Bringing her trademark honesty to the forefront, Eliza Shaddad proves that she is a force to be reckoned with in her newest EP Sept ~ Dec.

Songstress Eliza Shaddad has had quite the remarkable path into becoming the musician she is today. Born to a Sudanese astrophysicist and a Scottish Diplomat, she was raised across 7 countries before settling down to do a philosophy degree and later pursue jazz at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As expected from one with such a fascinating backstory, the experiences and wisdom that has accompanied her upbringing has been culled into her music as well, giving way to an emotional and mature sound that is utterly captivating and in command of your whole attention. Her newest EP Sept ~ Dec draws Eliza’s innermost feelings to the forefront, providing insight and a mutual understanding into the thoughts of the songstress.

Allowing her vulnerability to shine through, Eliza touches upon themes of isolation and withdrawal in the three tracks. The searing guitars of opening One Last Embrace creates a warm fuzz to sink your teeth into, whilst Same As You brings down the grunge-influences to softly flitter with lulling guitars and breathy vocals. Finale Girls adds its glimmer in shimmering dream-pop sonics, and although only these 3 tracks form the material for the EP, it is more than enough to display the diverse abilities of the songstress.

Eliza says of the process:

I wanted to be able to record at whim and capture the feelings and moods of these songs right in the moment, so we set up loads of gear and basically lived around it, refining and recording and refining. We kept crazy hours and got cabin fever most days, and then went and jumped in the sea and came back to work.

Feeling completely smitten by the work, we got in touch with Eliza to discuss in further detail her inspirations and the themes surfacing within the EP.

What’s a motto you live by?

Treat people like you’d like to be treated.

If your sound had a colour, what colour would it be and why?

Blue I imagine – moody, often kind of sad underneath it all.

If you could set the EP to a movie, which movie would it form the soundtrack for?

Some kind of teenage coming of age film I think – maybe a modern 10 things I hate about you 🙂

Taking inspiration from the EP title, what’s your fondest memory of the September – December just past?

I guess I have a real sense of achievement from making things work in a new way last Autumn.  I started working with new people, and took on a lot more responsibility for my career – and it felt really good.

Which is your favourite month and why?

March – my birthday 🙂 You start getting the fair days and the flowers and life is full of promise 🙂

Can you explain the meaning behind the EP title, and the EP more generally?

It’s a continuation of a theme, I have a previous EP called January~March, and I always knew I wanted to finish off the series – and when this EP came around it seemed to fit so well – it’s a really connected set of songs, and is closure for the last year, and it was to be an Autumn release 🙂

Do you have any behind-the-scenes stories of recording the EP that you can share with us?

We were recording in the middle of nowhere by the ocean in Cornwall and had a lot of moments where knocking our heads together became intolerable and we’d go and jump in the sea and then come back to work super refreshed.

And finally, what does music mean to you?

Haha life – expression, connection, fun.