Eliza Shaddad – The Woman You Want

By starrymag | September 23, 2021

By: Alejandra Gil M

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Ethereal grunger growing up [smiles]

 

Q) The Woman You Want was recorded at home with your producer and husband BJ Jackson and is full of new soundscapes such as classical guitar, harmonica, mandolins, among others which I find fascinating. What was your mind goal creating it?

 

A) When we first started recording, I thought it was going to be a small bedroom indie production – but we soon started expanding things and the more we played the more I wanted it to be a lush hi-fi listening experience.  Making it at home with fewer time pressures than normal allowed us to experiment with instruments I’d not used before too.

 

Q) The album was mixed by Grammy Award winner Sam Okell, mastered by Tim Rowkins and features Michael Jablonka, who have worked with artists like PJ Harvey and Rina Sawayama. What was it like putting the album together with them?

 

A) They’re all amazing so it was a real pleasure – and it was especially cool seeing this thing we’d made at home start to grow in terms of sound and reach.

 

Q) Taken from the album is upcoming single “Fine & Peachy,” which is sort of a nod to the greats of the nineties such as Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette – calling out the liars, cheats, gas lighters and fake news pushers of this world. Throughout your voice is just stunning. What was the writing process like for the song did you have the lyrics or the music first?

 

A) Ah thank you – I think I had the guitar parts for this song first and the lyrics came tumbling out for it after.  We have Glyn Daniels on drums and Michael Jablonka on guitar, so they give the track a huge energy boost – and it was a really fun one to record. [smiles]

 

Q) This album is accompanied by music videos for the songs “Blossom,” “Heaven” and “Fine & Peachy” – all directed by you and longtime collaborator Jodie Canwell. What was it like developing the concept for each of them?

 

A) It was pretty “flying by the seat of our pants.” [laughs] We filmed four music and a BTS documentary in six days, so it was pretty high pressured – but Jodie’s phenomenal and we turned these theoretical ideas into really beautiful visual elements relatively simply.

 

Q) Your album The Woman You Want just came out on July 16 and you explained that it was approached with the idea of wanting to be a better human in general but not feeling capable of it, so it comes as a challenge. What do you hope people take away from it?

 

A) I’d like people to feel less pressure to be who they’re expected to be – and to take the time to figure out who they actually want to be.

 

Q) Have you gotten any specific feedback about the album that has stood out?

 

A) There’s been some super lovely messages from musicians I admire greatly and that’s been especially cool. [smiles]

 

Q) This year you are set to undertake a live project with the support of Arts Council England and Jerwood Arts, which builds on a full year of weekly Instagram livestreams and collaborations which have been viewed in excess of 250,000 times. How did that come to be?

 

A) I had a lot of time to dream of big projects last year and this is one of the biggest things to come out of that – I hunkered down and did some funding applications. Then, I found an amazing team, rehearsed songs with a 10-piece band and the project premieres on August 11th 8pm BST with free tickets available from Dice!

 

Q) You are a founding member of ten-year-strong female arts collective Girls Girls Girls, which works to empower women within the arts, and to raise awareness and funding for the anti-female genital mutilation charity Orchid Project. Why is it important to you to be a part of it?

 

A) It’s an amazing way to connect with other female creators – to support each other and to raise awareness for the amazing work of Orchid Project.

 

Q) You studied Jazz at London´s Guildhall before self-producing your first EP recorded with Clean Bandit´s Jack Patterson. How did that prepare you to be a lot more immersed in the industry?

 

A) Actually, I think both were nothing like what my experience of being in the music industry has been – so I would say the showed me windows into the different ways of being a musician. [smiles]

 

Q) You have a reputation of very powerful live show in the UK, EU and USA. However, concerts were on hold for a long time because of the pandemic. What do you miss most about live performances?

 

A) I miss losing it on stage, feeling at one with everyone in there – having a kind of cathartic expulsion of emotions and then hearing folks in the audience have experienced the same thing. [smiles]

 

Q) Do you have any future plans of a tour or any upcoming concerts?

 

A) We’re touring the UK in November! Twelve dates across the country – from Truro to Glasgow. [smiles] And ahead of that the November 11th Livestream!

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) John Frusciante [smiles]

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

 

A) Thanks for being on this journey with me! [smiles]