A young, emerging alt-pop artist with a fascination for words and creating music with a 'witch-house horror' aesthetic, i was Eros latest single is titled 'Jump In My Grave With Me'.
The Brisbane-based artist has also found himself exploring lyrical ideas that move away from autobiographical and into the land of fiction; 'Jump In My Grave With Me' is about a vampire feeding on people to survive, which i was Eros uses as an analogy for people who use romance too cope with deeper issues.For those new to the sound of i was Eros, how would you describe your current style?
I feel the most prevalent theme in most of my discography is this witch-house horror aesthetic that I often blend with other genres.
'Jump In My Grave With Me' is a great example of this blended with some alt-pop. I'm currently moving towards blending with some future pop as well; I'm really looking forward to the results.
Let's talk musical influences; who inspires you to create?
Where to begin!? The most influential figures across my career have been CharliXCX, Lorde, Melanie Martinez and Halsey. I've recently been very inspired by Kailey Morgue, Troye Sivan and Rina Sawayama.
Your bio mentions your fascination with poetry and words as a child into young adulthood; who were some of your favourite writers?
I've been very fascinated by the works of Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and Wilfred Owen, amongst some other miscellaneous poems.
How does this love for writing translate into your music endeavours?
I often write most of a song before I begin working on the music; I have a big focus on literary techniques and employing them in my music. Some of my favourite techniques are extended metaphors, allegories, sibilance, imagery and alliteration.
2020 has been a weird year for everyone, but do you feel your artistic growth has been enabled by having more time on your hands given the various lockdowns and restrictions?
Though my free time did fluctuate a lot, it gave me some time to experiment a little with sub-genres and different songwriting styles and themes.
I was writing quite autobiographically, but I'm beginning to delve a lot more into fiction and I'm finding it oddly cathartic and liberating. There were periods where I had less time to write in the midst of non-music work this year; it has made me miss songwriting and appreciate it on a different level.
Your new single is 'Jump In My Grave With Me'; what's it about and how does it express the i was Eros sound?
'Jump In My Grave With Me’ is about someone who uses romance to cope with deeper issues. The extended metaphor I used to express this, was a vampire who was feeding on people to survive.
I felt like I was recapturing sound that inspired my third single 'Follower', which was when I began exploring my music's horror aesthetic and resonating with it.
You've also released three other singles this year: 'Year With A Stranger', 'Mercedes S' and 'Prayers Of A Dogmatist'; is the plan to keep releasing singles or is there an EP/ album in the works?
Those three songs were actually part of an album I was working on.
Recently, I opened up on Instagram about losing passion for the project. I'm planning on releasing some leftover work from that album really soon, but I'll be leaving it behind after that.
I'm hoping to really focus on making some new music in 2021 that will probably just be singles. But you never know.
You're British born, but residing in Brisbane. How long have you lived in Brisbane and what's the best thing about living there?
I think I've lived here since I was 7, lol; about 11 years. I don't really remember living anywhere else, so that is quite difficult to answer. I like that there is an art gallery here haha; I feel like I used to live there pre-COVID.
The local creative scene in Brisbane; have you found a collection of like-minded souls to collaborate with, share ideas, thoughts?
I'm still getting used to the idea of sharing my work in its more draft stages.
Admittedly, it seems to be rather polarising – some love it and some hate it with a passion. I do have some close, creative friends I share my work with and build off their ideas, and I feel like I'm on a path of acceptance – both of my art and of criticism – that will allow me to feel confident sharing my work with some of the amazing and talented creatives here.
Away from music, what else occupies your time?
I manage a cafe and I run two businesses; so I'm often running around the place quite a lot.
Aside from work, I enjoy spending time with my close friends. This may entail dressing up only to sit in a fast-food car park, extremely competitive Mario Kart competitions and generally adding to our local reputation as 'those weird, hot, alternative teens'.
What's your favourite app at the moment?
The Reminders app, because I'm unable to function unless my phone is telling me how.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be your spokesperson?
Can I say me? Jkjk umm... I feel like Billie Eilish would be a major flex. Plus I feel like we'd really vibe; and 'cause we're both vegan, we'd be able to eat the same food.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us?
My favourite cooking utensil is... my car! I'll drive us to Dominos late at night and we'll get some vegan pizza and vegan cheesy bread before heading over to Maccas at 1am for a chips run, lmao!
