5 Questions with Elori Saxl

5 Questions

with Elori Saxl

Words by Loren Sunderland

Since 2020, the American experimental and electronic composer and producer Elori Saxl has been steadily building her distinctive discography. Based between New York City and Wisconsin, Saxl first captivated listeners with her release "Wave I," and most recently unveiled her latest EP, "Grows Along the River Fast."

Saxl's music has a rare ability to transport the listener on various journeys. The textures, forms, and colours she conjures all connect back to her multifaceted creative background as a filmmaker and visual artist. 

In this 5-question Q&A, Saxl shares the importance of community and seeking advice from peers, developing her live performances and the tools she likes to use to create her music.

As the year comes to a close, what are some of the highlights and challenges you've experienced as a composer and producer? 

Highlights have been getting to make things with old and new collaborators. Making things with and for friends, bringing in more improvisation into the music, and finding new collaborators that help me express myself through sound, photos, graphic design, and the live show. Being constantly amazed that people get what I’m trying to do and are down to be part of it and that the music has effectively conveyed it all. I feel like I unlocked something with the live show this year that I’m quite excited about. An interplay between through-composed ideas and space for improvisation and live-ness that also leaves more space for each performer’s voice. I’d say a challenge is still trying to figure out how to bring that show to more people and places. I am incredibly proud of the live show and excited for it to eventually be seen more.

“I break my own rules all the time.”

How do New York and Madeline Island influence your music and filmmaking? 

They’re everything. They influence the pace, colour palette, tone, and themes. There are also literal samples of the places embedded throughout my music. They are also my homes and communities, so the conversations happening in those places are a big part of why I make the musical choices I make.

How do you typically approach starting a new music project?

I like to begin with pretty extensive research periods. If it’s for a personal project, that can look all sorts of ways but generally involves me trying to formulate a question or idea I want to explore through music. I find that helps me narrow the scope and understand when a project is “done.” It’s often a combination of a more global question and a very personal problem/question I’m trying to work through. So the music is (hopefully) a way for me to sort through that. And then I’m thinking about what sort of sound language might be appropriate for the question. Lots of reading and often also building a visual reference world. I almost never listen to other music in this process. 

With scoring projects, I’m also beginning with lots of research. Lots of conversations with the directors about the themes, ideas, and emotions behind the work. We’ll talk a bit about specific sound worlds if it’s something they have thoughts about, but the most important part for me is understanding the emotional tone, pacing, and colour palette of the work. I’ll also read a lot about the subject and look for specific ideas or questions that interest me or spark some ideas. From there, I’ll similarly try to think about what sound language might make the most sense for the project. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong to this, but I think just thinking about it and making some really specific choices about what is or isn’t allowed can help make the score more cohesive and also help me think of new ideas by creating some creative limitations. I break my own rules all the time, but it’s a helpful starting point.

“Being constantly amazed that people get what I’m trying to do and are down to be part of it and that the music has effectively conveyed it all.”

Which instruments do you always turn to when experimenting with sound?

It’s definitely different depending on the project, but I suppose the keyboard has become a constant. I use the Roland Juno 106 a lot, Ableton stock sample sounds, and custom samples I make. In this past project, I used the E-mu ESI-32 a bunch. Been also using the Moog minotaur and DFAM a lot lately.

What are you looking to develop in your next artistic projects?

Vulnerability, honesty, physicality. Leaning into intuition, keeping things loose, more heart, more dirt.

Elori Saxl by Peter Coccoma

What tools do you prefer for composing and producing? 

Computer, Ableton, Midi keyboard, Juno 106, violin.

How important are creative communities to you, and which ones do you engage with? 

Community is everything, but it can take many different forms. It’s been a long journey to realize that “community” and “scene” are not the same thing. I have never felt part of a scene. Neither geographically nor aesthetically. I have a very small circle of collaborators and close friends who I look to for feedback, support, and inspiration. Some of those people are musicians, many are not. I think it’s most important to find people who you feel seen and supported by and who you believe have your best interest in mind as a whole human.

What does being a composer mean to you? 

Shaping sounds through time.