Faith Eliott is a songwriter and visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, they moved to Scotland nearly two decades ago. Through storytelling and world-building, they illustrate intuitive landscapes populated by hagfish, Pleistocene volcanoes, cursed memes, and late-Renaissance apocryphal monsters lurking in the aisles of Asda. Sonically, Eliott grounds themself in a stripped-back, lyric-driven songwriting approach that evolves through the recording process to incorporate orchestral elements—often contributed by frequent collaborator Robyn Dawson—along with electronic textures and found sounds.Their forthcoming album Dryas will be release on Lost Map Records tomorrow, May 30th. This record follows two previous releases, Impossible Bodies (2019, OK Pal Records) and Insects (2016, Song, by Toad Records), both of which received critical acclaim, including coverage from The List and The Scotsman, as well as national radio play on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction, and 6Music.

What They Say: “A song about fear of the big, destructive things that could occur and grief for the big, destructive things already occurring. There’s a nod there in the lyrics to TS Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men’ with “death’s other kingdom”. 

“A classic case of an anxious/avoidant attachment relationship dynamic. Hagfish are soft and spineless. They have four hearts and exude tremendous amounts of slime when threatened. They burrow into carcasses to devour them from the inside with their retractable dental plates. The isopod is like a giant sea-woodlouse. They live very solitary lives. They have a tough, armoured exoskeleton and can go years without eating. In this song, the anxiously attached hagfish sacrifices its boundaries to pine with unhinged abandon for the emotionally unavailable, avoidant isopod.”

Their Mixtape:

Diane Cluck – Beast in the Barn

Diane Cluck has been a huge inspiration of mine for many years. Her songs feel so gently cinematic, like hand-held footage. She’s also got such a knack for naturalistic recording, especially on her earlier albums, and this song in particular is a beautiful example of that.

Cole Pulice & Lynn Avery – Plantwood (Day)

I discovered Cole Pulice & Lynn Avery recently and they are ticking all my boxes for dreamy, soft wind instruments and beautiful, meaningful arrangements.

 

Richard Dawson – Nothing Important

This is a perfect song, imho! It’s the first Richard Dawson song I ever heard, about 10 years ago, and I remember it being a total game changer. It cracked open the idea of what a song could be for me, especially in terms of how to accommodate lyrical maximalism. It’s insanely dense but perfectly balanced: the detail and specificity in the imagery, the dynamics in the delivery, the space for instrumental moments, the melodrama, the tenderness. I love it and it never fails to hit me hard!

Hikaru Hayashi – L’Ile neu

This is the main theme from a 1960s Japanese film called The Naked Island. I don’t really remember how or when it originally came onto my radar! I put it on the initial reference playlist I shared with Robyn Dawson, who produced, co-arranged and played strings on my upcoming album. We ended up referring to it all the time when we were mixing. I have no idea how much that will actually come across to anyone listening – but for me, this piece really embodied something sweet, fresh and nostalgic that I was hoping to capture on certain tracks.

Instruction Manual – I, Oh, I

Robyn sent me this about a month ago and it immediately struck a chord. Instruction Manual are an audio-visual trio from Glasgow who describe themselves as ‘robo-pastoral’. Their stuff gives me that feeling of hearing something I didn’t know I needed to hear! Maybe we are entering an era of aging millennials where digital nostalgia is really bedding in and feels soothing and necessary. 

Micachu & the Shapes – Turn Me Well

Mica Levi is a hero, and I challenge anyone to show me a better use of a hoover as an instrument.

Marvin Pontiac – Small Car

This song often finds its way onto mixes I make for people, usually when I feel like the mix is getting a bit angst-heavy. It’s just a really nice concept—some miniature people on a brave little trip! They feel a bit overwhelmed, but they have a nice day! Immaculate delivery from John Lurie, but you’d expect nothing less with a voice like that. The narration has a sort of ‘softly amused, benevolent God’ quality that reminds me of Laurie Anderson’s Big Science: “I think we should put some mountains here, otherwise what are the characters going to fall off of.”

dryas will be out tomorrow, May 30, via Lost Map . Look Here for more information on Faith Elliott.