Elizaveta Ephemeris

Hey! Happy New Year!

2016 took off at a run. There are a lot of changes and developments happening, one of which is me closing this blog down as separate site and transitioning it to be part of elizaveta.com, as it should have been for a while.

You must be asking: what happened, Elly? Did you go to Japan? Did you have a birthday? Did you have a good Christmas? 

Well, kind of yes to all of those and more. I have also moved. At the moment I am strictly nomadic, without a permanent address. Right now I am in Los Angeles. Prior to this it was Spain and Moscow. This Wednesday I am flying to Shanghai, where I will perform my song Odi et Amo in Chinese! After that I'll be briefly back stateside, but then going to Tokyo for all of February!

I am learning Japanese and it's been wonderful, plus I am still putting finishing touches on my Japanese language album, which will be released in May. So I'm off to Tokyo to take a language course, as well as explore it more, as I loved it the last time around. My love affair with Japan is in full bloom.

I have been writing and recording, don't worry! There is not only one, but TWO new Pegboard Nerds collaborations coming up this spring. I wrote and recorded two brand new duets. Two of my songs are about to be featured in movies out next month.

I am also joining Patreon, so if you are reading this blog, keep an eye out for that special link. The Patreon membership will allow me to provide new music and other content monthly, as I move around the globe and record in different languages.

I also performed at TED Global 2015 in December, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland. It was a wonderful experience. You can read a small write-up on it HERE.

We also shot a music video for the Japanese version of 'Hero', in collaboration with incredible floral artist Flower Couture (photo above is from my performance in Tokyo for Autodesk gallery opening, where she styled me). I can't wait to share all of that with you!

There is a lot more, but I have to go back to working and nursing my cold. I know I promised many times I'd be better about blogging and I guess I lied. I can just imagine my father reading this and shaking his head at his daughter's inconsistent behavior.

But hey! 2015 was a strange year and 2016 feels like the waves just got bigger. But I also feel like I am a much better surfer, so there. I am feeling creative and adventurous and this blog will not die, it will just resume a new life where it was always supposed to be - at my official site!

Stay tuned for the waves, my friends. And be assured that my absence here was not from hiding in a proverbial cave somewhere, it was just from being so ridiculously busy that I now know I need to organize myself 3,000 better. This spring is partially about that. I feel like I am about to take things to the next phase in more ways than one. Are you with me? I hope so:)

New Life, here I come

Sometimes new beginnings hide themselves in endings and vice versa.

I am going through something big, and I can feel it in my heart, my stomach, my toes, as well as my fingertips.

It's true that wherever you go, there you are. But sometimes you can leap and leave yourself behind for a split second.

I am not even sure what I mean here.

But I will be performing a concert in a couple of weeks. And I will sing the new me. After that I'll be going to Japan.

My album is done!!!!!

And here's a late night poem. I'll write more later with all the details.

 

 

 

A time to write, my cup is full, 
I hug the night, I call its bluff -
you cannot hide, my other half, 
I hear you call; I've set my sail.

From dusk till dawn where lovers live
where stardust gathers at the crack
between what's lost and what we give
I'll find you there - I'll bring you back

 

A time to write, the moon is high
it sings and whispers me to sleep
I'm dreaming as I slip away
while streetlights sway and shadows creep

I'm full of hope, I'm blessed by words
tomorrow is a gift to claim
Just wait for me, my other half:
I hear you call; I've set my sail.

Onwards

I got a little burned out and spent the last day and a half basically being a vegetable and watching a lot of Japanese animation. Yeah, I am a geek, what can I say. When I have time, I'll take good anime over pretty much any TV or film stuff. It's probably no surprise then, that my new version of Dreamer I just recorded in Japanese (live video to follow shortly) sounds like something from the opening credits of an anime.

I need to get back to work tomorrow and give it one big final push until Christmas and my birthday roll around in a week and a half's time.

The energy feels odd these days. There is a lot of tension in the air. It feels like systems and structures are either breaking down or are at their limits. There have been two big shoot-outs and hostage situations in the last 48 hours. Maybe I am also afraid whether I can live up to what 2015 has in store for me.

I am also worried about Russia and its economy. I feel terrible about Ukraine and where it's headed in 2015. I don't understand the glee I often encounter online, Twitter and Facebook when it comes to economical woes of countries. I don't find it funny when pundits compete with each other for the pithiest tweet on the subject. Don't people understand that at some level, *all* the rich and powerful of the world are always ok? It's the normal, regular people who suffer when a currency goes way down or when sanctions are applied. It's the old people who have to survive on their measly pensions - children who don't get proper healthcare or education - nurses and musicians who don't get paid - and so on.

I also don't understand blanket hate and derision. I don't understand when someone posts under my audio for 'Hero' a comment: "F**ck all Russians". 

Anyway. I think it's time I took a long break from all news and internet-related things.

And here are a couple of videos we shot recently, when I was in the studio, recording.

This is 'Marshmallow World' - one of my fav Christmas songs:

 

We kind of went overboard with Santa hats, but hey - sometimes you just need to be silly.

