A Chat with Eiffe (10.11.20)
Working under the pseudonym Eiffe, Irish singer-songwriter Conor Eiffe is sharing his genre-bending sound with the world. We had a chance to chat with this talented musician about his new single ‘bad side’, greatest achievements and future plans.
OSR: What can you tell us about ‘bad side’?
Eiffe: ‘bad side’ is about my worst relationship experience, a typical cliché teenage heartbreak that I went through a few years ago. The whole story would be a lot to get into but if you listen to the song you’ll get a good idea. Thinking I was over it, I realised whenever I’d see this girl I‘d have that bit of spite that would prove otherwise. I’d say in my head “she got on my bad side”, that’s where the first lyric came from. Finally releasing it now, it’s my first release in two years, a hopeful return to consistency.
OSR: What was the writing and recording process like?
Eiffe: The first rough version was created around October 2019. I produced the instrumental and just left it to come back for writing later. The whole thing was written away from home in Australia visiting family. I was sitting on the bed in a guest room, A/C on full, headphones turned up and drinking Arizona iced tea – absolutely perfect.
I had finished off many rough instrumentals to write to while I was away and spent many hours of my trip getting songs ready for recording when I got back. I recorded ‘bad side’ when I was home in February taking a few days to get many takes. Letting the song sit once again, I came back to engineer it during the summer and finally finished it about two months ago now.
My biggest challenge for writing and recording is simply finishing things off in one sitting. When I start to get bored I’ll move on to something else which can leave songs sitting for months (like this one).
OSR: Who inspires you to make music?
Eiffe: I have so many inspirations musically, it’s a wide palette from many different styles and genres. I heard the classics growing up like everyone else, I heard Irish traditional music from my sisters Irish dancing, found my love for hip-hop from breakdancing competitively as a child and then became obsessed with electronic music just before my teens. The full list of names would be too long but I’ll try my best to summarise a list: Kanye West, Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Michael Jackson, Rakim, The Highwaymen, The Wolfe Tones and Yung Lean are some of my most important inspirations.
OSR: As a rather young artist do you believe age plays a role when working in the music industry?
Eiffe: Age most definitely plays a role in the music industry as it does in most other industries. I don’t think there’s a definite way to say it’s easier for younger artists to gain a following; I think it totally depends on specifics like where the follow is, what genre you make, etc. Although I can say younger people have the advantage of growing up in the social media era – the most important tool for public figures these days.
OSR: What is your greatest achievement to date?
Eiffe: My greatest achievement to date would have to be getting to where I am mentally with the help of God. Instilling the self-belief I have over the last few years has been a lot of work. This may seem odd as an achievement as it’s not a definitive thing, but believing in yourself and keeping a positive vision for your future is crucial in anything you’re doing, especially in times when you need it most.
OSR: Describe your music in a single sentence?
Eiffe: I’ll do you one better and describe it in a single word: duality.
OSR: If you were a flower what flower would you be?
Eiffe: I’d be a lily. A white one.
OSR: What can you tell us about your upcoming EP in 2021?
Eiffe: You’ll hear most of it through singles but when it’s out there’s only one track I hope everyone listens to in full, you’ll know what it is when it’s released. The theme of indecision is the core of this project. I’m on the fence about many things in life, simple things like music and what genre I should focus on, but also serious things like politics and the direction I’m taking in life. It’s kind of a project about not deciding on a project in a way – it’s between places.
The project is very telling of how things have gone for me the last year or two. Almost a life imitating art sort of thing. It was created between moving houses, a lot of travelling, finishing school, deciding my future…it’s an expression of all those things directly and indirectly.
OSR: What time do you go to bed during the week?
Eiffe: All depends if I’ve got time off work or not. On a work week it’s usually 9-10pm because I work in construction so I’m up usually at 5 or 6 in the morning. If I’m not working it’s really whenever. I finish what I’m doing that day; sometimes the creativity flows until 2-3am! I know it’s not the best for you though, sleep is the most important thing. Make sure you get a lot of good sleep.
OSR: Other than the EP in 2021, what plans do you have for the future?
Eiffe: A lot more EPs in 2021. ? I’ve created so much music over the last two years of not releasing so I have maybe five or six EPs I plan on releasing next year. Expect lots of different sounds, topics, themes and emotions.
Thanks to Eiffe for speaking with us. For more from Eiffe check out his Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.
