INTERVIEW: Eluera releases new single 'Sixth Sense'

Image: Maya Luana

Singer-songwriter Eluera today returns with her glorious new single ‘Sixth Sense’, her first solo single since July after collaborations with Westend & Role Models and Chris Lanzon.

‘Sixth Sense’ sees Eluera turbo charge her pop sensibilities into a glorious house-pop track that is tailor made for the dancefloor. It is an expertly crafted pop song, which marries delicious melodies, addictive vocal hooks and the kind of soundscape that will have pop connoisseurs weeping with joy.

Lyrically the song is not as joyful as its sonics as Eluera sings about the type of toxic person whose bad behaviour you can always predict well in advance. “‘Sixth Sense’ is about dealing with a certain type of person over and over, to the point that you can predict their next move,” she says. “Wrapped in playful house-pop production, it tells of finding the power to finally give them back a bit of the treatment they are giving you.”

Also out today is the music video for ‘Sixth Sense’, directed by Maya Luana. “I was wanting a music video that was nostalgic, retro and low-fi in it’s aesthetic, but still leant right into the pop world of the song” Eluera says. “We really took our inspiration from classic 80’s music videos and the effects and colours that were used. We were so lucky to have Maya Luana come on board to film, direct and edit the clip, she understood what we were after and has done such an amazing job!”

Originally from the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Eluera first released music in 2017. Her success and acclaim has steadily grown over those years, with her music regularly attracting streams in the hundreds of thousands and reached an apex with previous single ‘Moderation’ being played repeatedly by Elton John on his Apple Music show.

An artist with the potential to be Australia’s next pop superstar, ‘Sixth Sense’ is the perfect introduction to Eluera if she hasn’t yet graced your ears. We recently caught up with her to chat more about ‘Sixth Sense’ and her career to date.

Hi Eluera! Thanks for carving out some time to chat to us. How is everything in your world right now?
Hey! Thanks so much for having me, everything is going really well right now! Have been spending a lot of time enjoying the nice weather at the beach and with my friends.

Congratulations on the release of your new single ‘Sixth Sense’. This track is amazing! Can you talk me through a little about the inspiration behind the song?
My friends and I have this theory that girls have some sort of built in radar in them that tells them exactly when something shady is going on with their partner. ‘Sixth Sense’ is about that radar, and also when you deal with cheaters over and over you can kind of predict their next move based off the last one you dealt with.

What was the creative process like for this one?
The creative process for this one was super fun. It was the first time I had worked with the producer of the track Oscar Sharah (moonboy, Mel Blue) . He is stupidly talented and got the vibe instantly which was very inspiring. Then we just had a lot of fun with lyrics leaning in to the sassiness of the song which is something I don’t usually lean into.

I really love the production on ‘Sixth Sense’, it is this fantastic mix of house-pop, electropop and synthpop. You first releases leant more into a indie sound, what lead you in this different sonic direction?
I was listening to a lot of house-pop at the time and just wanted to do something different from my normal sad-girl antics and a bit more playful.

You are also releasing a fabulous video for ‘Sixth Sense’. What was the experience making this like?
Super last minute and very quick. We shot both the press shots and the music video in one day! I worked with Maya Luana who is amazing and did both of these and the edit as well. She is insane!

Your music has been championed by Elton John on his podcast, what was that experience like?
One of the most surreal moments of my life was hearing my name come out of Elton John’s mouth. I still don’t think I can really comprehend it. It is so amazing that such an icon and huge artist like Elton John is such an advocate for new and smaller artists.

If we take it all the way back to the beginning, what role did music play in your childhood?
Music was all around me growing up. I started dance classes when I was about 4 years old and didn’t stop until I was 18 so that was also a big part of me loving music. At home, my mum and dad were always playing Fleetwood Mac around the house and my dad also played guitar so I use to steal it from him and try and play (horribly)

When did you decide you wanted to pursue a career in music? Was there a particular ‘light bulb moment’ or was it something that happened through circumstance?
There wasn’t exactly a light bulb moment, all I can ever remember wanting to do was music and be an artist from a super young age. Funnily enough I think growing up watching silly shows and movies like The Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana really inspired me to want to be a pop artist. But I only got serious about it when I was around 16 and my guitar teacher at the time was encouraging me to write. Then I started writing music and fell in love with the whole process and the fact that I could share how I was feeling through something that wasn’t me trying to badly articulate myself in a conversation.

The music industry has been run by older, white, straight men since its inception and as a result has always been a difficult space for women to exist in. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
Although I think we’re taking steps in the right direction, there is definitely so much work to be done before we can say that the music industry is a safe space for anyone who’s not a part of the boys club that seems to run the industry. Thankfully there are some amazing women doing incredible things to bring change to this like Jaguar Jonze, who has brought light to the issues regarding women’s safety in the industry and is actively championing change on this front which is so inspiring and also gives me a lot of hope for this.

‘Sixth Sense’ is out now, what else do you have planned for the rest of 2022 and into 2023?
Supporting the amazing Chris Lanzon and Eliott at their show in Sydney on the 7th of December (Tickets HERE) and working on a body of work for 2023 which I have been working on over the last year, and hopefully a lot more shows!

‘Sixth Sense’ is out now. You can listen here.

To keep up with all thing Eluera you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.