Elizabeth Anka Vajagic - The pleasure of sadness

Elizabeth Anka Vajagic is young, but she already seems to have very clear ideas. In this interview she tells us about her “apprenticeship”, about the melancholy that pervades her songs, but also about her hopes and her upcoming projects…

First of all: congratulations, Elizabeth. Your debut was very well received on our webzine and we also named you “best songwriter of 2004”. Can you tell us something about yourself: your origins, first of all, are you Croatian?

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you liked my record… As for me, yes, I have Croatian origins, but I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada…

Your origins as a musician seem to be tied to the Godspeed You! Black Emperor project and the Canadian post-rock scene revolving around Constellation. How did you come to know them? And how did this collaboration help you find your own way as a solo artist?

I wrote songs and sang alone for a while; I started playing live shows about nine years ago, and little by little, by meeting other musicians, I managed to land a series of collaborations — the one with Godspeed You! Black Emperor wasn't the first... I wrote this album and brought it to Constellation, who released it. Several other musicians from that scene worked on the record too...

“Stand With The Stillness Of This Day”, however, has very little to do with post-rock, at least in the “classic” sense. To describe it, people have used terms like folk-gothic or blues-gothic. In any case, it's dominated by very dark, decadent tones, as the artwork also seems to confirm, with its images of a cemetery. Is it really sorrow, solitude, anguish that you wanted to convey in your songs?

There's undoubtedly a sense of solitude and, yes, sadness: it reflects a state of mind I can easily be associated with; but at the same time the songs are full of hope, and in general I find it wonderful to be able to freely express certain feelings, because too often it's considered wrong and “depressing” to show what we really feel, as if being sad weren't allowed, when in fact there's so much anguish and despair all around us... As for the “cemetery” side of the artwork, there's something I like about the stillness and solitude you can find walking through a cemetery. I find it fascinating how these little cities grow, with little pathways and stone houses adorned to give the dead a dignified resting place... with gardens and flowers...

Are the stories you tell pure fiction, or do they have some connection to your own life — is there a will on your part to exorcise your own dark places, in the songs you write and in your desperate way of singing?

Some parts could be considered autobiographical in the sense that they reflect my being a witness and observer of reality; other times, the emotions I describe are real. But not everything in one of my songs is about me... In any case, the lines of my songs are never clearly defined, and my voice shapes itself around whatever emotions I feel each time I'm performing those lyrics.

How do you relate to the strictly “gothic” scene? Do you like it? Do you feel any connection to that culture and tradition?

Honestly, the gothic scene isn't very familiar to me and I don't feel particularly close to, or part of, that tradition. The artwork of “Stand With The Stillness Of This Day” probably does express a gothic streak, but I don't think it “infected” the songs as well.

Your style has been compared to that of great singer-songwriters of today and yesterday, from Patti Smith to Shannon Wright and PJ Harvey , but also to outstanding male artists like Nick Cave and Black Heart Procession . Does that bother you or please you? And what are — if any — your main musical reference points?

Generally that kind of comparison bothers me a bit, but honestly I don't care all that much... Comparing and searching for reference points to identify and classify is a natural process. I think the comparisons to those artists mostly come from the fact that we share “sad” tones; but I think it's often books or films that influence me, much more than music.

You're young and just starting out. Your record was very well received by critics, but it's remained the preserve of a small circle of listeners. Would you be happy to always stay within this intimate dimension of indie-rock for connoisseurs, or, deep down, do you nurture the idea of winning over a wider audience?

Generally, I tend not to make compromises when it comes to my songs, and I always need to feel at ease with what I'm doing. Besides, I'm quite happy to be able to tour, visit places, meet people and play “my” music... As long as I can keep paying my rent under these conditions, world domination will never be on my agenda!

Your new album is coming out soon — can you give us a preview of what it will be like?

It's the natural extension and conclusion of “Stand With The Stillness...”. It's “noisier”, but it's also intimate, and the packaging is beautiful... It's an EP, it's called “Nostalgia/Pain” and I recorded the last track at home, in the morning, sitting on the floor, in my pajamas...

You've played shows in America, but also in Europe, and in Italy in particular. Can you tell us how it went? It seems, among other things, that you have quite a following here in Italy...

Italy is wonderful; the people, the food, the scenery… I can't wait to come back!

If you could choose 5 adjectives to describe your personality, which ones would you pick?

I'll only use two: ironic and romantic.

All that's left for me to do is wish you good luck, Elizabeth!

Thank you!

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