ELDR – Deer Skin (2024)
While a newbie to our ears, UK-based ELDR has a critically acclaimed and award-winning history as a musician, film composer and documentary videographer. As a film composer, Marina Elderton (also known as ELDR) has composed scores for Sky Arts, Film4, BBC, and the award-winning documentary I AM A CLICHÉ. From a videography perspective, her DIY reality series ELDR:TV documented her life as a musician and mother earning her the award for Best Documentary Series at the Sydney Webfest. Today we gander at Elderton’s music project ELDR and the latest single ‘Deer Skin’.
Stepping away from her first music project White Russia, ELDR is a bold testament to resistance against the commercial music machine with its restrictive nature. An organic project, ELDR weaves together various types of pop music with an obscure eclecticism presenting a sound that is entirely her own. Following the well-received EP Höly Stranger in 2022, ‘Deer Skin’ adds an avant-garde experimentalism to a sonic tapestry weaving together aspects of trip-hop, electropop, alternative pop and even a hint of alternative rock.
As I said, ELDR brings an insatiable uniqueness to her tunes, yet a lingering lean toward The Cranberries and Björk is heard in her off-kilter vocals. Hushed and subdued, ELDR’s dulcet tones are soothing and demure but rich and confident in their obscurity. Joined by lo-fi Norwegian producer Knut Jonas Sellevold and multi-instrumentalist Andy Aquarius, ‘Deer Skin’ is a wistful, ethereal track that is both terrifying and harmonic.
While the melody is insightful and profound, the theme of ‘Deer Skin’ adds deeper melancholy, poignancy, vulnerability and depth to the song. ELDR explains:
“’Deer Skin’ paints the tale of being in a coercive and psychologically abusive relationship – something I’ve experienced personally. What can be confusing are the parallel sensations of love and fear. The somewhat alluring power dynamic constantly at play makes you feel like a deer being hunted and teased.”
In addition to the single, ELDR released an official music video for ‘Deer Skin’. You can view the video below or via her YouTube channel.
Find out more about ELDR on her official website, linktree, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Listen to more alternative pop singles on The Other Side Reviews Alternative Pop playlist:
