Elizaveta Ephemeris

Hello, Moscow!

Here I am in my old city again.

What is happening in my life, you may ask?

Well, lots and lots. First and foremost, I am working on an acoustic EP, called Fairytales and Satellites, to be out by summer's end. It's all just piano and voice... ok voices,  and some beautiful strings here and there. The titles are:

Icarus

Familiar

Satellite

Fairy Tale for Girls

Bella Anima

I am very excited about it because unlike HERO, this EP very  will be very pure and acoustic. I get so ambitious when I record or arrange these days. Fairy Tales and Satellites is a good counterpart to Hero because it is so stripped down and breathes differently. As a matter of fact, the original takes that are being used were not even recorded to click - they are performances, and it also gives the songs/tracks a different kind of vibe, which is not as polished and very organic.

Plus, the full Hero album promises to be pretty ambitious and full sounding, just like the Hero EP, so Fairy Tales and Satellites provides a welcome harbor for those of my fans who miss Beatrix Runs. Also - Bella Anima is a hybrid pop/opera kind of song, just like Odi et Amo, so since the Hero EP didn't have any opera on it, this should soothe the pain;)

This past weekend I was a guest of B2 at Russia's largest open air rock music festival, aka NASHESTVIE. It means Invasion, more or less. I guested on one of my favorite songs of theirs - Молитва, or Prayer. Actually, I am going to post a cover of it shortly. 

By the way, do you see a pattern here: I release an EP called HERO, which then gets used for an epic viral Superman video, and following that I perform at a festival called Invasion? Coincidence? I think not!;)

Performing in front of 120,000 people is quite a high, let me tell you. There was a symphony orchestra and fireworks. I wore a new headpiece, designed by my lovely i102fly:

Ignore the sweater with dots. This photo was taken in the green room/tent and I was trying to keep warm. By evening's end it was FREEZING cold. I thought I would die. But I still wore the dress. Ah, the pressures of performing life;)

Unfortunately that morning I woke up absolutely sick - apparently I had had some sort of food poisoning. Warning: do not eat little cakes in Moscow's cafes you are not familiar with - which I had.

Shura B2, one of the band's two leads, suggested I take some super Soviet remedy which had been developed in the USSR in the 70's for cosmonauts, in case they got poisoned by something in space. Ok. Well, it worked - it tasted like chalk, but by the afternoon I was alive and well and keeping food down, as opposed to lying down flat with my eyes closed.

Note to self: driving for three hours on Russian country roads while sick from food poisoning is not something that can or should be done on regular basis.

All in all, I'd love to do it again. And again. And again. I mean, the performance part, not the food poisoning part. It was unreal, it was beautiful - it was a high of all highs.

 

 

Speaking of performing in front of large crowds. Here is a video we just posted of my performance of Dreamer with symphony orchestra in Minsk, Belarus (Minsk Arena), when I was touring in support of B-2. Maybe not 120,000 people, but definitely around 12,000. I was terrified out of my mind, but had such fun. My personal favorite part of the video is when the camera pans across the keyboard player who is having a blast. What else could I ask for, really?:)

 

Other updates and things coming up or in the works:

-  A cute and much delayed fan-sourced HERO video, where I am talking about the song. It features footage from fans and kids.

-  Japanese language EP (two songs, Dreamer and Hero)

- Odi et Amo in Chinese

- Two new covers

- Full Hero album this winter

- Full Russian language album this spring

However, there are other big things in progress I am not quite at liberty to talk about just yet... so stay tuned, my darlings;)

The PegBoard Nerds version of HERO was used by their label Monstercat for a remix contest. So now, if you go to YouTube, and type in Elizaveta, what you get is literally hundreds of Hero remixes of all kinds.

 

A final note to my fans who read this: I know it takes me time to deliver things I promise to you, like the Hero video. However, since I am an indie artist at the moment, a lot rests on my shoulders and sometimes things just take  - a lot - longer. This will change soon enough as I am putting together a new team and a framework for myself which will make everything easier. But I am not quite there yet. So I am the CEO, the builder, the artist, and the everything.

