Based in Brighton, United Kingdom, multi instrumentalists, Toby Mason and Anya Marsland have come together to create a style of musical magic, infused with the sounds of soul, blues, folk-rock and contemporary R&B.
With emotional, yet powerful soulful vocals, reminiscent of the likes of Joni Mitchell and Etta James, Anya Marsland has a way of poetically expressing the deepest of emotions through her soulful vocal introspection.
Inspired by John Mayer and David Gilmour, Toby Mason creates an atmospheric soundscape, through his intricate guitar skills that intertwine like a piece of art with Anya’s vocals.
“The music is a story. Each song adapts to a unique atmosphere that weaves from genre to genre. Raw emotion and passion are the driving forces behind inspiration to the music, enhanced by our passion to allow our listeners to experience something both relatable and captivating” Ever Elysian
Produced by Corin Robinson at Brighton Electric Studios, Ever Elysian join us to talk all about their five track EP release, ‘Elysian Fields’.
The EP features singles, ‘Soft Sounds’ and ‘Blues and Greens’.. both singles that have truly captured both fans and industry professionals alike.
You are sure to be truly inspired as Anya and Toby sweep you away into a world of poetry, passion, seduction and experimentation.
You can listen to ‘Elysian Fields’ below:
Could you like to start by telling us a little about how you came together?
A: During the initial stage of our romantic relationship, we began writing together, combining a variety of influences and genres.
Due to our contrasting musical backgrounds, we were able to experiment with the music, eventually finding our sweet spot.
With the joining of our band members, we were able to solidify our sound, with each band member bringing their own unique contribution to our overall sound.
How would you describe the feel of your music?
A: In short, we want our songs to musically and lyrically explore journeys of emotion, which can be portrayed either very explicitly or implicitly.
With some of our songs exploring soothing and relaxed vibes, to others digging in to rile the listener. Songs such as ‘Intertwined’ and ‘Blues and Greens’ explore sweet romance, whilst songs like ‘Sour Fruit’ begin to unravel darker emotions.
You have recently released your EP, ‘Elysian Fields’.. what was the inspiration behind the creation of this EP?
A: Our biggest inspiration in the creation of our debut EP was our love for each other.
We expressed the emotions we felt for each other throughout the music, as this EP reflects the creation of our sound, with our song writing developing as we went.
By the time of writing and arranging ‘Elysian Fields’ and ‘Sour Fruit’ we could feel the maturing of our sound coming together.
What does ‘Elysian Fields’ mean to you?
A: The term ‘Elysian Fields’ is taken from Greek mythology.
The meaning behind this resonated deeply with our song ‘Elysian Fields’ and the journey of the EP as whole, leading us to name the EP ‘Elysian Fields’.
This song also represented the start of our creative experimentation, combining these unusual sounds.
What did the creative process look like for ‘Elysian Fields’?
A: Starting with ideas sparked over emotions felt, places, spending time in nature, to inspiring lyrics or melodies, we would bring these to each other to develop.
We would then have song writing sessions usually sparked by inspirations, where we develop the song. For this EP, we relied primarily on our own in fluence, but for future works we now bring songs to the band where each member brings their own signature sound.
We started recorded the EP at Brighton Electric after pre-production with our sound engineer Corin Robinson.
Where do you find your inspiration for your music?
A: We find inspiration from a variety of sources.
From nature, our own emotions, each other, our surroundings and places we’ve explored, to stories of those around us.
We feed off of each other’s inspirations, essentially inspiring the other to match up lyrics, melodies and arrangements with the theme of each song.
How has Covid-19 impacted your release?
A: We began song writing for the EP is Lockdown, and since we live together, writing together was easy.
The confined nature of the pandemic actually in turn helped spark our creativity, however the lack of exploration into our surroundings limited our themes within the music, which is why most songs in this EP reflect our relationship.
What would you like to see happen for you in your music from here?
A : We’re currently recording for our next project, and so we’re focusing on reaching a wider audience through both social media and live gigging.
We absolutely love to perform live and so working on getting more regular gigs is our current goal.
We’re also recording this next project in a slightly different way to this EP, to reflect our live sound better.
What is one message you would like to share with your fans?
A: Keep connecting, keep feeling and keep exploring yourself, others, art, nature and all things that allow you to express yourself.
There’s lots of exciting stuff coming from us so look out for that.
Where can people find your music?
A: We’re on all streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer, apple music, amazon music, iTunes, etc) and we’re also working towards releasing CDs, so keep your eyes peeled
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.