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Who is Elenor?

Oh, she’s someone who always seems to be wherever I am!  Mostly she’s doing music as she is part of 4 bands and also does remixes and vocals for other artists. But she also does other things. Her hobby is videographics and she's also writing a novel.


How did you get in contact with music, did it play a big role in your family when you were a kid already?

My parents both love music. My mother has a beautiful voice. She tells me I wrote my first song at the age of 2.  Apparently it was quite poignant, about rain. My dad likes to play guitar. He only knows 3 chords, but he plays them enthusiastically!
My first instrument was actually a tape recorder. I used to run around with it and record sounds and music and peoples’ voices and put them together as an audio collage.  A primitive form of sampling.  I thought I was very avant guard J


To what music did you listen as a kid and do you still listen to the same music?

My dad took me to a big outdoor festival and the first band I ever saw live was Australian band AC/DC. They blew me away!  So much energy, so raw.  I wanted to play Rock so my dad bought me a bass guitar and I formed my first band. I still like rock which is why I put guitar in a lot of my songs. Then I heard electronic music and I was amazed how something so technically perfect could contain so much emotion – and great bass! So I set myself up with an electronic studio and released a couple of electronic albums. The third sort of music which really affected me was gut-wrenchingly honest and pure emotion such as Sinead O’Connor. so I added my vocals to the music. I think the combination of these 3 types of music is what makes the Sobriquet sound.


You play in different bands, The Crystalline Effect, Snog and your own solo project Sobriquet.  How do you combine all these things?

They’re all completely different  I do wish there were 48 hours in a day as there is never enough time to do everything I want to do. Once I had a gig with all 3 bands on the one night at different venues.  I actually really enjoyed that, playing the gig then being whisked off to the next show.
Sometimes I write music just for myself which no-one else will ever hear. They're usually the saddest of all the songs and I write them to get the emotion out of my heart so I can heal.

Elenor the crystalline effect

The Crystalline Effect is a band of you and Pete Crane, how are the songs created and has it changed since Pete moved to the UK?

Normally Pete writes and records the music, sends it to me, I write and record the vocals and send it back to him and he puts it all together.
The process hasn’t changed since he’s moved to the UK. When he lived in Australia we lived 900 kilometres apart – Melbourne and Sydney.  We actually wrote 3 songs together before we met.
I think it works for us to write separately because we are 100% in control of our own part. It means he can do whatever he wants with the music, so there is no compromise involved, and I hear the music and can be inspired to write however it makes me feel so I can be totally honest with the vocals.  We both really like what each other does.  I think his music is exquisite. I love the days when I get a message from him that he's got a new track written.


With The Crystalline Effect you played in Europe earlier this year, how was the response on the shows and what is your funniest memory on this tour?

The response was great, which is why we're coming back again so soon even though it means a 22 hour flight for me. The other bands we played with, Schyzzo.com and XP8 were all really funny guys actually so we had many laughs, especially the Schyzzos trying to get in all the photos.  They introduced me to many alcoholic drinks which I had never had heard of.  Oh, and I did find it funny on all my flights - I have a necklace made of razor blades and every time my bag went through the metal scanners - the look on the Customs people when they saw it.


You also have your own project Sobriquet and will be releasing the new album “my very essence” soon, what can you tell about Sobriquet and the new album? In what way does the new album differ from the previous 2 albums?

It's more similar to July than it is dissimilar. Just as emotional. And it has a mix of hard industrial stuff and more ethereal.  There's one that's just piano and voice and I sing it in French.  Actually, Ivory Frequency wanted to remix that track but they said my Australian accent was too strong!


The new album contains a cover of Sinead O’Connor’s Troy, why did you pick this song because it isn’t the easiest to do?

Well, it’s the song that has connected with me, of all songs in the world, so it’s more like it chose me… it wasn’t a deliberate choice. I was writing a new song and the words to Troy just seemed to fit.  It’s a very confronting song. It’s amazing to perform it live – it always overwhelms me.

Elenor Snog

How do you work on lyrics and what are they about, they seem to be personal?

They are very personal. They're not always about me, they're often about people close to me.  Sometimes when life goes pear-shaped, it can be even more difficult for your friends because all they want to do is help but there's nothing they can do so often I write songs as a pressure valve for those feelings.  Sometimes it is hard being so honest. But I get a lot of emails from people saying they relate to the lyrics so I will continue.

I hate cliches. There's a song by Pnau called Embrace. I like a lot of their music, but that song agitates me to the max as it repeats that chorus line about 14 times.  It's like the worst type of advertising. It's like brain damage.  It makes me want to tip the speakers over and stab them with a fork.


What is the differences between being in charge of your project (Sobriquet) and being a part of a band?  What do you prefer, each has its good things I guess?

Yes, with Sobriquet I do everything and that's great because the song comes out exactly as you hear it in your head. Being part of The Crystalline Effect is equally as satisfying because the music comes to me completely written by Pete and it inspires the melody and lyrics.  I actually think the lyrics I write for The Crystalline Effect are more cohesive because I am not distracted by the music.  For instance, when I was writing the Sobriquet song, "xls" I just called it that because I wrote it using a sound called "xls bass".  Then once the melody started coming into my head I started singing the words "xls" so the lyrics had to revolve around that. So my own songs tend to be a little more obtuse, although I do think it's pretty obvious what that song is about. It's pretty intense.


You also play keyboards in Snog, how did you get to join the band?

I was in a band called Soulscraper which started around the same time as Snog and there weren’t many bands doing industrial music with political lyrics so we knew of each other. When the previous keyboard player left, David asked me to join.  I’d always like Snog so I was really happy to play: because I love the music, I like the ideology of the band, also David is a very interesting person and very inspiring to work with.

Is it different for you to be onstage as a keyboard player or singer, what is the difference?

Yes, it is very different.  When you are a singer, you are laying yourself and your emotions on the line and you have to be really honest about it.
Playing keyboards and guitar is more about energy and being a solid force behind the singer.  The songs are his expression.


You love to dress sexy onstage, what’s your favorite clothing to wear?

Music is very sensuous to me so onstage I like to wear sensuous clothes.  I think clothing is like art that you wear.  I especially like garments which are idiosyncratic.   I make a lot of clothes, or else revamp items I find.  At a festival we played at on the top of a mountain in Japan I wore a dress made of pale blue fabric that had white clouds on it which were luminous so when the lights flashed when I moved it was like clouds floating across the stage.

Elenor

With Snog you will play at the summer darkness festival, what do you know about the festival and what do you expect?

I’m really looking forward to it. I am very interested in the line-up of bands and I think the whole atmosphere of the festival will be great with the markets and the parties and Utrecht is a beautiful town. I am thankful that the music that we all share has led to the development of a good "scene" of people.  The bands are all very helpful to each other and great to hang out with. And the crowds really appreciate the music.


How does your favorite night out look like?

Well, I like it to be a gig where one (or more) of my bands is playing! And there are other bands that are really good to listen to and interesting to talk to afterwards. And then something really funny happens. And then all of a sudden it's dawn and some beautiful music is playing as the sun comes up.


You are also interested in other forms or art, is music for you a form of art?

I am interested in visual art. Sometimes a painting can have a deep emotional effect, or give me some kind of revelation. Same with film, writing, photography, other types of art.
Music is a bit different.  It washes over me and consumes me like nothing else.


Any last words for the readers?

I hope you like listening to my music on my websites.

www.sobriquet.org
www.thecrystallineeffect.com