Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Hammond.
Hi Eleanor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thanks for having me! I started writing songs in a songwriting class after school at my elementary school, and from then on I was hooked. I then started playing guitar, followed by piano, followed by writing my first musical at age 17 after I fell in love with the world of theater. I released my first single “Run” in 2018, and then took a long hiatus and focused on acting.
Towards the end of college, after performing in various plays, musicals and having written and produced my own shows, I felt it was time to finally devote my attention to my growing pile of original music. So in 2021, I began releasing singles and music videos under my name “Eleanor Hammond.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Is it ever a smooth road for artists? Like many, I write the best music when I am in my lows. Growing up, I had a mother with a disease called Multi System Atrophy, which shares symptoms with Parkinson’s. My mother’s brain works, but her body is functioning a little more than Steven Hawking’s. Dealing with a sick mother gave me an emotional palette from a young age.
Being in the theater world, my writing has always played with many genres, including one I coined called “theatrical pop.” I’m now at a point where I’m making my first album with my neighbor I’ve known since age 13, Sam Doniger. I am definitely struggling with finding my exact “sound” and the money to support my love of music, and to just survive. But I also repeat the quote “the years of struggle are the most beautiful” in my head often.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in writing songs that have hooks but also aren’t cliche or just top 40 hits. I think good songwriters have this balance: they write what people relate to and feel, without it sounding like it came off of an inspirational quote on Pinterest. It’s like, so obvious, but also not at the same time. “I Would Drink a Case of You” by Joni Mitchell is a perfect example of this.
Like I said, I am known for not sticking to one sound. I am known for my theatricality. I am known also for being RAW. I don’t feel like I fit in with the Tiktok girls of music. Not at all. Respect the grind though. I am more Bjork than Britney. But I also f*cking love Britney. And Bjork can be too experimental for me. I guess I’m both. I love Kate Bush, but I also want to be raw and acoustic too like Bob Dylan and Carole King. I also love Kacey Musgraves, but then she can feel too country for me.
I specialize in indecisive creativity that is authentic and comes from my bloody heart–that I can assure you in every song I write.
The final thing you should know…drumroll please…My debut album “Golden Pony” comes out in early 2024!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I was born in LA with a father who was in the music industry as a manager. So, in some ways, I was extremely lucky. However, this put a shitload of pressure on me from a young age to achieve notoriety in my art. Like I had something to prove. This is what the title song of my album “Golden Pony” is about: Growing up in LA and seeing all these famous artists around you, wondering how to get there, but also realizing chasing fame won’t make you happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.eleanorhammond.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eleanorhammond/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EleanorHammondMusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-h-97527594/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eleanorhammond
- Other: https://linktr.ee/eleanorhammond
Image Credits
William Chapin
Popular
-
JordanL on ‘Breathe,’ Belief, and Building a Movement Beyond the Music
-
Megan Birney Rudert on How Access to Light Is Powering a More Sustainable and Equitable Future
-
Linda Kneidinger on Building Lasting Change Through Small Steps and Self-Compassion
-
Jolana Nika on Redefining Modern Connection Through Intentional, Real-Life Experiences
-
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
-
Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
