In this interview spotlight, we chat with EnaFay about her influences, challenges, the new EP Arwen and more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Visit EnaFay’s official website to find the Arwen EP and more. It is also on Spotify.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
To my genre or style? It kind of just happened…I don’t really know how to class it anyway. It is a fusion of many different things – the lyrics come very much from the heart, they are at times poetic, yet I try to keep them simple as well. The production and structure of the songs are a bit experimental, yet the base of all of them is very much a pop song. The melodies come very naturally, so I am sure that these relate back to the music I listen to in my every day life.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
The joy in performing in front of my family and friends I guess! I would use any chance I got when I was around 4 years old til I was a young teenager to put on a show to my favourite pop songs (a lot of Destiny’s Child) or a show featuring songs I wrote (in German or English). I had a few intense years as a kid of writing and performing with my then best friend…this was so much fun and felt so easy. Later, when I started having singing lessons with 16 and was playing and singing in bands it got a bit more serious and there was a lot more ‘second thoughts’ involved which generally speaking can be exhausting. These ‘second thoughts’ I do still lose when I am actually on stage performing which lets me be very much in the moment. This is when the magic happens for me – when the people around you have the chance to connect to you and your music, when you have a chance to share it and get real reactions from not just the audience, but also the musicians playing with you. This is what drives me to push it out to the public – to feel something real happening in the room which connects, but still gives everyone there the space to be free, in the images that may occur in their head and in the way it makes them feel.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
Everything in my personal life influences my creativity. I am most creative when I have a specific goal, but am not stressed about it. Stress can make me anxious and anxiety kills my creativity, unfortunately. Working with other people also fuels my creativity. I love when I can share my idea with someone to then get a response which leads to more ideas coming from my side!
Yes, my tastes keep evolving. I have went through many different phases, generally, however, I choose the music depending on my mood. Right now I am very much into laid back atmospheric music like Lyves. Am also really inspired by the singer/songwriter Syml’s music at the moment. Drake has been a constant favourite for quite a while now for me. I, however, also still turn on Destiny’s Child sometimes, especially when I am in the mood for singing.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
Yes, the interesting thing for me was making this EP a concept EP where the songs are guiding you through a storyline. When I wrote the songs originally, they actually had nothing to do with one another. When it came to putting them together in form of an EP, I suddenly realised that I can find a storyline in them if I want to. So I decided it should reflect a journey of finding balance – in a relationship as well as in yourself. And for this to be clearer to the listener, I wanted to create a continuous video that supports the music, but still lets the words in the songs speak. So I wanted it to be quite simple and coherent, yet the different songs should also be able to stand alone so that I can release them as singles. Only really when you watch and listen to the whole 20 minute EP, the story will make sense – possibly!! I would say that the message is there, but it is not obvious. Which then also leaves room for interpretation……
All of this was a completely new experience for me and with that not just creatively highly challenging, but also for my organisational skills.
What was the last song you listened to?
Free by 6LACK
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I love CDs (that is why I am releasing my debut EP also on CD), but since quite a while I am mainly listening to mp3s as it is just so handy!! Vinyl I think is very sexy, but I never really got into them…I guess they are even unhandier.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I really like using Spotify since I went ‘premium’…paying 10£ per month and then no ads in between is so worth it! No interruptions, that is how I like it! 😀 I have always been more an album person than playlist person, but I am discovering the joy in playlists at the moment…Spotify is very good for collecting the songs on the spot for your own playlists. But it is also great for albums and you have a nice overview when the artist released the music which is really interesting and helpful for me to see as an artist. Thanks to the suggestions Spotify has based on the music that I am already playing I am also discovering a lot of artists I have not heard before – it’s helping me expand my repertoire!
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
For me it is to have content to post on social media and with that to the whole world. I am not really at all a social media kind of person – if it wasn’t for my music, I would probably have no account on anything apart from maybe Facebook. If I want to share something, it is usually to a specific person or a smaller group of friends, but the idea of putting something out there for everyone to see, especially if it is personal, doesn’t come to me naturally. But it’s the thing you have to (nowadays?) to keep the people interested. And to be fair, the personal things are usually the most interesting also to me to read about others…so for me, I think, it’s just a matter of getting used to opening up to a broader audience.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
The best place to connect with me online is probably Facebook. It is the platform where you’ll find all the updates on new releases, upcoming shows etc. first. My website, however, is the most personal one of the lot so I would recommend heading there (after or before you’ve liked my fb page!) 😉
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
