After releasing the hit track ‘Fresh Out of Love’, indie-pop artist E^ST returns to bless listeners with an electrifying new single ‘Maybe It’s Me’. The upbeat, catchy pop anthem is produced by frequent collaborator Jim Eliot.

We caught up with her to speak about the new single, her musical influences, and the current COVID-19 global pandemic.

‘Maybe It’s Me’ has many examples of your nihilism that is prevalent in your songwriting. How do you incorporate life experience or stories to your music? 

I don’t really have to think about how to incorporate all my stories and life experiences into my music because that’s where my music actually stems from. I just feel things go through things and then as a way of processing it I make music from there.  

‘Maybe It’s Me’ has an upbeat tempo and is fast-paced with electrifying sounds that complement your vocals. How did the production of the track come together?

Well, I had the chorus already written in my mind before we started anything, and I was hearing that very bouncy, specific beat behind it. So once we got the beat down, and we had the chorus idea, the rest was just a case of finding wacky, fun sounds that matched those two main elements.

You collaborated with your long-time producer Jim Eliot who has worked with Halsey and Ellie Goulding. What type of influence does he implement into your music? 

Jim Eliot is the most wonderfully creative soul and he’s never scared to try anything. I knew that I needed to work with him on this album because I needed someone who could match my sense of adventure and imagination.

Your latest hit, ‘Fresh Out of Love’ was well received with triple j and fans all over. What can you tell us about the inspiration behind that track? 

I wrote that song while I was going through a pretty rough time after a breakup. But it was a beautiful turning point for me, because there’s a moment of realisation in the song that “I should’ve been the one that I was loving all along”, and it’s almost like after I wrote that song I could start actually thinking and living that out.

During this global pandemic involving COVID-19, what have you been doing to occupy your time? Has any of this affected your upcoming plans? 

Yeah, my life has definitely been quite affected by the COVID-19 situation. But I’ve been taking the time to give myself some time to rest and space to think. I’ve also been watching a lot of Studio Ghibli movies, so there’s that too.

Who are some of your favourite artists currently? What have you been listening to?

070 Shake dropped an album this year which has been on repeat. Also a friend of mine showed me a band called Frightened Rabbit the other day and they write heartbreaking folk/rock songs that just hit real deep.

Who are some of your musical influences? Did you have any artists that you looked at for inspiration when you first started creating music?
I draw inspiration from lots of different places and people! In my early days, I listened to a lot of electro-indie rock (The Wombats was probably my favourite band), but my tastes and musical knowledge has definitely expanded since then!