Genre:R & B
<p>It takes just three seconds for Elias’s debut single Revolution to leave an indelible impression. That voice emerges from out of the ether: tender yet possessing an evident power, it builds into a powerful crescendo which exudes the passion of soul. It’s a vocal you’d expect from someone whose talents had been seasoned by decades of performance and heartache.</p><p>Yet a second surprise is soon forthcoming, for Elias is just 19-years-old.</p><p>Thematically it’s a classic protest song. “Revolution is about the beauty of breaking up something you don’t believe in and instead doing something the way that you want to,” he explains. “It’s not an angry song, it’s more about the excitement of being able to make a brand new start.”</p><p>Elias grew up in Stockholm, Sweden in a normal working class family. His first musical memory is that of singing along as his mother performed punk-inspired work songs. He too would write, although it took a little time for him to realise that his words could be shaped into songs that would command the attention of an audience.</p><p>“When I wrote Revolution a lot of people reacted really positively which gave me a lot of confidence,” he recalls. “But before then, it took some time to find my own sound. It was a slow and very natural process.”</p><p>It’s a track that only represents one side of Elias’s sounds. Otis Redding is an obvious inspiration, but he also credits FKA twigs, Spooky Black and Patti Smith as artists that he admires “for making his own way.” His other songs could be bolder in scale or far more intimate; they could be built around live instrumentation or structured on electronic sounds: “I don’t want my music to be limited by any rules.”</p><p>His most common lyrical theme, he winces, is “stuff that goes unsaid, or stuff that fucking hurts.” He’s motivated by investigating his nation’s social issues which aren’t often addressed in song: racism, the rise of far right politics and growing inequality.</p><p>Those opening moments of Revolution alone provide evidence for Elias’s huge potential. Learning a little more about the man behind the music only increases that respect.</p><p><a href="http://facebook.com/eliassongss">http://facebook.com/eliassongss</a>
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