photo courtesy of Casey Curry
The youthful emo piano bar bloodletting of "Let's Go Out", by Los Angeles indie Elle Belle, feels, at once, deeply personal but also encased in graphic novel frames and that makes sense. The track, afterall, exquisitely honest and raw and kind of lo-fi in terms of it's live and in the box aesthetic, is (as LINER NOTES reveal) "an introspective track that reflects on the emotional distance between individuals and the difficulty of forming genuine connections in today's disconnected world" and the purity, the lo-fi starkness, while not purposeful, is born from a mistake and maybe blessed kismet.
Elle Belle's frontman Christopher Pappas shares this:
“This is a song I recorded late one night in my apartment. I ended up losing the original multitrack recording, so all I have left is this rough mix I bounced that night. I tried to re-track it, but it didn’t feel right. ‘Let’s Go Out’ is about how you can’t recapture a moment, so why would I not take that advice?”
It is interesting finding this out about "Let's Go Out" because hearing it the very first time, there was a quality that was hard to define and Pappas' lead vocal performance that feels both artfully curated and purely raw at the same time has that kind of presence that you often find on early takes, the stuff of dummy tracks. A lot of times, those are my favorite recordings. The machine beats, the very subtle, maybe tenuous bass lines, the sort of 80's torture pop piano and Pappas' lovely lead vocal is the stuff of romance movies (maybe 80's romance movies) and that's alright by me.
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[The release of "Let's Go Out" follows the band's recent singles "Stranger" which debuted at Glide Magazine and "Selene," and its accompanying band created lyric video. "Selene," premiered at Magnet and is on all streaming platforms for any playlist shares.]
[Elle Belle has also launched a Patreon where fans can collaborate with the band, sit in on songwriting sessions, be the first to hear about upcoming new music and shows. and more. Support Elle Belle and join the community HERE.]
[Elle Belle is the alter-ego of award-winning composer/songwriter Christopher Pappas. His debut record, WAKO GUMBO, a sprawling 20-song double LP, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim.]
[Pappas grew up in rural New Hampshire, where he started the band The Everyday Visuals. After relocating to Boston, the band began to amass a cult-like following of fellow musicians and fans attracted to Pappas' penchant for vocal harmonies and catchy left-of-center songwriting. He moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where he met Pierre de Reeder, bassist for the venerable L.A. band Rilo Kiley, and signed to his label Little Record Company that year.]
[Mixed with a variety of genres including psych-rock, soft-rock, pop, and electronic, Elle Belle continues Pappas' knack for rich, intricate songwriting. Incredibly prolific and versatile; has written music for NASA, has a musical slated to go off-Broadway, and assembled his own 27-piece orchestra to perform his original orchestral works. Elle Belle released his latest full-length album How Do I Feel? in 2023, but has continued his prolific streak with a string of singles set for release this year.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://www.youtube.com/@ellebelleband
https://ellebellenosignal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ellebelleband/
https://www.patreon.com/ellebellemusic
“Yeah, I think they’ll drop the bomb. I guess my one regret is that I’m over it.”
Post Everything is about reckonings. The emotional fatigue of the last few years had filled my heart with a deep misanthropic nihilism. Through personal, political, and cultural grieving, these songs rake through the ashes of an era and ask - where do we go from here? Post Everything is a journey through this nihilistic wasteland, and that if we dig deep enough, we can still find droplets of hope.
Elle Belle is the alter-ego of award winning composer/songwriter Christopher Pappas. His debut album WAKO GUMBO, a sprawling 20 song double LP, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim followed by his sophomore album No Signal that received 4 stars from All Music who called him “a swaggering experimental pop maverick with a penchant for spacy electro-organic psychedelia and an overflowing bag of big ideas.”
“Thinly cloaked as his views may be, Pappas offers a fresh take on the nation's social climate while also expanding his sonic territory.” - Timothy Monger for All Music
Pappas grew up in rural New Hampshire where he started the band The Everyday Visuals. After relocating to Boston the band began to amass a cult-like following of fellow musicians and fans who were attracted to Pappas’ penchant for vocal harmonies and catchy left-of-center songwriting. He moved to Los Angeles in 2010 where he met Pierre de Reeder, bassist for the venerable L.A. band Rilo Kiley. Pappas released a solo record under the name Miracle Parade on Pierre’s newly founded label Little Record Company. While recording the second record he suffered a creative breakdown, leading him to abandon the record and create Elle Belle.
Mixed with a variety of genres; psych-rock, prog, electronic, Elle Belle continues Pappas’ knack for rich, intricate songwriting. He has written music for NASA, composing the soundtracks for the Juno and Rosetta mission official docu-series. He also composed an award winning musical (“Pope! An Epic Musical”) with the Wall Street Journal praising it, proclaiming “[Pope!] is proof that the musical [genre] isn’t dead!” He is also a prolific writer, churning out 2 T.V. pilots and a new full length horror feature that are currently in pre-production. His dense and eclectic catalogue is why many consider Pappas as one of America’s most prolific and captivating under-the-radar artists.
