Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Eliza Roe
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I grew up surrounded by music, especially on my dad’s side of the family, so it’s hard to pinpoint a first memory. My mom likes to tell this story of how I’d absolutely rock out as a baby in my car seat to Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull. When we were really little, my dad would sing us to sleep with the old Welsh folk song “All Through the Night” (Ar Hyd y Nos)… so that’s probably it now that I think about it.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Growing up, I was always singing and making up songs alone in my room or singing in choir and musical theater, but it wasn’t until I started learning guitar in high school that I really began writing and recording my own music. The summer before college, I got really sick with mono and was stuck at home with a lot of time on my hands. I bought a cheap USB microphone, opened up GarageBand, and just started messing around. Out of that came a very rough first release called “Fade Away.”
A friend from high school heard it and reached out about collaborating. He was making electronic instrumentals, and I started writing songs over them. We released tracks on SoundCloud while going to school in different states, learning together as we went. A few tracks, including “Moshe,” received some positive feedback, which led me to start working with other producers as well.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Last year I released “Ethereal Junkie,” produced by my friend Kevin Kim. It was a song we had been sitting on since 2018. Releasing it so many years later felt strange in a good way, because time gave me more clarity about what I was actually feeling when I wrote it.
I had just graduated from college and was living in New York City, trying to find my footing while also grieving the loss of a friend. I was carrying a lot quietly. The song came from a deep sense of loneliness and the pressure to present yourself as fine when the world, or even your own expectations, push you to move forward before you are ready.
I’m currently working on another project, an album of songs from over the past few years.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Eclectic… over the past decade I’ve made electronic music, shoegaze, and folk. I suppose I’m still finding my sound in many ways.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I’m more comfortable singing than playing guitar, and writing songs that way can be discouraging. When I get stuck, I tend to ask anyone nearby who plays better than I do to help fill in the gaps.
I’m currently taking a songwriting class with Blake Mills, and he said something that has stayed with me. He pointed out that the very idiosyncrasies we notice in our own playing, and often criticize, are frequently what give a song its character… something he notices a lot as a producer. A guitarist who is technically stronger might solve the problem, but they can also smooth away the rough edges that make the song sound like yours.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
When I started out, I used Garageband and a cheap usb plugin microphone. I’m a big believer that music making should be accessible and affordable for everyone. I used that setup for many years. For the past eight or so years I’ve used a PreSonus Audiobox, RØDE NT1, a portable isolation booth, and Studio Pro.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Winter tends to make me nostalgic, so I’ve been on an oldies kick lately. There’s also a full-on blizzard outside my house in Vermont right now, which feels like permission to lean into it. I’ve had Harry Nilsson’s cover of Randy Newman’s “Dayton Ohio 1903” on repeat all morning.
At the same time, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Jellywish, the most recent Florist album. It feels quiet and inward in a way that fits the weather, like music that knows how to sit with you instead of asking for attention.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
So much of it comes directly from my life. For most of my life, my songs have grown out of deeply personal experiences. I was never someone who kept a diary, but my lyrics became a version of that instead. I have thousands of demo recordings from over the years, and together they feel like a filing cabinet of my life. Each song is a window into a moment or a way of thinking at the time.
Often, when I’m writing, I don’t fully understand where a lyric is coming from. Its meaning only becomes clear later, once I have some distance from it. Lately, I’ve been trying to loosen that approach. I’m experimenting with writing songs from more angles, both inward from experience and outward from observation.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope people can recognize themselves in the music. Often I’m writing toward a feeling I don’t yet have language for. If a song touches on grief, for instance, I’m less interested in naming the grief itself than in tracing how it behaves over time: the way it shifts, resurfaces, or hides inside an unexpected memory.
My hope is that by focusing on those specific, sometimes strange details, the songs can give shape to feelings other people carry but haven’t quite named. I’d love for my music to make someone feel understood.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
I really think music is an amazing way for people to connect with each other. Seeing live music especially is like going to the movie theater. It helps us understand our neighbors and brings people together.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Laura Marling. She was such an early influence to me in music.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Finalizing my upcoming album and getting into the studio!
