Crossing Cultures, Creating Sounds: ELODIE GERVAISE in Focus

Élodie: Music and songwriting have been deeply shaped by where I’ve lived. I started out in Byron Bay, a small surf town in Australia, where indie music dominated. Then I moved to Paris and was suddenly immersed in beautiful electronic music. Traveling through Amsterdam, London, and Berlin further inspired that direction, which led to my first EP. Later, moving to Berlin again introduced me to a vibrant neo-soul and jazz scene through friends. That influence pulled me toward collaboration and exploration in those genres. Now that I’m back in Australia, I’ve gravitated back to the bass and guitar, embracing a rawer, less produced sound. Each city has left its mark my creativity shifts almost instantly with my surroundings. Even the French language shaped my writing while in Paris, and I’m now trying to consciously keep it in my work. The cultural and environmental influence on my music has been constant and powerful.

Élodie: It’s a constant juggle between the masculine and feminine within me. Growing up, I leaned into the masculine playing sports, becoming an architect spaces where strength felt natural. But now, I’m intentionally embracing softness and vulnerability. My new work reflects that: it’s more stripped back, honest, and raw. I’ve realized that both energies have value, but vulnerability resonates more deeply it’s what connects us. In today’s world, I think we need vulnerability more than strength. Both strength and softness are essential. And if I had to choose, I’d choose vulnerability every time, because that’s what invites empathy, truth, and real connection.

Élodie: Exosoul was born from my early time in Berlin a way to express everything I was feeling. I felt like a sponge, absorbing every experience, jotting down lyrics on post-it notes in the middle of weekends ewith friends. Berlin’s freedom and openness inspired me deeply the lack of judgment, the space to fully be yourself. The concept behind Exosoul was living with your soul on the outside expressing from the soul, not the ego. It’s about deep feeling, shedding identity, and reconnecting to the shared oneness I believe in: that we’re all just connected souls.

Élodie: Berlin was the turning point for me. Once I settled in, I felt a surge of inspiration and a need to bring everything I was experiencing into one body of work. Surrounded by incredible creatives like my close friend and producer Alexander Alien I was constantly inspired. The energy of the city and the people around me made it clear: I had to make an album. Even though everyone said, “Just release singles,” I knew I needed a full story nine songs to capture those three transformative years. Exosoul was truly born from Berlin and the creative community there. I couldn’t have made it without them. It was a collective energy, not something I could’ve done alone.

Élodie: I’ve become obsessed with performing it’s such a powerful way to connect. There’s this moment when the audience drops into the space with you, emotions open up, and you all feel something together. That’s really my core reason for making music: to help people feel. After shows, hearing how people experienced it whether they felt sexy, emotional, or inspired is the best part. Someone told me, “I wanted to feel how you felt,” and that really struck me. That’s the goal: to transmit emotion so deeply that everyone shares in it.

Élodie: It’s tough especially as a perfectionist to know when something’s finished. There’s always a temptation to keep tweaking, but at some point, you have to call it. Art is endless, but there’s a feeling when a track is done, when it feels right, and you just have to respect that moment. Of course, there are always things you think of later “I could’ve added this or changed that” but finishing is key to keep creating. You can always explore more in a live setting. Otherwise, like with painting, you risk never finishing at all.

Élodie: I always ritualize my creative space candles, incense, soft lighting to set the mood. Before writing I make sure I’ve moved, eaten well, and arranged the ambience perfectly. In a way, I treat creativity like a date: you prepare the setting, you show up fully present, and then the magic happens.

Élodie: I have vivid dreams sometimes it feels like living a double life. They can be beautiful but intense, like dreaming of riding a ship through glaciers in Antarctica. Still, my creativity doesn’t come from dreams as much as it does from real-world connection. When I’m centered and in touch with my heart, that’s when the creativity flows. Dancing helps unlock that, and recently, being part of a choir has opened something new just singing with others sparked a song so strongly I had to pull over and record it. Ultimately, I’m fueled more by community than by solitude. It’s that shared energy, not the dream world, that truly feeds my creativity.

Élodie: I’m deeply drawn to spirituality and mythology they feel closely connected. I often work with archetypes, especially goddesses like Aphrodite and Athena. Aphrodite represents vulnerability, Athena strength, and I turn to both depending on what I need. I also love tarot the symbolism, the queens, kings, cups, swords it’s a magical language I regularly play with. But to me, magic isn’t just spiritual; it’s in the everyday. Even something as simple as fruit feels magical. I love drawing on that wonder often.

