Meet ElizabethDarcel

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful ElizabethDarcel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi ElizabethDarcel, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
It chose me. Music is in my blood. It’s hereditary. Even when I take a break or take a few years off I always find myself coming back to it. Even when I haven’t touched it in so long that it feels like I’ve given up on it, it’s still always waiting for me and welcomes me back with open arms. Music isn’t just in my blood, sometimes I feel like it is my blood. I need it to survive, and without it, I feel empty. I find myself slipping into deep moments of depression when I deprive myself of it. So I’m constantly in pursuit of finding the perfect lyric or melody to express how I feel. The deepest of sorrows and the highest of elations. In regular conversation, I stumble over my words and have trouble collecting my thoughts. But when I get to write, I find clarity. It’s peaceful. I’m not sure if I’m more in love with music or just lyrics in general. But I am a writer. I am a poet. I am a lover of words I am a lover of expression. And music is a drug for me. An addiction, and I haven’t been able to quit no matter how long I step away from it. My purpose was given to me with no search required. I just had to accept it and stop fighting it. The self-doubt was never enough to let it go. It always been waiting for me to come back and it will always wait for me, because it’s a part of me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I write from my experiences. I am a singer/songwriter and I write from my experiences. Every song is a journal entry. I’ve never sat down and thought “I’m going to write a song today”, I just live my life and write down what I feel. Usually it starts with just a few phrases that I’ll jot down in the notes section of my phone from some random burst of inspiration. I have hundreds of these notes. If one phrase sticks in my mind throughout the day, I’ll take a moment to elaborate on the thought and what it means to me. So it’s all just glimpses from my life. A relatable tour through my mind. I am a wife and mother of 3, a daughter of two deceased parents, a black woman in a predominately white community, and also a writer. So each song is a simplified story of me. I now have a 2 month old daughter, so I have new subject matter. I am so in love with this small little person. There is so much inspiration in each of her glances. The new material I am working on is centered around her and the small little life we have made for ourselves in the tiny town I now live in. So this music will be about joy. And it’s about time. A lot of my music has been about pain. But this is a beautiful chapter of peace and hope.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As far as skills, never stop learning or trying to gain a new one. In the world of music, technology is constantly changing the way songs are made. A fear I have now is competing for an audience in a world that now has music created by computers. In the quest to create the perfect song that reaches the hearts of my listeners, we humans have an unfair disadvantage in that we are flawed and our brains don’t move as fast as a computer can when searching for lyrics. It was hard enough competing against my fellow songwriters. Now we’re in competition with operating systems. So in order to compete, we have to keep ourselves updated with the new technologies available. However, keeping yourself updated doesn’t mean every new method has to be used. I like to keep myself informed of what’s available not because I’m immediately planning to use it, but to give myself the option to. The end result is a blend of the old and new way. I want the same old acoustic guitar, but I want to use the tech to bring the notes out in a different way. So I keep myself informed and I think all artist should.

An essential quality for any creative is perseverance. In the beginning of my musical journey, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting the massive response that I thought my music deserved. Then I grew, learned, and then grew and learned some more. Listening to my beginning material now makes my skin crawl. It’s essential to stick with it because that’s the only way to improve. If you can’t take a no, you’re in the wrong business. Suggestions from those who are further along than me on how to improve are the greatest gift one artist can give another.

There is not such thing as a small opportunity. Every chance to display your talent is essential, no matter how “small” the venue, outlet, magazine, etc. Take nothing for granted. Always remain humble and know that no one wants to work with stuck up people that are full of themselves.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for a team. I would love to find fellow songwriters as well as producers, managers, engineers, etc. If you would like to work with me, my best method of contract is email. [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Micah Thompson

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