And this is 'Silent Night', in Russian:

 

I am going to take a couple of days off internet and work on music. Enjoy and see you soon...x

Spy Satellites

So, as a little heads up, I will be launching a brand new music side project soon. It's called Spy Satellites and it will be All Electro All The Time. What that means is that this will be my electronic music project. I am excited about it because it has a significantly different sound. We already have the first single in place, it's getting mixed, and we're looking to make a video for it very soon, too.

This morning I am rather grumpy because I dropped my iPhone into a cup of tea as I randomly woke up in the wee hours of the morning and was checking the time. Fingers crossed it will dry out and be as good as new - because it IS new - my old one was washed in the washing machine prior to my departure for Russia. I am never this clumsy, I have no idea what is happening.

I'll just choose to believe that something amazing is around the corner and this is a way to get any kinks out of the way. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I have to believe something other than that I have to get a new iPhone.

 

Saying hi live!

Well, not as romantic as a train, but from my mom's kitchen in Moscow!

 

Going Live: November 4, 2014, Live Video Stream w/ Elizaveta

There is a lot going on in my world these days, and I know I haven't exactly been very visible.

But all of this is about to change:)

This is a chance to catch up, for me to explain what is coming up, chat live with fans & friends.

This stream will go live Tuesday, November 4, at 4:00PM PST and I will be on air for 30 minutes.

Be there!

You can also follow it from my Facebook Artist page, as well as the actual Bambuser channel, where you can chat with me live, via the Chat feature.

 

 

 

There has been a heat wave here in Los Angeles in the past few days. My mom in Moscow tells me there is one there, too. Climate change is a reality. I can't believe there are still many influential politicians who are denying this particular factoid - well, specifically, that it may have to do something with humans. We certainly hate to take responsibility.

But this morning I did wake up early, although I stayed up late working on music, and made it to the beach. I ran, I played in the waves a bit, I tried to meditate. There were lots of dolphins going by, past the surfers who kept trying to catch the sporadic waves.

I found myself wishing I had taken my phone to take a couple of photos and it got me thinking about the nature of reality as we are living it now. It's almost as if when we don't share it, it hasn't happened. If you experience a beautiful, spectacular moment, one of the first thoughts is: Oh, wait, I must film this. Certainly, I live in and out of the social media because of what I do for a living. I don't dislike the process, unlike some of my counterparts, which is understandable. In fact, a part of me rather enjoys it at times.

However it brings me to thinking about reality and how fragmented it has become for so many of us. Perhaps I am completely in the wrong here and there's a Luddite hidden in me, but how much of our attention in the moment goes to our device, in order to share that moment and get lots of likes, rather than to the moment itself?

I watched the dolphins go by, and one of them jumped a couple of times into the air, for no apparent reason, other than enjoying that moment, in the surf, with the sun rising, fish swimming and the surfers bobbing up and down on their boards, looking like seals. If dolphins had opposable thumbs, would they have invented mobile phones?

I was glad in that moment I didn't have my phone with me and made a resolution to never bring it to these morning outings. I spend enough time in front of screens, as it is.

And then I wondered about the nature of reality again, and what we make it, and how what we share is often not the truth, but something we wish it was.

I have been to so many parties and events where the whole point was not even the event itself, but the fact that it happened, period. People took photos of themselves, making it look like they were having the time of their lives, when it was not necessarily the case. Or, a half empty room can look pretty full and exciting, when someone takes a photo, which is strategically aimed, placed or edited.

We take carefully aimed and lit photos of ourselves, too, whenever we can. Or photos of the incredible food we are having, places we are, or people we are with. It's all in the editing. But it begs the question: do we share so much because there's just simply so much to share? Life overflows with bounty and excitement? Or is it because if we don't share it's almost as if it didn't happen, and we need to convince ourselves how grand and meaningful our lives really are?

You tell me.

It brings me to something someone very wise told me the other day: "When you create, do it to share, not to prove something". It took me a second to truly get where she was going with this because on the surface it's not that complicated, and begs to be discarded as a cliche. And yet, it's so profound, and it's related directly to what I was writing about above.

Speaking of sharing - I am working on a cover of a Def Leppard song. It's quite, quite different from the original. I am having a lot of fun with it, but there is much more urgent and important work to do, so it's a bit of musical procrastination. And yet, I need to allow myself to do this because sometimes I just need to play around in the musical sandbox without any particular aim or purpose, other than having fun with it. I tend to forget to do that and it's a necessity.

Back.

The summer is over. LA has a long summer.  As I am writing this, fall is finally here. It feels good. The light is changing, and although Los Angeles is not really a weather-rich kind of place, you can feel the change. Evenings are chillier. Some trees are definitely recognizing that it's time to change the color of their foliage, even though it's still warm during the day. The ocean is getting colder, too, but I still go for a daily swim.

I just spent a couple of days resting and basically doing not much of anything. I loved it. Sometimes I think maybe I don't have any 'in-between' settings. I am like a car that only has a 1st and 5th speeds. Sometimes I find myself idling - it could be because I need to rest or due to fear, but I can't stay there long. Once I start something, I go hard. Sometimes too hard, in fact, but a part of me enjoys that, as well. What is life for, if not to burn bright? 

