A Chat with Elevado (25.09.20)
Combine the skills of independently touring artists Bradley Rhodes and Brent Shuttleworth and you have Elevado. Over the past five months, this US-based indie-pop duo has reached deep inside and proved that isolation harbours creativity with their debut EP Asheville. We spoke with the Elevado about the new EP, future plans and being in an unsigned band.
OSR: Jumping right into it, what is the backstory to Asheville?
Elevado: We wrote and produced this EP in one week at an Airbnb cabin in the mountains of Asheville, NC. Brent and I had been quarantined together at my house in Virginia and we felt pulled to get away with our friends and producer Mike Shimshack to process the current state of the world through the lens of music. Asheville is a delicate culmination of both personal and global clarity and empowerment. It’s an against-all-odds testament and personal record about learning to find growth in spite of the forces that divide.
OSR: If you could change one thing about the album what would it be and why?
Elevado: We wish we brought more snacks to the cabin because we love snacks and wanted more.
OSR: Which is your least favourite track on Asheville and why?
Elevado: I don’t think we had a least favourite, but the most difficult song to write and produce was ‘Moved’. It was written after participating in multiple Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, DC, and we were very careful to approach the lyric with the passion and sensitivity that we felt the song required. It was the only song of the five that we had to re-approach a couple times to be sure the final product was one we could stand behind.
OSR: What was the writing and recording process like for Asheville?
Elevado: We basically woke up each morning, drank our coffee and discussed what we wanted to write about that day. Each tune was essentially an extension of the deep conversations we had throughout the week. Our friend and producer Mike Shimshack would start building a track for us to write on top of and we would tackle a song a day. At night we would unwind and listen back to what we made while we continued to chip away at the vision.
OSR: What do you do in your spare time?
Elevado: We enjoy being in nature so we do a lot of hiking and camping. Brent and I also got pretty into axe-throwing while working on this record. It actually became an important part of our process to build in some breaks while writing some heavy tunes. Maybe we’ll try to go pro and compete on ESPN – The Ocho. *laughs*
OSR: How did Elevado come about?
Elevado: Elevado, the name, came about with our friend Will Weyer. We were talking about how we wanted to have a name that represented personal growth and freedom. We had just been on an amazing hike in Nederland, CO, and were driving back to Boulder when we drove by the Elevado Motel. I remembered that Will lived on Elevado Rd in Vista, CA, and it just felt right.
Brad and I had toured in separate projects and had become friends over the past few years. We connected on the work he was doing in Haiti. We went on several trips together, started making some music and our producer, Mike Shimshack, had the idea that we should do it together. What was to be Elevado was born.
OSR: What is the most challenging aspect of being an unsigned band?
Elevado: It can be difficult to carry the workload without the support of a label, but we love and appreciate the creative freedom that we experience as an independent band. We are both focused, hard workers and would like to grow our audience to its maximum potential. If there is a supportive partnership to be had further on down the road, we are open to see what that might look like.
OSR: How are you, as a band, dealing with the Covid-19 restrictions?
Elevado: As musicians who have spent the last decade touring very heavily with our previous bands, these past seven months have brought on huge life changes. We’ve been using the time to write, record, rehearse and, most importantly, figure out who we are and what we want to represent as Elevado.
OSR: Do you think this pandemic will have a long-term effect on the music scene?
Elevado: Of course, it would be tough for it not to. I’m thinking in terms of content, I hope to see a lot more depth coming out of different artists. We have all been forced to reprioritise our lives and our art will grow and evolve as a result. We hope to be able to connect to people in person soon as we realise it is the only way to inspire true artistic connection.
OSR: If you were to spend one month locked up in a house with a celebrity, who would it be and why?
Rhodes: Connor McGregor so we could train together and he could teach me how to dress all spiffy and do that cool dangly arm walk.
Shuttleworth: Eckhart Tolle would be one person I could be quarantined with because we probably wouldn’t freak out on each other.
OSR: Do you have any future plans?
Elevado: Beyond playing various online and socially-distanced shows in promotion of Asheville, we plan to repeat a similar writing and recording process at different Airbnb’s around the country. Each record we release moving forward will be named after the city the songs were created in. We feel the most inspired creatively when we’re able to get out of the comfort of our everyday lives at home and create freely in a new space with minimal distractions.
Thanks to Elevado for speaking with us. For more from this duo check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
