Part 1

Name: Chris Bartels aka Elskavon

Nationality: American
Occupation: Producer, sound artist, singer, songwriter  
Current release: The new Elskavon album Origins is out via Western Vinyl.
Recommendations: The book Bittersweet by Susan Cain was an interesting exploration on the connection between melancholy-leaning personalities and creativity.
And a piece of music that I’m enamored with recently is Seabuckthorn’s new album Of No Such Place. His music really engulfs me, as if I’m part of a film scene at the moment - even if I’m listening and doing one of those ‘mundane’ life tasks.

If you enjoyed this interview with Elskavon and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I was 16, bored one summer day, when I grabbed a guitar that my brother was borrowing and started teaching myself. Recording and production came shortly after, when I bought the DAW Acoustica Mixcraft on my old PC and started recording (horribly, I might add - clipping everything and I had no idea what I was doing).

Around that time, I was into all sorts of music, as I always have been, but in particular alternative and indie rock - Weezer, The Strokes, Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, etc. - so that’s the type of songs I wanted to and tried to write at first.

The idea of building a song piece by piece, and having a record of it, and also being able to play those songs with friends - the level of excitement I felt with this new dream and creative outlet was unheard of for me.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

I can’t say I’m able to pinpoint any particular happenings, since music is and has been a part of so many different aspects of my life - from pure emotion across the spectrum, to memories with friends, to background music and a creative partner while I write or process thoughts.

In general, music has been at the core of embracing all the emotions and feelings of life for me - excitement, nostalgia, sadness, longing, hope, happiness, prayer, love.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

I think my personal voice, as a musician, comes through most often with studio experiments and embracing chance and the unknown while writing. As in, sure, I write a lot of different styles of music, but that mostly happens pretty organically - out of sheer curiosity or accidental stylistic experiments - using instruments or objects or recordings in unconventional ways and breaking studio “rules,” if you will. So the things I write always blend in and out of various styles and influences; taking chances and foreign routes while writing lends itself to a creative uniqueness, I hope.

I think this Elskavon album Origins takes this to a new level for me personally - I really embraced experimentation and the idea of never boxing in what I wanted to do creatively on these songs. Is it ambient? Is it electronic? Pop? Experimental? Sure - all of the above, probably.

So I think that search for my personal voice comes through when I simply give in to wherever the creative experiments lead.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

My hope is that I’m simply someone who gives my all to my family and friends, and to the creative passion and drive that I have. I hope I can inspire others who also feel a creative call to their heart, and never forget that so many people have inspired me, coached me, and opened doors for me along the way - I want to continually do that for others.

Being a life-long listener and fan of music, and being an artist - they go hand in hand for me - they feed each other.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Passion and discipline need to be partners: Creative inspiration doesn’t always just show up. Sometimes I need to show up first, and get to work - the inspiration always, eventually, comes back.

When inspiration does hit, however, drop everything else and embrace it. When I have that pure excitement and vigor for writing - if I’m able, I make sure I put any other work aside and fully dive in and create.

Embrace your wiring, and stop apologizing for it. This one has been a journey for me - a slow evolution. I used to second guess myself more often - “Should I / should I not do this or that?” - worrying about following a career or creative “template” of sorts. The older I get, the more I am growing in the capability to simply embrace who I am, and what I like doing - that is, for the most part - writing and recording music, and lots of it, at home, and with friends. Then, letting the chips fall where they may.

Life is too short to overthink it all. But, still easier said than done no matter what! The only rule is there are no rules. I discussed this earlier in my answer of studio experimentation.

Try lots of things, but don’t overcommit to them if it’s not giving you life. I easily get tempted to dive head first into big new projects and concepts - making a podcast, long-form videos, digital instruments and sample pack creation - and I often enjoy them all. But at the end of the day, if I overcommit myself to something that’s not the main thing, I quickly get burnt out, and also it takes away from what I enjoy most - writing music.

Another thing that is still easier said than done for me - keeping the main thing the main thing.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I think perfection and perfectionism are two very different things.

To a degree, as a music fan, I would definitely say there are some albums I love deeply that I would call perfect in their own way - only because they impacted me so much at some point in my life, and they’ll always have such a special place for me. But there is no such thing as a “perfect” recording or creative piece in the sense that you can always keep working on something, fine-tuning it, pitching it, and editing it more and more - in that sense, I never want “perfection” - I want human.

That’s where the timelessness comes in for me - perfection in a nostalgic, emotional, and artistic sense, but not in a technical sense. And that timelessness, I believe, comes out of originality and innovation of artists - that’s what impacts us so much as music fans, as music fans.

That is what I’m interested in - and maybe that’s a blend between a “music of the future” and a “continuing a tradition” - innovation meets timelessness - but either way - it’s coming from a creative, human calling.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

I love dabbling in a lot of arenas when it comes to music and recording gear - guitars, synths, pianos, effects pedals, tape machines, samplers, modular synthesis - as well as all sorts of digital, “in-the-box” gear - DAWs, plugins, digital instruments and samplers.

Looking back, though, I would say my main “instrument” is simply Apple’s Logic Pro - my digital audio workstation software. I say that because this is the thing, out of all the gear and instruments, that I have spent the most hours with, and by far. And it’s the thing I’ve become the most skilled at - I’m a decent guitar player, an okay-at-best pianist, etc. - but I can really fly in Logic.

And going back to the studio experiments and chance creativity - it happens a lot for me there - from sampling, editing, processing, playing, mixing - there’s endless opportunities no matter what DAW you use these days - for me, Logic is my main tool and has led to all sorts of exciting journeys.