My last entry here was early July, was it not? I think I was very raw and uncertain about a number of things. I had just come off of a trip of a lifetime - attending and performing at TED Global - but I was wrestling with a few emotional issues. I was also just at the start of making my new EP, which I had decided to produce myself. I was terrified, frankly. I wasn't sure I could do it. I was also freshly broken up with my major label. A good and friendly divorce, that. But a divorce is still a divorce, is it not? It had taken its toll.

I kept at it and kept going.

And fast forward to the last couple of weeks. We are done with my new EP. I did it - I think. This is the last week of tweaking and small changes and adjustments, and then we are mastering. And then I get to present this new music to my peers, the industry and the world.

Could it be better? Have I accomplished what I set out to do? It can ALWAYS be better. That said, this EP is most definitively me and I did my best - this time around. I know I will do better next time, as well, because I learned so, so much in the process. I loved every minute of it, even the fear and the freak-outs; the moments when I lay in bed, shaking and thinking: 'What the hell am I doing? Why do I think I can even do this?' Because you see, it's those moments of pain that frame the instants of 'Aha! It is working! Wow!' and by default, make me realize my progress.

The world will react to my music in some way, and I do hope it's as positive as it gets, but in my heart I know that I am these songs. This is my evolution. The fact is, because I produced this, every note, every chord and every moment of these songs is me, and me alone. Don't get me wrong - I delegated where I had to and I am forever grateful to some amazing people who contributed their time and talents. But this is me 100% in a way that Beatrix Runs was not, because this time I was not only the ship, I was also the Captain and the First Mate.

Some fun things happened this summer, too, like my song 'Meant' being featured on TV for the show 'Scandal', and then being used for 'So You Think You Can Dance'. Watching an amazing rhumba dance routine to 'Meant'  on prime time television was a treat in itself.

Some heartbreaking things happened, as well. The actor who was my romantic counterpart in the official video for 'Meant', Anthony De Baeck - passed away from cancer in the recent weeks. He had become a friend. He was a truly amazing, warm, beautiful human being. It hit me hard.

The owner and mastermind of my favorite L.A. listening room, The Witzend - Jeb Milne - also passed away. I grew to love and respect Jeb. I have performed many, many shows there in the past two years and loved it. Fortunately, his legacy, his venue will go on. I am glad because he had worked so, so hard to make it a reality. It was his dream. No, it was his Dream, with a capital 'D'. He made it come true, and then just as it took off, he left us to pursue other adventures on the other side of the universe. I will miss him, as will many others.

Where to now? Well, I feel strong, I am healthier than ever and I have this new music to carry me forward. One of the songs on the EP also has a Russian language version and will be my first official Russian single, as well. I am working on the full length Russian EP, as well. Also, in the making of my new EP, I encountered a wonderful new collaborator and creative soulmate. We are putting together a new project, separate from my solo music. It is a duo and the sound is quite different.

I have been writing the last bits of the Beatrix story and we intend to put it up in its entirety by the time the new release happens - better late than never.

A new stage is about to begin and I finally feel like I am ready to take it on.

I guess regardless of what will happen in the coming months, one thing that I do know deep in my heart is that I am, indeed, better than I was last year - as a singer, writer and performer. I kept evolving. Sometimes I took a step backwards, sometimes I stood still paralyzed by fear, but never for long. I kept moving forward. That is the most important thing to me. In the end, it is more important than recognition or material success. Knowing that I have improved and feeling the enthusiasm of a new beginning - those are the components of my 'aphrodisiac' towards life. Recognition is the third component, of course, but if the first two are truly present, the mixture can still be magic without external validation.

As long as I have the sense of the first two in my heart, I am the Alchemist.

 

Traveling, TED, Strep Throat etc

I am currently in Paris.

Yesterday I had crepes for breakfast.

Before that I was in Portugal, and I loved it. I would like to go back. I love the sound of the Portuguese language. It is soft, hard, romantic but unpretentious at the same time. It is cozy. French is beautiful, but it's difficult and twisty on the tongue. Italian - my first love - is open, honest and gorgeous like a sunlit cathedral. Of course there are many dialects of Italian, too. Portuguese is like cuddling under a blanket with a loved one, knowing that there are tasty things to eat in the kitchen and the day is stretching in front of you, lazy and welcoming.

I performed in London at the Elgin in Notting Hill. Unfortunately, my throat was not great, and I started coughing mid-set. I was not sure I could go on. Fortunately for me, I had my magic tea with me, the crowd was supportive and kind - and I went on to do all the songs, even the 'big' ones.

Missy Washington, aka i102fly, made me a special little something to wear for this show:

 

At this point, I am waiting until tomorrow to see how I feel and if I don't feel better, I'll go to a French doctor and probably end up on more antibiotics. Let's hope not. But I have rehearsing to do, and a TED performance next week - Tuesday. 

Right now I am working with a French stage visual effects wizard Cyrille Brissot. He and I are going to TED together and we're preparing something special for my show there.