Dutch producer Elliot Fitch returns with killer production and a euphoric House sound with his new track ‘What You Do To Me’. Reminiscent of the throwback club tracks that are still firm favourites on the dancefloor, Elliot is proving that glitterball sounds never go out of style. Still reeling from the new release, Fitch sits down with Purple Melon to discuss the new single, future plans and his childhood inspirations.

Hey Elliot, thanks so much for agreeing to have a chat with us, it’s a pleasure to have you on the blog. First things first, how’re you feeling now that ‘What You Do To Me’ is finally out in the world? 

Yes! I’m Really Happy with it. Each time when I’m releasing a new song, it’s quite exciting, as you never know how others will react to it. Every time I’m nervous, but like a good nervous haha! And fortunately, the reaction so far has been very good as well. 

Has the initial crowd reaction to the track been, is the song being well received so far? 

Yeah, it has been good! It has been picked up well on Spotify and Apple music. Moreover, it has been played on several big radio stations in the Netherlands, and I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from other DJs. I also got quite some messages from people all over the world saying that they really love the track, which is really nice. I love to get these messages, it’s so cool that people from the other side of the globe connect with me because they like my music.

For any Purple Melon readers who may not have heard of Elliot Fitch before, could you describe your sound and music style a bit?

Elliot Fitch is house music! Expect to be surprised when you hear my music: I try to combine elements from disco, soul, 90s house and more. Likewise, I love to use samples in my music, really to create that authentic disco vibe, such as in my track ‘next to me’ or ‘the one’. Moreover, I always try to do things a bit out of the box: my productions can vary quite a bit and they do not really fit into one specific genre, however, they all do share some elements which really characterize my tracks, such as catchy melodies and vocals, groovy drums and a solid bassline.

We love to know the origin story behind artist/band names, what was the inspiration behind Elliot Fitch?

Well, Fitch used to be my nickname. A long time ago, I went to the USA with my family. I saved quite some money and bought a lot of shirts from the brand Abercrombie & Fitch. As a result, the name ‘Fitch’ was on all my T-shirts and my friends started calling me like this. Then, a bit later I was thinking of a new name for my DJ alias and was watching the TV show ‘Mr. Robot’, with Rami Malek. The head character is called Elliot and suddenly I thought  “Hey, that’s a cool name.. Elliot Fitch! Let’s remember that one”. I wrote it down and it kept hanging, so I decided to stick with it.

You were born and raised in the Netherlands, who were some of your biggest musical inspirations when growing up, Dutch or otherwise? 

I used to listen to a lot of different music from all kinds of genres, Jazz, House, Hip-Hop, pop you name it. As a result, I have a very broad taste in music. However, in terms of which music had the biggest influence on my productions, it is the compilation CDs of Toolroom and Defected. Both are well-established labels in the house music industry, and each year, they release compilation CDs of their hottest tunes. I always used to buy these as a teen as they were filled with (underground) music from all kinds of artists, which I found amazing. It gave me a lot of inspiration and really let me fall in love with house music. The cool thing is that most of these tunes which were released back then still sound as if they could be released last year. That type of house music is timeless for me.

Who are some of the influences that went into creating ‘What You Do To Me’?

I have listened a lot to classic house music from the 90s lately, and I wanted to make a piano house track with all the classic elements in it from that era. Think about acid synths, Korg M1 pianos, strings, euphoric pads and a catchy vocal. However, I love piano house tracks, but these tracks can quickly sound a bit generic. That’s why I tried to make something different and sampled kicks from old techno records. As a result, it has a very raw and thumpy low end, which you do not often hear in these types of house productions. Moreover, I wanted to create a euphoric feeling in the breakdown, and that’s why I used strings in the style of ‘strings of life‘ from Derrick May. As a result, it has a very euphoric touch to it which I think really characterizes the sound of the 90s.

As a producer, what are some of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of producing and releasing a song?

The most rewarding is the joy while producing it. I just love it when you’re in the studio making music and just everything fits together. It’s an amazing feeling. Then, if you release it and it gets picked up well, it’s even better. I love it when people all over the world listen to my music and like it. It’s a very rewarding feeling! Not so long ago, I was at the local barber. I told him that I produced music and as it turned out, he already had some of my productions in his playlist. How cool is that! However, what can be very challenging is perfectionism and insecurity. I tend to be a perfectionist when I’m producing music,  and very often, I think it’s not good enough and I start over. Putting this much pressure on the creative process definitely does not benefit the outcome, and is something I shouldn’t do as an artist. However, overcoming this can be challenging sometimes.

Are there any artists or producers that you would like to collaborate with in future? 

I really love the latest releases of Oden & Fatzo, it’s a relatively new DJ trio from Paris and I would love to collaborate with them in the future. The way they combine mellow, jazzy influences with house music sounds is crazy. Also, it would be insane to collaborate with some of these classical house heavyweights, such as Armand van Helden, Junior Jack, MK or Inner City. Their productions have had a big influence on me and collaborating with them would be a dream coming true. The chances are small, but you never know!

Lastly, what can fans and listeners expect next from Elliot Fitch? 

Well, unfortunately, some of my shows got cancelled due to rising lockdown cases (again), which is too bad. However, I’m trying to stay positive and besides the cancelled shows, things are looking good! I will continue producing a lot of music and many more singles are in the pipeline for next year. For the next couple of months, I hope that restrictions will loosen up and things will settle down a bit so that we can enjoy our beloved festivals again. For now, I will go on a short break to Mexico and enjoy some good food, temples, beaches and beautiful weather. Really looking forward to it! Thanks so much for the interview guys!

Listen to Elliot Fitch – ‘What You Do To Me’

 

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