Élodie: Music has taught me everything about myself. Before becoming a singer, I didn’t know who I was or how to express myself. I found music around 23 or 24, and it became the key to understanding my inner world not just the external shell. My spiritual journey began later too. I’d been casually using tarot for about a decade, but a reading shifted everything when the reader suggested seeing songs as spells. That idea unlocked a whole new path one where music became ritual, magic, and deep self-discovery. Now, I fully embrace spirituality as a guiding force in my life and art.

Élodie: I love the word ritual, especially in our fast-paced lives. Right now, my main ritual is dancing for an hour before I shower. Since leaving Berlin and no longer dancing in clubs, I’ve started habit-stacking headphones on, a friend’s DJ set, and I just move. It’s like therapy. When I skip it, I feel disconnected and weighed down. It’s become essential for releasing stress and staying connected to my body.

Élodie: Emotional truth in art and daily life can feel different though ideally, they shouldn’t be. In art, I aim to express something authentic, trusting that if it’s real for me, others will resonate too. It’s about being fearless, setting strong boundaries, and asking: Am I being true to myself, or trying to please others? That level of honesty takes deep self-connection, mindfulness, and ritual. Ultimately, emotional truth is rooted in trusting yourself and knowing the answers already live within you.

Élodie: Berlin, for me and for many is a complete unlocking of the self. It’s a place without rules or judgment, where you’re free to express every part of who you are and be celebrated for it. In the community I found there, everything was accepted: no right or wrong, just freedom and authenticity. It changed me deeply and continues to do so. Berlin feels like an unraveling, an opening, a blossoming and I think it’s the most spectacular city in the world.

Élodie: When I made Brut, I was green and eager just excited to put something out. I still love that work because it marked the beginning of my solo journey. Back then, it was all lightness and experimentation. Now, my process feels more grounded and instinctual there’s a deeper sense of self and clarity in what I want to hear. But funnily enough, I’m coming full circle; the next release might just be bass and vocals, like a return to the roots.

Élodie: A safe one to start with something that opens people up to vulnerability, honesty, acceptance and definitely sensuality. I want listeners to feel sexy, connected to that side of themselves. There’s such a lack of that in the world, and I’m really passionate about it. I’m even planning to study sexology because I think it will deepen my music. Sensuality is powerful, and I want people to feel free and fully themselves when they listen.

Élodie: I think it all comes back to trust, trusting the journey, the timing, and that everything happens for a reason. I do believe in that kind of mysticism, and the more you believe in it, the more it reflects back into your life. It lets you live as if you’re in a fantasy, which I love. Fantasy opens up beauty, curiosity and wonder, it reminds you there are no limits but the ones you create.

Élodie: I think solitude is really important, something I realised around the same time I started writing music. Learning to be alone taught me how to be my own best friend. Before that, I was always surrounded by people, unsure how to make my own decisions. Embracing solitude helped me understand myself, and that naturally led to discovering the power of sensuality. Growing up, I didn’t value sensuality much. But in my twenties, I started connecting with my body differently. I became obsessed in a good way with sensuality and how it nourishes your life. That was my glow-up. And with the glow-up comes maturity, because you start to truly know yourself.

Élodie: It’s a tough lesson, but I’ve become very selective about who I share my music and collaborate with. I used to be open to working with anyone, but now I protect my creativity. I only give my time and energy to people who truly align with me. It comes down to trust and intuition how do I feel in their presence? What’s their intention, and does it match mine? If not, it’s not worth it. I’ve learned to pay attention to how I feel after being around someone, if I don’t leave inspired or energised , that says enough. I’ve been burned before, trusted the wrong people, and regretted it. But those experiences were necessary. I had to go through the fire to learn how to protect my art and trust myself.

Élodie: In nature is where I feel most at peace and inspired. It’s a big reason I moved back to Australia and away from the city. I feel completely at home in the bush, the beach, the mountains just being in nature, alone or with friends, feels right. The dance floor is another home for me. The right dance floor is a safe, transformative space where I’ve released a lot of emotional baggage and learned about myself. And then, being around beautiful, inspiring people those who are curious and passionate that’s when I feel the most creative and alive.