Well, except for you, who read this, listen to my music and come to my concerts. Without you, there would not be much at all, so thank you for your patience:)

The future holds fun things

..such as a crowdfunding campaign!

And a video or two.

I am finally over my cold and I have a month until my tour in Russia.

The Russian EP is finished and getting mixed.

I have started my own RECORD LABEL! It is called....wait for it.....wait for it.....

FLower Army Records

I can't wait to start releasing music.

a day of rest

I had an incredible couple of days and only now getting a little bit of rest. Next week I still have some vocals to finish for my Russian record and then I am off to London.

Joe's Pub performance was a grand time for me and it seemed to really connect with the audience, as well. It was sold out and people were so nice. I think I have become a better performer since the last time I sang here. New Yorkers are a tough crowd, they are very sophisticated and demanding.

I loved being part of the Prototype Festival. Unfortunately my buddy Timur the Tenor couldn't join me on the Odi et Amo duet at Joe's. I would have liked that because our performance at the LuEsther Lounge together was quite something. I think being paired up with another singer of an operatic background on a pop-ish duet makes me get louder and more dramatic/operatic than usual, and that it turn fires him up... and off we go into the stratosphere of vocal omnipotence;)

There are so many things I want to add to my live set, though. Electric guitar is going to become a permanent part of it, as I work on this in February, once I am back. Choreography...

But it's important to realize that I have come a long way as a performer in these last two years since the very advent of the first Beatrix Runs songs.

On to London in a few days. Can't wait.

New York!

I love New York. Well, I was born here. When I come back, I am always both a little scared and excited. It's almost as if I am feeling the city challenge me and say: 'So? Have you accomplished your destiny? Where are you at? Why are you slacking? This is not why you were born here, little girl! Step up!'

Unlike Los Angeles, where I am just face to face with myself and act like a hermit, NYC has an energy all its own. It's alive, it breathes, shudders, buzzes. It provides stimulation everywhere and on every level.

My show tomorrow night is sold out:

I will have a wonderful bass player performing with me, Anthony Maceli.

If you are reading this, and missed out, I am performing a short set late tonight at The Festival Lounge at Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St NYC 1003. It's like an after hours hangout space for festival goers.

I go on at 11 PM, and it's free.

Yesterday New York was chilly and sunny.

One of the things I simply can't understand is how New Yorkers don't all weigh 300 pounds, simply because there are so many incredible places to eat everywhere, ten per every city block.

A fan drew a picture of me and posted on Facebook. It's beautiful, but what's even more striking to me is the owl. You see, I have been writing a story (animation screenplay sort of thing) and there is an owl in it. I have neglected the story in the recent months because the music took over. But this is like a definite sign to keep at it and finish it. All right, I'll do my best!

(drawing by Melissa Posch)

The show at Witzend in LA was also sold out and a few fans showed up to sing Hero with me. Some of them were 10, others in their 20's, 30's, 40's & 50's - I'd say we had quite a diverse group. It was a great start to a tradition, I think. It felt great.

I love to sing.

Right now I am pretty tired, though. But it's a good tired. Tonight, I'll be joined on Odi et Amo by a pretty amazing tenor (and friend) Timur Bekbosunov. He is quite something - I guess I'll just use his own description on his personal site because I couldn't come up with anything better: "The tumultuous sensation of omnipotent splendor, fueled by passion for contemporary art, culture and politics".

Only a tenor would come up with something like that;)

Sunny and not freezing

Los Angeles seems to be out of the eye of the Polar Vortex. My friends and colleagues elsewhere in the US are not happy with me and Los Angeles at the moment.

I am Russian, however. I still remember the -34 celsius weather in Moscow growing up. School would get cancelled and I would stay at home and play music. Heaven. Warm soup, tea etc.

How do you like my new baby?

