willing to get a job
- plus messy desktops, time block planning and how philosophy feeds into songwriting
Explore Eliza’s work:
- Listen to “Alright Again” (from the “Waters” EP)
- Listen to “Make It Go Away” (from the “Run” EP)
- Listen to “Just Goes To Show” (from debut album “Future”)
About Eliza Shaddad
Equally at home perusing murder ballads and decoding Arabic scales, Eliza’s singular artistry is the product of an incredibly diverse and borderless upbringing. Raised across seven countries, she is the daughter of a Sudanese astrophysicist and a Scottish diplomat. A multi-linguist with a philosophy degree, Eliza studied Jazz at London’s Guildhall before self-producing her first EP, recorded at the studio of Clean Bandit’s Jack Patterson. She then signed to UK label Beatnik Creative and released two critically acclaimed EPs, working with Mercury-nominated long time collaborator Chris Bond. Championed by tastemakers such as Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and supported by the likes of Wonderland, i-D Magazine and FADER, the EPs set the stage for an artist thriving on producing work abundant in raw emotion and expansive instrumentation.
Eliza released her debut album “Future” in 2018, receiving praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, MOJO, Refinery29 and The Sunday Times. Named a Rising Star of 2019 by the BBC, her reputation for powerful live shows has seen her touring extensively, taking in the UK, Europe, and the USA, and playing dates with the likes of Kate Tempest, Oh Wonder, Lucy Rose, James Bay, and Turin Brakes. She has also collaborated with award-winning poet Anthony Anaxagorou and contemporary jazz group Hansu-Tori and is a founding member of female arts collective Girls Girls Girls.
Most recently, Eliza’s excellent cover of Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” appears in the totally gripping and mysterious Netflix series “Behind Her Eyes”, bringing her work to a whole new audience.
Visit Eliza’s website and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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Have a lovely day xo
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