Q&A: House of EL Finds the Space between the Intrinsic and Futuristic with 'Book of EL'
Between each layer that carefully piles itself upon the next, forming lived experience, there floats a consistent wondering for the hows and whys. Inspired by worlds of sound, House of EL finds his jazz roots foundational for a new sound that flushes away genre, instead informed by an intrinsic curiosity for these hows and whys. A musician who rejects compromise to the norm, House of EL’s 2022 mixtape Book of EL occupies the space between the intrinsic and futuristic, the type of music that stops us temporarily with a simultaneously warm and jarring embrace of the soul. In a way that is freeing for both the creator and listener, House of EL crafts a versatile collection of musings unmatched in the mainstream, nodding firmly to a history of jazz as existential sustenance.
Like a treasure chest, each track that comprises Book of EL reveals a unique beauty, incomparable to the prior, and just as valuable. Fusing the ecstatic grooves of funk and pop, the syrupy richness of soul, and the unvarnished honesty of hip hop, Book of EL positions itself as assuredly stately, at times revitalizing, at times comforting, and at times strikingly profound. From the delicate touch of a piano, to thick bass lines, looped rhythms and sampled monologues, House of El’s body of work places us in a realm of pure song, timeless and provoking, a journey that molds its purpose to what is needed by its consumer. Unassumingly original and intuitive, Book of EL showcases only a slither of what is to come for House of EL, a window into how music can accompany, capture and intertwine with our humanity.
Read on to learn more about House of EL’s body of work, conceptual and technical musicianship and inspiration.
LUNA: I just want to start by saying how beautiful your music is!
HOUSE OF EL: Thank you! I love that you are enjoying it and making it your own.
LUNA: Deeply and truly, the roots of your musicianship are so clearly rich with knowledge. Could you tell us about your musical journey? How did your love for music begin and develop?
HOUSE OF EL: So, I started playing trumpet and piano quite young, I grew up in a musical family singing and church and all that good stuff. That led to me doing music at school but I didn’t get serious until I heard Jazz music, after that I was hooked! I think it was Miles Davis, I just loved how cool they looked the whole style and I had never seen black men present themselves in such a way, coming from where I come from was very inspiring and I never really looked back!
LUNA: For sure, much of music owes reverence to Miles Davis. Beyond that too, the space he made for himself in the arts and within culture is eternally significant. What was the shift from jazz trumpeting and piano to songwriting like for you?
HOUSE OF EL: I don’t really find that it is such a shift, music is music to me - I’ve never seen the hierarchy in genre or ‘artist’ vs instrumentalist. It’s all made up to separate us, you really have to think from a base level and create from there too. We are creators and makers, engineers if you will - I think you can take a broad base skill and apply it any way you want and that’s what I try to do.
LUNA: Drawing from such a deep archive of jazz knowledge, technique and style, do you aim to convey these roots in your newer music?
HOUSE OF EL: I think in the past I was less clear of the rules of pop music, in jazz you are a singular voice and you just do what you want (it’s probably a better way), but in releasing songs you’re also making a product that has to format for streaming or radio/live so I had to learn marketing and that kind of stuff.
LUNA: In what ways do you draw from this foundation?
HOUSE OF EL: Creatively there are parallels in the sense of trying to find your truth and concisely get that message across, no one wants to hear a 20 minute solo and it’s the same with songs. You have to be concise. There’s a freedom in having a base in being a musician. I can go wherever my mind is taking me instantly. I think this is why some of the most prolific artists over time are usually high level practitioners like Bowie, Sting, Prince and Stevie.
LUNA: Your lyricism is very layered, akin to poetry in the way that the words themself hold so much emotion. Inherent to the role of the storyteller is that the listeners become attuned to a story that doesn’t initially, but eventually belongs to them, there’s a natural connection with the sharer, the creator. How does it feel? To have created a bond with minds and souls beyond your own?
HOUSE OF EL: Thanks! You really get it, I think the basic narratives of story are quite simple, it’s the artist's job to take that base layer and extrapolate layers of complexity - that’s what makes you great. I think I try to do that in lyrics, juxtaposed against the track. Sometimes it feels wasted but over time, my hope is to gain the trust of listeners and create a palette almost, where it makes sense where I’m going. I think it all comes together over time, like most great artists who have released at least 30 albums, there's time!
LUNA: I agree with that, the power of the narrative relies on the relationship between story and sound. Who inspires you lyrically then?
HOUSE OF EL: With lyrics, Bowie is a great inspiration. He really understood how to combine post-modern or abstract ideas with that of popular culture and that’s what I am into. So I’m happy at this early stage it comes across.
LUNA: Your mixtape BOOK OF EL is a collection of stories- a lot of these being tales or allusions to broader concepts, historical ideas, world events, and observations. How do you approach these ideas to then translate into such layered tracks?
HOUSE OF EL: Like I said before, there aren’t really many stories - at the base level - you know, love, loss, hate. So, I try to abstract these base layers with different concepts and mix it in with instrumentation.
LUNA: What’s your writing process like?
HOUSE OF EL: The writing process usually happens with the music first. I usually go away and write a lot of music, put loose ideas vocally on them then wait for the idea to be evident and finish it. It usually happens quite quickly, but I have a lot of ideas on rotation so I don’t get bored. If it’s a basic song I can just write it on the piano or guitar and then produce it after, it all depends!
LUNA: In terms of conception, would you say you find yourself drawn to certain types of ideas over others?