I am still keeping and using the RC 50, though. As a matter of fact I am traveling with it this time around because I am mostly traveling by myself and the idea of bringing the electric guitar on top of everything else I am bringing doesn't quite work for me. I need an entourage! OK, maybe just a very tiny one, for carrying things around, massaging my shoulders and telling me to calm down.

Apply here..................................................

Among other things I am dedicating this year to become an ace opera singer and a gear head. I am well on my way.

I also want to keep recording in Japanese, now that I recorded Dreamer, I want to do it again. Maybe Korean, too, seems like I have a thing for tongue twisty languages, must be a Slav masochist thing.

My new year resolution TO. BLOG. is working for now. I feel proud.

But now I have to get back to real work.

And I have a show this Saturday!

So You Think You Can Dance, Strep, Dragons, Dreamer Kids and Journeys

How is that for a blog entry title?

Anyway, just a few minutes ago I got an email that my song 'Meant' will be featured on tonight's season premiere episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Wow! I will have to watch! Very excited. Over the past year I have received so many emails from people who used 'Dreamer' as their dance song - for recitals, flag routines - you name it. I do like that show a lot. Every time I have watched it I have walked away with a firm decision to take up dancing again. Er....OK, soon.

Unfortunately no celebratory glass of wine for me tonight. I have been sick with strep throat. Let me tell you: don't get it. I don't know how I picked it up, but chances are it was at the elementary school where we did our first Dreamer to Hero Art & Music Workshop a week and a half ago.

The workshop was done as a collaboration with my designer and art partner in crime Missy Washington of i102fly - she did the art portion of the event, while I did - guess? - the musical part of it, obviously. The kids were 8-9 years old and there were about 20 of them.

Halfway through the workshop I recorded the kids singing a part for my new song HERO. Yes, the one with the choir at the end. After that, Missy led them in an arts and crafts endevour.

Let me tell you: who needs high end gadgets or materials? She brought supplies from a Re-Use outlet and we made Superhero Machines from cardboard, discarded plastic, CDs, old packaging and other bits and pieces. The idea was to show them that sometimes even though you don't have the ultimate raw material/situation/resources to work with, you can still come out on top, be creative and come up with something amazing - and that applies to everything in life, in my opinion. The kids made some really incredible things and it was really inspiring to watch them.

We had a brilliant time and I can't wait to do it again. It was also filmed (by my friend Julien Lasseur), so in the next week or so we will post the video summary of the event.

Here is myself, two young Dreamers and Missy of i102fly.

A good time was had by all.

 

Speaking of the Choir for HERO: a huge thank you to all who submitted their recordings and videos. We had plenty recordings and the choir is sounding great! We may still ask fans for more videos, but we may be ok, too, we'll have to cut to song and see what happens. The best part about it is that for the first time I have engaged my fans in something active and something collaborative. It generated so much positive energy - I am definitely doing to do this again.

Later that week we also shot a little video for the acoustic version of a new song called Dragonslayer. The song is in the electronica genre and one of the ones I have been producing myself recently. I am pretty proud of it. The acoustic version works really well, too.  Here is a still from the shoot:

So now there are all sorts of videos in the pipeline.

However it was that weekend that I got very sick. I tried my best to stay off the antibiotics, but it turned out that I had strep throat, and it was rather virulent. It was so bad that I felt a slight sore throat Sunday morning and by Sunday night I had no voice whatsoever.

I did all my natural remedies, as usual and they helped a lot - but after a week in bed I was still in pretty bad shape. As much as I try to avoid medication (due to a very negative experience in the past I may speak about here later sometime) I had to give in and take one because now it's less than two weeks before I leave for Europe - my London show is on the 30th - and then Paris - and then TED Global. There's lots to do and I can't just keep riding this infection out.

Fortunately the antibiotic seems to be doing its job and I am better, except for a nasty cough that comes and goes, so no singing for another few days.

And now back to work.

Here is also a photo from my photoshoot with Belathee Photography a couple of weeks ago. Those girls are so good! And so fun to be around! Can't wait to work with them again.