A Conversation with Singer-Songwriter Elle Cook: Her Influences, After Ours & More
Elle Cook came on my radar via her interview on Score|Swayze’s #InsideTheRappersStudio, an interview series on Instagram Live. I came into their Q&A during her discussion of her love for harmonies and how she loved studying Amerie’s acapella vocals. If you know me personally, I am huge on harmonies, so after the interview and a chat with her, I went to check out her SoundCloud, starting from her earlier work, Seventy Five Degree Sounds. The song that captured me the most from the project, “You Know,” appeared on Transcending Sound’s Spring 2020 Playlist. The nostalgia of the song, from the beat to the approach in the vocals, felt like home. That feeling made sense once we chatted on Instagram Live.
The kind and infectiously spirited singer-songwriter was gracious enough to do the interview not long after the release of her recent project, After Ours. During the conversation, Elle and I spoke about many things, including her influences in those harmonies, her approach in the storytelling of After Ours, as well as the creation and video releases for the project. One of the things that Elle spoke about that really touched me was how she struggled with embracing her voice and its range. “I would try to hit high notes,” Elle said, but she knew it wasn’t for her. Constantly choosing to embrace her voice — and sharing her voice in her music — made me embrace her art even more. She also discussed her rapping skills and why she chooses to sing more than rap...but we will hear more rapping from her soon via the releases she has coming soon, which she also briefly mentioned.
Check out all of that and more via the hour-long Q&A through the embedded Instagram video. Along with following Transcending Sound on social media, make sure to follow Elle on Instagram and Twitter at @btchyspice and find her new project, After Ours, on all streaming platforms.