Music Artists You Should Know: Elea Calvet

After a six-year hiatus that began following the release of a, in hindsight, aptly titled single, “Sacrifice,” singer-songwriter Elea Calvet is experiencing a rebirth with her debut album, Spurious forms.

Her return may come as a surprise following years of silence, but the French-Canadian artist is no stranger to shifts in her life. Briefly growing up in Quebec, Calvet and her family would move to India during her formative years. After two more moves, they settled in Bristol when she was 16. This also happened to be when she decided to study music. But music had been a part of her life since she was little, having picked up several instruments which would later serve as a stepping stone to her jack-of-all-trades role when making music.

Despite releasing a string of singles beginning in 2017, Calvet would ultimately step away from songwriting and enter a “musical hermiting stage.” During her hiatus, she took up voice acting after another move. However, it was also at this time that she honed in on her songwriting, picking up an arsenal of skills that included producing, self-recording, and an already strong penmanship that got better with time.

Years of honing her talents have led to a new era where Calvet takes on nearly every aspect of the recording process, making each song uniquely hers by blending country, alt-rock, and chamber-pop in a hypnotic swirl.

Aside from a select few instruments on some songs, just about every instrument heard on Spurious forms was played by Calvet. On the Albert Camus-inspired “Filthy Lucre,” her guitar-playing is on display, taking on an alt-country inflection that balances the otherwise chamber-pop production. But what remains the center of attention is Calvet’s vocals, where her wistful tone lends to the near-operatic highs and lows that seem to come naturally in her voice.

In her 2017 debut single, “Lust,” the building blocks of what would become Calvet’s distinct, alternative sound can be heard. Her dynamic voice is particularly apparent as her inspirations begin to take shape. However, the hiatus proved to be a natural progression, one where she took after artists like Patti Smith but only in their avant-garde approach to combining genres and coming out on the other end with a singular style entirely.

And considering Calvet chose to zero in on her talents before formally introducing herself to the world shows how much goes into her process, ensuring the end product is only the best it can be. So far, the results are exactly that.

Spurious forms by Elea Calvet is out on streaming services. For more on new music and tickets to potential shows, follow her on Instagram and her website.

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