Elle Belle's frontman Christopher Pappas shares this:
“This is a song I recorded late one night in my apartment. I ended up losing the original multitrack recording, so all I have left is this rough mix I bounced that night. I tried to re-track it, but it didn’t feel right. ‘Let’s Go Out’ is about how you can’t recapture a moment, so why would I not take that advice?”
It is interesting finding this out about "Let's Go Out" because hearing it the very first time, there was a quality that was hard to define and Pappas' lead vocal performance that feels both artfully curated and purely raw at the same time has that kind of presence that you often find on early takes, the stuff of dummy tracks. A lot of times, those are my favorite recordings. The machine beats, the very subtle, maybe tenuous bass lines, the sort of 80's torture pop piano and Pappas' lovely lead vocal is the stuff of romance movies (maybe 80's romance movies) and that's alright by me.
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[The release of "Let's Go Out" follows the band's recent singles "Stranger" which debuted at Glide Magazine and "Selene," and its accompanying band created lyric video. "Selene," premiered at Magnet and is on all streaming platforms for any playlist shares.]
[Elle Belle has also launched a Patreon where fans can collaborate with the band, sit in on songwriting sessions, be the first to hear about upcoming new music and shows. and more. Support Elle Belle and join the community HERE.]
[Elle Belle is the alter-ego of award-winning composer/songwriter Christopher Pappas. His debut record, WAKO GUMBO, a sprawling 20-song double LP, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim.]
[Pappas grew up in rural New Hampshire, where he started the band The Everyday Visuals. After relocating to Boston, the band began to amass a cult-like following of fellow musicians and fans attracted to Pappas' penchant for vocal harmonies and catchy left-of-center songwriting. He moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where he met Pierre de Reeder, bassist for the venerable L.A. band Rilo Kiley, and signed to his label Little Record Company that year.]
[Mixed with a variety of genres including psych-rock, soft-rock, pop, and electronic, Elle Belle continues Pappas' knack for rich, intricate songwriting. Incredibly prolific and versatile; has written music for NASA, has a musical slated to go off-Broadway, and assembled his own 27-piece orchestra to perform his original orchestral works. Elle Belle released his latest full-length album How Do I Feel? in 2023, but has continued his prolific streak with a string of singles set for release this year.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.youtube.com/@ellebelleband
https://ellebellenosignal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ellebelleband/
https://www.patreon.com/ellebellemusic
“Yeah, I think they’ll drop the bomb. I guess my one regret is that I’m over it.”
Post Everything is about reckonings. The emotional fatigue of the last few years had filled my heart with a deep misanthropic nihilism. Through personal, political, and cultural grieving, these songs rake through the ashes of an era and ask - where do we go from here? Post Everything is a journey through this nihilistic wasteland, and that if we dig deep enough, we can still find droplets of hope.
Elle Belle is the alter-ego of award winning composer/songwriter Christopher Pappas. His debut album WAKO GUMBO, a sprawling 20 song double LP, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim followed by his sophomore album No Signal that received 4 stars from All Music who called him “a swaggering experimental pop maverick with a penchant for spacy electro-organic psychedelia and an overflowing bag of big ideas.”
“Thinly cloaked as his views may be, Pappas offers a fresh take on the nation's social climate while also expanding his sonic territory.” - Timothy Monger for All Music
Pappas grew up in rural New Hampshire where he started the band The Everyday Visuals. After relocating to Boston the band began to amass a cult-like following of fellow musicians and fans who were attracted to Pappas’ penchant for vocal harmonies and catchy left-of-center songwriting. He moved to Los Angeles in 2010 where he met Pierre de Reeder, bassist for the venerable L.A. band Rilo Kiley. Pappas released a solo record under the name Miracle Parade on Pierre’s newly founded label Little Record Company. While recording the second record he suffered a creative breakdown, leading him to abandon the record and create Elle Belle.
Mixed with a variety of genres; psych-rock, prog, electronic, Elle Belle continues Pappas’ knack for rich, intricate songwriting. He has written music for NASA, composing the soundtracks for the Juno and Rosetta mission official docu-series. He also composed an award winning musical (“Pope! An Epic Musical”) with the Wall Street Journal praising it, proclaiming “[Pope!] is proof that the musical [genre] isn’t dead!” He is also a prolific writer, churning out 2 T.V. pilots and a new full length horror feature that are currently in pre-production. His dense and eclectic catalogue is why many consider Pappas as one of America’s most prolific and captivating under-the-radar artists.
Elle Belle, indie pop, indie rock, soft rock, led by singer songwriter / frontman Christopher Pappas, emotional, confessional storytelling, "Let's Go Out", off Broadway, dream theater, personal stories,
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