Eliy Orcko
eliy orcko is a black american lyricist, songwriter, and entertainer. an introspective anarchist, eliy embraces their own chaos as well as the world’s and tunes it into their detailed lyricism and catchy melodies. They are currently managed by 813 Mgmt. and will be making an appearance at the airlock: launch event on April 3rd. We recently spoke with eliy to hear about their inspiration for their latest release and what upcoming projects they are looking forward to.
What made you decide to start making music as a career?
I’ve been involved in music scenes since I was 12-13 years old. I lied about my age and got in good with a lot of bands that just kinda let me hang out. I knew I always wanted to create as my life’s work, and music just kinda fell in with what I did best. I’ve always enjoyed songwriting, arguing with others over creative ideas, and making a process come to life.
What was the inspiration for your latest release HOOLIGAN?
HOOLIGAN was something S I M and I started working on in 2019 and we kept putting off. A lot of reflecting on past experiences and where I’m at now as a person drove most of what made the project what it is.
You worked with lo-fi producer SIM on HOOLIGAN. What did that songwriting process look like?
Songwriting isn’t really a difficult thing for me. I hear something, I get an idea, and I start putting demos together. S I M listens to the demos makes some edits, we talk about where it’s at then send that to DESH at hush puppy records. once we have her feedback we restructure things and get back into it until we make something everyone is happy with.
when I’m writing, I usually lock myself in a room or I “Go Dark” for a period of time, not engaging or posting on social media, and just kinda living my life. I’ve always been a very particular person, I like certain things and very specific people so I don’t surround myself with a lot of different artists or communities. if I’m in a creative mood 8 out of 10 times I’ll leave Ohio and go somewhere that piques my interest. I won’t post about it or anything, i’ll just blend in and live whatever life I want for about a week then phase back to my day-to-day life here.
Tell us about the locations you chose for this shoot, why did you go to each of these places?
I picked Elyria since I have a lot of resources and connections there. It’s not where music (or me just being how I am) started, but it was definitely the first place I realized that I’m not the biggest fan of people. I dealt with a lot of isolation and differences with people in that area. I didn’t connect with most artists but ended up finding little pockets in the community where the people were all great in their own ways.
blank slate elyria was a cornerstone that helped me develop my interactions with people and test out new things. sometimes I would do shows there with beats that people had just sent me or projects that I was working on an hour before I had to soundcheck. I met a lot of touring artists in this area as well and it’s where I established the name Eliy Orcko.
What are you most excited about for your future projects?
Uhhh….Progression? My process involves a team now which allows me to focus on different aspects of creating. there’s a new artist I’m working with on cover art, there’s clothing I’m interested in doing, and my rollouts will start being more interactive. in terms of sound, I have more time to explore my network and work with people to bring ideas to life as well as connect artists from different areas that wouldn’t normally work together due to the relationships I have with each. it’s a whole process I get to explore and expand upon now.
