Interview: Staying Unplugged in the Industry with Elxnia

Afterglow catches up with Elxina, a Midwest-based musician, about her new album, social media, and songwriting. 

Written by Kaci Pelias
Photo courtesy of Muriel Margaret

Elaina Mcgrath, operating as Elxina, writes music as herself: Capricorn, student, barista, collaborator, person. We sat down to talk about her songwriting process and the pressure placed on music artists to perform on social media.

So I realized this morning, like, I woke up and was like, “I hope we’re in the same time zone!”

Oh!

So it worked out! Because we are.

That’s funny, yeah, I did not think about that at all. 

Well first, do you know your zodiac sign?

That is a really funny question, actually. I’m a Capricorn.

Okay!

And I was born on January 12. And so was Andrew, my producer. So I always think that’s really fun. What’s your zodiac sign, if you don’t mind me asking?

I’m an Aquarius.

Okay.

So like, right after. That’s really nice. What’s your morning routine, if you have one?

I’ve been a barista since I was 16. I worked at Starbucks and then I worked at Caribou. Do you know what Caribou is? It’s like a coffee chain that’s basically like any other coffee chain but in the Midwest. So I love coffee. and every morning I have to go to like, immediately out of my bed and into my car, and I go to Starbucks. That’s where I’m working now, so I get a good discount. So that’s essential, I gotta have my coffee. And after then it’s kind of wherever the day takes me, I guess.

I’ve tried to go a few days without drinking coffee but it’s so hard!

It’s so hard, and it’s such a part of my life now. Like, I work every day. I work 40 hours a week. I’m a manager at Starbucks now so — hopefully not forever, though.

Are you still in school?

Not currently, actually. I went to a liberal arts school last year, my freshman year of college, and after the year ended, I planned to go back. When summer started, I was like, “Wow, I don’t ever want to go back there again.” I studied dance because I’m a dancer, primarily, my entire life. So for like 15 years, dance was kinda my main thing, and this college had a really good dance program, so that’s what I was there for. And as soon as I was there, I kinda stopped loving it. And I just didn’t have the motivation, ‘cause dance is f---ing hard, too. 

So I’m like,  “I don’t have the motivation for this, I just wanna make music.” So as of right now, I’m not taking classes. Starbucks does offer like, free college reimbursement through the community college so I plan to do that, but I don’t even know if I’m gonna do that right now so. I got too much I’m working on, otherwise. 

Yeah! You seem really busy.

Oh yeah!

When did you start writing music?

I seriously started writing music my senior year of high school. I kind of wrote a few songs in middle school and early high school and the first I actually wrote, I think I was 9. But it was like, a 9-year-old —  like it was trash, so I don’t really count that. Seriously I started probably, what did I say, senior year of high school? That’s when Andrew and I took a music production class together in high school and that’s when we actually produced Muted Colors [one of McGrath’s first projects] and the other project that was out, until recently, in that class. So like, those projects were really just like, assignments. We were just practicing. That’s why we took them off [of Spotify] ‘cause the new stuff is gonna be a different kind of music.

I can’t believe those were assignments!

Yeah, I mean like, we didn’t really do any of the actual assignments for that class. We had a really chill teacher who kinda let us just f--- around and like, make music the whole time. So, that’s what we ended up doing: two projects. 

So, going forward with the album that you’re recording right now, what are some of your musical inspirations?

Well vocally, I am really inspired by D’Angelo, who’s kind of like a, I wanna say ‘90s, early 2000s, R&B like, jazz vocalist. He does so many different vocal parts and he’s just so soulful and that’s one of my big inspirations ‘cause I do a lot of vocal parts and like, vocal arrangements. 

The sound of the project is really similar to Daniel Caesar, Kali Uchis, a little bit. Andrew is really influenced by jazz music, so he’s got a lot of jazzy chord progressions and stuff. And there’s some like, alternative rock in there a little bit too. It’s a good time.

How do you write music?

