Hollowhead by Elle of the Wilds

I started working on Hollowhead in December of 2019. Back then, it was a 6-track EP called “Lines” and the album sounded completely different. Over time, it changed and became too ambitious. In December of 2020, I went back to the drawing board and began to rebuild the EP. It was still called Lines, but it shifted. I swapped out nearly every song for newer ones written on the ukulele I bought a few months later. by September of 2021, I had changed the name and made the album cover. I hadn’t even named my solo project Elle of the Wilds yet, I’d named it “.elle.” I began writing practically non-stop. By summer 2022, I’d begun recording poor versions of songs I wanted on Hollowhead. This was the first solid tracklist I ever hammered out, and only one song off of it remains on the finished version of the album. I realized I was now sitting on a pile of demos, so I grabbed five, threw them into an EP, and released HALF/way. Hollowhead was supposed to be next. instead, I kept writing new songs, the track list kept getting rearranged, and as I kept releasing music, a story started to form. One that just so happened to suit that album I had been working on in the back of my brain for years. with the release of Intrusions part II, I began cultivating a continuous storyline built out of the pieces I’d unintentionally laid out for myself. It was a bit messy and relied pretty heavily on contrivance and subtext, but it was mine. It was MY story. and as the world I made kept growing, I finally started to feel like it was ready for its final chapter. in August of 2024, I recorded the first track. the rest is history. This album took six years of confusion, doubt, thinking I was done only to have to start all over, anger, stress, loss, and so much more. And I’m so glad it’s yours now. Treat it kindly.

Thanks to - Brennan Rigley, Sierra Harber, Tyler Smith, Christian Messman, Jeff Barnett, Ben Ghering, Gerald Slevin, Modicum Bayleif

Special thanks to - M Augenstein, Rigby Larrabee-Walcutt, Annie Arbogast, Benjamin Barnett, Isabel Schenkel, Emma Lepper, Reagan Warner, and Salem Lewis. I don’t talk to some of y’all anymore, but this album wouldn’t exist without any of you.

Particular acknowledgement goes to Felix, who, while he didn’t do any work on the album directly, still saved the project in his own way. you’ve kept Elle of the Wilds goin, man. idk, it’s crazy.

Elle is trying to escape the algorithm. Wanna help?

-_-