Monday, August 22, 2011

Sinners Are Grinners






















(as seen in RAVE Magazine)

- Cowgirl in the Sand

Fairytale on Elm Street

Brisbane musician Erin Harrington, from Miss Elm, talks to Stephanie Pickett about her new EP and upcoming Australia tour.

In light of her readily approaching tour and EP launch, Erin Harrington, lead singer and songwriter for the band formerly known as Erin Louise, pushed for a name that would better represent the new band vibe. As well as staying true to her initials (Erin Louise Margaret), the new name, Miss Elm, also points directly toward the theme of the Elm Tree, which helps to represent the woodland vibe within Harrington’s music. There are also implications towards the Nightmare on Elm Street movie, which Harrington hopes people will specifically reference to, as that will help to drive her quirky vibe.
As the music of Miss Elm is extremely intricate with many thick layers, Harrington assures that she is hoping to get as many band members as possible coming on the upcoming tour beginning in November. “I’ve definitely got a band show for Sydney and the EP launch in Brisbane, it’ll be the whole six piece thing with drums, bass, flute, violin, backing vocals and me on keys and lead vocals”, explains Harrington.
Although Harrington is excited about the entire tour, the Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney and The Chandelier Room in Melbourne are the two venues that she just can’t wait to set up her keyboard at and finally bring her music to.
Over and above being the creative body behind Miss Elm, Harrington played the role of assistant engineer/ producer to Matt Larner throughout the entire recording and production process, as she wanted to be the driving factor behind her music from fruition to completion. The pair got creative in the studio, particularly within the song Little Tree, where percussive sounds were created on literally anything they could experiment with. “I was jumping on an old computer and using my fishnet stockings for percussion sounds, which was really interesting and fun to record”, tells Harrington.
The music of Miss Elm seems to be pulled from various different genres, which spiked my intrigue as to where on earth Harrington gets her inspiration! She rambled off a long list of artists, however paid particular attention to her appreciation of Gabby Young and Other Animals from the UK and the Jazz workings of Netherland’s, Caro Emerald.
The quirkiness within Harrington’s music will be replicated artistically on the night of the band’s EP launch, with a woodland themed stage set up, fairy lights and mystical make up.
It is not in Harrington’s nature to keep things mainstream, so although EP launches tend to be focused solely on one particular band, she has made it clear that she intends to operate the night as an arts hub, where local musicians, artists and film students can showcase their work as a source of networking. “It’ll be an amalgamation of the arts community!” Harrington keenly explains.
For a musician as passionate and hard working as Harrington, it was not surprising to me that she has always wanted to pursue a career in the music industry. “Ever since I was little I was playing every musical instrument in the house, always dreaming about singing on stage. Dad’s a musician and mum’s in theatre; it kind of runs in the family I suppose”, tells Harrington.

Miss Elm will be performing a free gig on the Gold Coast this Saturday Night (27th August) at Swell Tavern for AliveLive TV.
The EP launch will be in West End on 11th of November. (11th of the 11th 2011… Erin’s lucky number!)
You can find Miss Elm’s music, gig dates and other fun facts on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misselmmusic

Live the life you lust.