Elohim bringing new single on first visit to Grand Rapids

GVL / Courtesy - Chase OBlack

GVL / Courtesy – Chase OBlack

Nick Moran, Arts & Entertainment Editor

With an album due to release Friday, April 27, and music festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo and Electric Forest in her sights, artist and producer Elohim is finally bringing her work to Grand Rapids. Elohim’s U.S. headline tour, which began Friday, March 9, brings her to the Intersection on Friday, March 30.

Despite Elohim having to cancel her last tour due to pneumonia, her return for her self-titled tour will once again feature Grand Rapids on its hit list.

“I owe Grand Rapids a show,” Elohim said via email. “(The city) is exciting because it is hometown to a bunch of the wonderful people on my team. I am also very excited because it will be my first time in Grand Rapids.”

Following the debut of Elohim’s latest single, “Panic Attacks,” on Wednesday, March 14, Yoshi Flower, the song’s feature, will also be joining Elohim on her tour. Elohim said the duo bonded in Los Angeles, evolving their friendship into creating music together.

“Yoshi has become one of my best friends,” Elohim said. “My favorite people to be creative with are those closest to me. There is a feeling of safety and fearlessness that allows you to go as weird as you possibly want to in that moment with no judgment. We actually encourage the weird.”

Elohim said “Panic Attacks” explores her and Flower’s similar experiences of being both artists and humans. The single—which is in conjunction with her tour—also serves as a preview for her upcoming album, she said.

“The album is eclectic in a sense, but it all comes together as one cohesive work of music,” Elohim said. “It is hard to put into words what this album means to me and sounds like, but what I can say is that it is a journey and I am very, very excited to share it with the universe.”

Elohim’s visit to Grand Rapids will feature both her new and older music, providing the audience with “a little bit of everything.” She said one unique aspect of performing live is the ability to create music just for those shows that are unique to the performance.

“One of my favorite parts of performing live is being able to change up the songs I’ve created for a special rendition that can only be seen or heard in a live setting,” Elohim said. “It keeps it very fresh and exciting for me and gives the audience something different to look forward to.”

In choosing where in Grand Rapids to perform, Elohim said the love of intimate shows paired with the closeness of the Intersection drew her to the venue.

“(Intimate shows) are some of my favorite because there is a genuine connection unlike anything else in the world that you can only get when you are singing close enough to hold hands with the person in front of you,” Elohim said.

Scott Hammontree, talent buyer and partner for the Intersection, said the venue is a “destination point” for artists, from its opening in 1977 to its move downtown in 2003. The show itself sits in the Stache, the Intersection’s 400-viewer-capacity venue that hosts a range of different performances, he said.

“The atmosphere is certainly dictated by the artist performing and the crowd they bring,” Hammontree said. “It can be pin-drop quiet, or the room will be alive with the music and crowd.”

For Elohim, regardless of where she plays, the chance to tour is always exciting. Despite who comes, she said her goal is to invite the audience into her head, creating a one-of-a-kind experience.

“Before I go on stage, I fully go into my own world,” Elohim said. “I don’t talk to anyone. I give thanks, and I try to keep calm, centered and focused. When I get on stage, I am still very much in my own world, but I invite everyone in the audience to step into it for that hour. It’s a world of love, positivity and equality.”