Jersey-based singer-songwriter and musician Tyler Elden recently released an astounding new song titled Trial By Fire, which we reviewed. I really enjoyed the song and wanted to find out a little more about this enigmatic new artist, which you can find below.
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a track titled Trial By Fire. What can you tell us about the song?
Trial By Fire is an important song to me because it is the first track in a very long time that I played all the instruments on. I absolutely love collaboration, but my roots as a musician come from creating alone with an 8 track recorder. I have a fondness for working within the limitations of your abilities and not having anyone else to bounce ideas off of. I feel like it activates a different part of my process. While it can be very frustrating without outside support, this way of working yields a result that only comes from a solitary place.
The repetitious drone of the instrumental and lyrics were made to feel like being stuck in a state of indecision. Asking yourself big questions that you know you may never have the answer for. Questioning if it is worth fighting for a cause that you’re uncertain you believe in, or one that may be doomed to fail.
How has the reception to Trial By Fire been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
I have been pleased with the general reaction to the song. It is a much different vibe than some of the other singles. It’s something you can zone out to in a quiet dimly lit space. I have been most happy to see people who have been aware of my music for years recognise elements from older material. I was so influenced by slowcore bands from the 90s/early 2000s during a certain period of my adolescence.
Death Cab For Cutie’s record, We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, was a life changing experience for me. The songs, production and knowing it was recorded in a house with no major budget made me think maybe I could do the same. When I was on tour in the Pacific Northwest I took a day off in Bellingham, Washington, to soak in the vibes of where that record was created.
Trial By Fire can be streamed and purchased through every major platform.
Another track called Our Good Name was released at the end of December. What can you tell us about that song?
Our Good Name is a track that is a collaboration between myself & quite a few musicians. Matt Weber performs drums/bass and also mixed the track at The Gradwell House in New Jersey. Christopher Hawthorne added keys in Vermont. Josh Pannepacker threw on some guitar ideas from his studio. Finally, Katie from the Philadelphia band The Lunar Year added vocal harmonies.
The song is a story of abandonment and consequence. Panic amidst being cast out of one’s village with a child on the way. Confusing feelings of alienation while having no emotional support to bring a new life into this world.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yes! I have a constant stream of releases coming monthly. The next one is called Bruised Love, which is coming out on January 27th. It is the first song to feature my new music collective.
Are there any plans to release a full-length album or an EP anytime soon?
I recently recorded an EPs worth of drum tracks. This batch of songs will be released monthly, but will culminate into a body of work meant to be experienced as an EP. The previous singles were all written solely as standalone releases.
Your music definitely belongs within the rock genre, but it’s also rather dreamy. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
One of my first amplifiers had a built in delay/reverb feature that could be accessed via a foot-switch. It also boosted the volume a bit, so when I would take a solo I’d often just hit that and get a similar tone to what Neil Young uses in Crazy Horse. I think it was the beginning of my ties to connecting with that palette.
When I would later discover bands like Slowdive, I had no reference point for how far down that road you could go. I found shoegaze inspiring. Alison impacted me deeply as a young man. The swirling guitars & lyrics took me somewhere I had never been. My core influences growing up were classic rock and Tom Petty, so this buried vocal production style was foreign. I think the most obvious success of merging those two styles has been The War On Drugs.
I’m also really into non-linear films and plots that don’t traditionally resolve. David Lynch’s work, Woman in the Dunes by Hiroshi Teshigahara and Possession by Andrzej Żuławski. I recently loved Everything Everywhere All at Once. Those films inspire me to write in a more impressionistic manner.
Lately I’ve been listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s first LP Fever to Tell nonstop, as well as Garbage’s latest record. I am so excited to be listening to the new Peter Gabriel track that came out today!
What is the composition process like for you?
Either extremely long and arduous, or very quick. These days I am sitting down more troubadour style with just an acoustic guitar to start writing. Sometimes I will fire up the DAW and grab a different instrument to get into another headspace.
I find the biggest drawback of the home studio isn’t always having inferior sonics to a proper studio, it’s not having a set date that things need to be completed by.
For instance, the actual recording and some of the writing for Our Good Name was done in a weekend and mixed on Monday. Other people were involved, and schedules had to be abided by.
Left to my own devices I will sometimes experiment endlessly with diminishing returns. I’m getting better discipline while wearing my producer hat, knowing when it’s time to move on.
You’re based in New Jersey. What is the music scene like in your part of the world?
I am from South Jersey, so I grew up 15 minutes away from Philadelphia. The entire area has a certain working class no nonsense ethos that bleeds into the art and culture of the area. I have never felt completely part of a scene, but have been inspired by the DIY movement in Jersey and Philly. There’s been a lot of bands just going for it since my days as a young impressionable songwriter. Shows in VFW Halls and non traditional spaces weren’t atypical. The First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia is a pretty legendary venue in a basement. I saw St Vincent there when Annie toured Actor amongst a ton of crazy punk shows. On the other hand, you could go down to South Philly and see U2 in a stadium within a 15 minute drive. It’s very rare an act skips Philadelphia on tour, so we are spoiled in that way.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
I have never been to the UK, but it is a dream of mine to go. My family has ties to Shrewsbury in England. Artists from the UK like Placebo, PJ Harvey, Damien Rice and Biffy Clyro are highly influential to me.
So the answer is, I will be there the first chance I get.
Any last words for the fans?
I’m so self conscious of calling anyone who listens to my music a fan. All I can say is thank you for making a little space in your life for my work.