HOUSE OF EL: With stories, I just try to tell honest stories. I want people to feel something when they listen to it. There are a lot of love songs and unrequited love songs out there, which are cool, but I’m always like ‘who cares!’ I know Adele and the rest sell… but a whole album talking about how sad you are feels a bit narcissistic! Haha. I try to balance it though.
LUNA: Yeah, exploring ideas that stem from this tiny speck of genuine fascination in any realm and finding that it connects with any other person must be an alleviating feeling too. I admire your approach, it focuses on what can be yielded when you explore these unique things.
HOUSE OF EL: Some of the best songs on earth have the weirdest concepts, but all tie into our humanity. So while everyone is doing unrequited love and ‘in the club’ songs, I try to steer clear and do the other topics, which there are many of!
LUNA: Book of EL is genreless, free of boundaries- musically and conceptually. Was the creation of the mixtape freeing? How did you make the choice to fall free of rigid structure?
HOUSE OF EL: Yes, I think if I can inspire people to break free of genres I would be happy. They are destructive. I think Duke Ellington said something about genre’s being a myth. Genre is akin to racism ultimately and I don’t subscribe to it. If I learned anything from the tradition or art form of Jazz, it is that I have pure freedom of expression to do what I want so I just make stuff. If me and my team like it, it will make the album!
LUNA: I loved the way you sampled Tony Benn’s 1992 speech in “Kings”. There was an urgency to the spoken word, but also such an emotional pull that arises with the production. Did anything inspire this sample, or more broadly, what inspired this track?
HOUSE OF EL: “Kings” is really about us as a people being better, I think there’s always hope so it’s hopeful not damning. That Tony Benn speech is dope, I think it just fit well really. Music doesn’t have to be complicated, sometimes things just work together!
LUNA: Definitely. Elijah is so great. I’m a big fan of the way it blends gospel and orchestral sounds, eventually spanning into a very jazz, hip-hop sonic scape. We are seeing these genres blend more commonly now, one body of work that comes to mind is Kanye’s Jesus is King. What inspired the choice to merge these worlds of sound?
HOUSE OF EL: It's funny with Elijah, I just see it like a mini symphony or concerto. Beginning, middle, end and coda. It’s just flowing and as I made it, it made sense. Maybe because I played classical music when I was a kid I was used to that form or I’m used to beat switches in hip hop. I remember playing it to AnR and he couldn’t get his head around it! Haha. I’m glad you like it though. It was fun making it, Jay Prince and Laura Mvula are geniuses, Laura is an amazing composer and orchestrator.
Kanye mixes genres, Kid Cudi, Rihanna but so did Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones. I think genres are a myth.
Yeah, overcomplication kind of reiterates the same rigidity we’re trying to escape. I know Duke Ellington said “If jazz means anything, it’s freedom of expression,” so there you go. Just create and make it feel as good as you can I say. Hopefully people like it, and if they do, you get to do some more. Simple.
LUNA: Agreed, do your thing and leave it to the people. Continuing on with freedom of sound, Something Special is very funk, with elements of disco and soul.You don’t know my name and similarly Run Away combines these sounds in a way that feels both futuristic and retro. Listening to You don’t know my name sort of feels like a float between new and nostalgic, familiarity and curiosity. What were the origins and process like for these tracks?
HOUSE OF EL: Yes these songs were really coming together, I was in my Bootsy Collins bag and really wanted to channel that energy. I did them really quickly musically and took some time with the lyrics, definitely supposed to feel futuristic. I don’t want to make smooth jazz and I’m not a tribute band so I’m always looking for ways to put my music into 2030 and make it make sense for now.
LUNA: I came across something that said ‘Evolution is part of tradition’ and jazz holds the throne with that as constantly evolving. How much of your process as an artist is experimental and how do you and how have you created a sound that is so unique to your artistry?
HOUSE OF EL: Those songs are made in a very experimental way, get all the drums, guitar, pedals out and just jam for hours until the sounds come out. When it’s flowing it really flows! I’m really proud of the You Don’t Know My Name video which ties into the lyrics and fills out the ideas more, I had old stock clips mixed in with clips of me as a 2 year old. It really spoke to some of the feelings that were in my head as a black person during lockdown and all the stuff around the George Floyd killing.
LUNA: Such a beautiful video, it really explored the nuances of human experience, which was so profoundly necessary during that time. I really admire that.
The afro-inspired production of Better, again, with elements of jazz, is so striking. Are you inspired by any cultural roots when making music?
HOUSE OF EL: I’m Caribbean which due to the displacement slavery means I’m essentially African, although I have no idea from where. Maybe I should do an ancestry DNA thing? With ‘Better’ I was tapping into that energy, I love all the music coming out of Africa and the Caribbean at the minute; Koffee, J Hus, Burna Boy, all very inspiring.
LUNA: I agree! Very inspiring, and interesting too, to think about how the origins of certain sounds can have such extensive roots. Are there any lyrics, moments, details or tracks on the mixtape that you hold dear to you?
HOUSE OF EL: All the collaboration from crew, Angel Silvera, Tom Ford, Karma Kid, Reuben James, Laura Mvula, Jay Prince, Craze n Hoax, Then Cross etc etc… It’s not just me it’s the whole crew. I want to keep collaborating with the homies, I’ve known them all for such a long time, it’s so easy, it just makes sense!
LUNA: What do you hope Book of EL finds for your listeners?
HOUSE OF EL: I hope they feel something and are able to repeat listening for years to come!
LUNA: The mixtape captures music at its freest, so definitely a timeless one! What are you looking forward to as an artist in the future?
HOUSE OF EL: Getting out playing live! Hopefully get out there with the crew and have a tour at some point too. Thanks for your great questions. Peace. HoE
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