ellakate crafts an intimate space on vulnerable single, "If You Want Me To"
On only her second single thus far, we’re already loving where ellakate is taking her sound. Keep reading as we break down our thoughts on “If You Want Me To”, in addition to a closer look on the artist.
Taking influences from some of alternative pop’s finest artists, ellakate has still managed to carve out something entirely new and fresh for herself on “If You Want Me To”. While it’s got that darkness, edge, and overall atmospheric quality about it, for us it quickly became about the subtleties within the mix that truly made this stunning single pop the most. We loved “High Maintenance”, her debut, but she’s already matured her sound so much more on this sophomore effort.
With a goal to “undisputedly comfort listeners as a loved one and a friend”, we can confidently back up that claim and let you know that it has been achieved. Immediately there’s a real intimacy and rawness about this song, almost as if it’s just you and the artist in one room as you get serenaded. Her vocals are warm and inviting, but even with a slightly minimalistic production that this has, everything feels so close and tight knit. Another level of it all comes when you actually listen to the lyricism and connect the dots, which goes on to be an incredibly personal and vulnerable state that ellakate is sharing to us strangers. She says, “This song is special to me because it is one of the first times I was able to write about my personal feelings and experiences. I know it may seem odd, but I really would have helped my friend get with their crush just to see them happy.”
In basically all facets of this song, ellakate has gone above and beyond in creating more of an “experience”, rather than just a straightforward listen. We felt that the more we came back to explore, new things showed themselves in terms of minor production effects and important inflections within her vocals. For us, it’s the small things that set artists of similar genres apart, and that’s exactly what she’s doing so far!
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