By Will McGuirk
Ellis became part of our Shwarawk City crew by way of her marriage to Whitby raised passion punk Chastity. Her initially long-distance relationship, as Ellis (aka Linnea Siggelkow) is based in the Hammer, finds its way into her new album ‘Born Again.’ The album just dropped April 3 right in the middle of this new world ordering. Although Ellis describes the record as “screaming into the void”, ‘Born Again’ is soft-spoken, intimate in its exploration and expression of the essence of one life. The Edvard Munch scream of Ellis is the common ground with the all who are striving to not be ground down by the grind. In the all of the yell there is the one of each one but on the bridge a connection to each, a place where one meets one. And that place can be found in the entanglement of a couple by a hidden suburban stream underneath the roadway. And that place can have a name and in Linnea’s case, a delicate and delightful shout-out to a meeting place many in Whitby would be acutely aware of, where one met one and both born again, (personal experience - Ed). And here we are in this place together apart, as we are all told to ‘shelter-in-place’, Ellis reminds us, we do find a shelter in place, a place value, and where we are born has much to do with why we are born again.
Slowcity.ca: Pringle Creek in Whitby has quite the history; beyond your song and Chastity’s “Manning Hill”, it runs behind Anderson high school, K-Os and members of Protest The Hero are alumni. The creek is the inspiration for the series of Nethergrim books by Matt Jobin; growing up in the area he played in the waters and woods like a modern day Tom Sawyer. What is your relationship with Pringle Creek and why did it inspire the track of the same name?
Ellis: “I didn’t know about that book series! That’s so cool. I grew up west of Toronto and it wasn’t until I started dating Brandon (Williams) that I spent any time in Durham Region. There’s a line in the song that says “you take me to places that I have never been”, and that’s referencing all these little spots in the area that were unfamiliar to me at the time, but were really significant in Brandon’s life and became really special to me too. Whitby has come to be my second home and I love it there. We would often go for walks along Pringle Creek, particularly when we needed to have tough conversations - it sort of became this sacred place in our relationship where we’d go to work through things. This song is meant to be a nod to Whitby and the beginning of our relationship, from the moments of bliss to the moments of doubt, and ultimately the foundation we were building together.”
SC: There is something already nostalgic about getting on a train to see someone as you sing on “Pringle Creek” - how are you dealing with this rapid transformation we are in?
E: “I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but you’re right! I am taking things day by day - some days are better than others! It’s hard to stay positive about this when it’s such a scary time for many people, physically and emotionally and financially, and there’s no real end in sight. I am having difficult time not being able to see my friends and family. For me, isolation and staying inside are usual signs that I’m not at my best, mentally, so it’s hard to not get into that headspace when there’s no other choice.”
SC: How has the Covid 19 situation affected your plans around the album release?
E: “My album came out on April 3, and I’m so relieved to have it out in the world, but it’s obviously not at all how I had imagined it. I am meant to be on a big tour in support of the record, and that’s obviously all been cancelled. For an artist like me, touring is the most important way to promote a new record, and it’s pretty devastating to not be able to do that. I’ve worked really hard on everything leading up to this moment, and it feels like the moment sort of just got taken away from me. “
SC: There is an sense of interior to the new album, its very intimate, how does being indoors affect your songwriting and how do you translate (hopefully sometime soon) these songs into a bigger outdoor performance - if at all?
E: “It’s funny to hear you say it like that, because I have spent the last while working on the live show with my band in preparation for the tour, sort of figuring out how to translate these songs from the recordings into a live performance that feels big and full and alive. Now I am having to do the exact opposite, with live streams and home-video recordings of stripped down solo-performances. I do not typically enjoy playing solo - I played my very first show as Ellis by myself, and told myself I’d never do it again! But you’re right- the record is very intimate, and maybe these performances will better compliment that aspect of these songs. I am very much looking forward to performing them the way I had intended to, though, with a full band, as soon as I’m able!”
SC: It must be so frustrating to have something to release into the world and have to restrict it, how are you dealing with this frustration?
E: “Putting this record out sort of feels just like screaming into the void and hoping that anyone will hear. I am lucky in that I am feeling so supported by my friends and family, my labels and management, my local community, and even strangers on the internet who all made release day very special for me, but it was also pretty anti-climactic. With all the record stores closed and not being able to play shows, the release almost doesn’t feel real.”
SC: What plans do you have to get the music out, online performances like tonight of course and what else?
E: “I’ve done my first few live streams and have a bunch more lined up. This is totally out of my element, it’s awkward and strange and hard to get used to! But I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect with people, to get to share my songs despite all of this, and to stay busy. It’s been cool to see how people have come together and are using the internet to create these spaces for ‘live music’ to still exist. We’re all adapting to our new normal. I’ll be posting about all of the performances as they come up.”
SC: Music is of course the healer; your’s, Brandon’s, what music are you digging into these days to get by - can you send me five artists or songs you are turning to?
E: “I definitely agree with that - especially listening to new music being released during all of this has been helpful, to remind me that the world is still turning, you know? Five recent releases I’ve been really into are Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud, Soccer Mommy - Color Theory, Andy Shauf- The Neon Skyline, Grimes - Miss Anthropocene, and Half Waif - The Caretaker. <3”