I’m kinda always writing. I only think in song lyrics at this point, so I’ll just write sh-t down when I think of it, and then when I sit down to write a song I usually start with the melody, and then I’ll just look back to all of my journal entries. I try to find something that I can just plug into the melodies and make it make sense and then just kind of write a song around that I guess. But yeah, I’m always writing. I think that’s really how you have to do it. You gotta always be working on your craft. I’m always coming up with melodies and lyrics and stuff. It’s something I like to do alone most of the time. Andrew and I have been like, halfway across the country. He went to Nashville. He’s going to school up there so we haven’t gotten to sit down and collaborate that much. It sounds different because of that, but that’s where we’re at right now. 

What are some themes or ideas that you’re playing with in your album?

So the album is called High School High. It’s comparing somebody — specifically somebody from high school —  to like, a drug that you just like, you come back to. The album has sound effects throughout it, like high school bells. It’s kind of a conceptual album in that way. There’s lots of things that like, allude to high school.

All the events that I wrote it about took place after high school, so it’s not like, juvenile at all in that way. It’s kinda just like, that’s the title cause that’s the title track, so we just wrote the album around that. It’s 10 songs. 

How do you see different identities of yours represented in the work you do?

Listening to the album all the way through, it kinda takes me on a journey of like,  I feel like I go through certain attitudes, different phases, you know what I mean? So to answer your question: I think I’m really tough on the outside, like I try to be a bada--, but I’m actually really really soft, so my music like, you get both extremes, I’d say. There’s a lot of really fun songs with a lot of attitude, and then there’s also more depressing songs. 

(Laughs) I’m an artist all around. I do a lot of painting and dancing and music and all that, but music is where I feel like I can be the most honest with myself. So it’s really therapeutic to be able to do that, too. I feel like it is a very accurate representation of myself ‘cause there’s really no other way. Like, I can’t fake it, you know?

Are you able to listen to music while writing? 

I have to listen to only what I’m working on. And I listen to it for hours and just let the ideas formulate. Like, I’ve heard these songs so many times. That’s kinda just how I let things marinate in my brain a little bit — I have to listen to them a lot, and I smoke a lot of weed. That’s kinda also what the album’s about; that’s part of my songwriting ritual. So I’ll just be listening to whatever I’m working on. I get really distracted by other things, so I guess to answer your question: no. 

I totally get that. In general, if you’re just listening to music when you’re not distracted, what type of music do you like?

The artists that I named for inspiration are probably my favorites as of right now. My guilty pleasure is like, really corny R&B. I love also the occasional orchestral jazz music, kinda puts me in a vibe. I’m not into rap; I can definitely appreciate a lot of the artists, like the actual artists. There are definitely a few geniuses in that game. But I don’t ever see myself collaborating with rappers, at least not in the near future. I don’t feel like it meshes with what I’m doing. 

Oh here’s just a fun question. Do you have a celebrity crush?

Well, I was a really big One Direction fan back in the day. So I think Harry Styles is always gonna be number one, man. Oh my god, I don’t know if I want that part in the — I’m just kidding. That was such a dark time.

Okay, so I’ve seen you talk about this online before, but what role do you think social media plays in the arts, specifically in the music industry?

You could have a huge social media following, and not be any kind of artist, put put out a single, and do way better than someone who actually, you know, is working really hard on their craft and like, this is why they’re, you know, alive. And they’re putting out good stuff and they only have so many followers and nobody’s gonna listen to it. 

The music industry is changing so much right now, with that and with technology; it’s getting so that you can produce really good sounding music at home. It’s become so much more accessible for everybody to make music, which is great, but it’s definitely changing the game. I don’t know, social media really stresses me out personally, just because there is so much more that I could be doing on social media to like create a better, or a bigger, Internet presence for myself, which would be good. It just takes so much out of me.

This is somewhat related. I feel like people want things immediately and I think that’s probably especially hard for you because making music takes time and recording and producing everything takes a lot of time. Do you ever find that people pressure you to have things ready for them?

Kind of. I don’t really let what other people are saying get to me. Like, I’m kind of just working at my own pace. I do wish that it could happen overnight, but I also know that the people that have a more organic kind of rise to stardom are going to have more of a lasting legacy. So I’m willing to put in the work long-term. But yeah, I do wish I could wake up tomorrow and have a million streams on Spotify. That’d be sick.

Interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length. 

Listen to her music on Spotify. 
Instagram: @elxina.mp3