News: Eli Lev releases the EP "Walk.Talk.Dance.Sing"

Eli Lev

Rising singer-songwriter and global citizen Eli Lev is making the world a smaller place, one song at a time. Eli pens lyrics and melodies for everyday enlightenment—songs that resonate because they’re heartfelt, earthy, and offer the wisdom he’s gained through lifelong travel and self-discovery.

Prior to becoming a full time musician, the Silver Spring, MD native spent three years as an 8th grade English teacher on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. The indigenous traditions he learned during this time are the inspiration for his Four Directions project. Just as each cardinal direction holds unique characteristics in the Navajo tradition, so do each of the albums in Eli’s ‘Four Directions Project’. Together, the series imaginatively and intrepidly connects spheres and generations within a body of work that is irresistibly uplifting, emotionally resonant, and down-to-earth authentic.

Eli explains, "We are surrounded by four directions, and each has distinctive attributes, powers, and teachings according to Navajo traditions. For example, because the sun rises in the east, it is the first direction and source of new ideas and inspiration. With that in mind, I started my EP series in 2017 with All Roads East, echoing the sounds of my youth and upbringing (Alt-Country/Americana). I released Way Out West the following year, where I experimented with the frontiers of folk tropes and melodies (Indie Folk). For 2019’s Deep South, I went back to my southern roots with a truly modern and powerful sound (Folk Rock/Pop). The final piece in 2021 is the more introspective True North (Acoustic/Singer-Songwriter)".

Eli’s releases have earned critical praise from Paste Magazine, Buzzfeed, CBS Radio, AXS, and The Bluegrass Situation, and have received national folk radio support and placement on prominent Spotify playlists. In 2019, Eli Lev won multiple industry awards for his work: his second album Way Out West won a Washington Area Music Award (WAMMIE) for best Country/Americana album, while his single "Chasing Daylight" won a grand prize in the SAW Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Competition.

On April 8th, Eli releases his latest project, an EP called "Walk.Talk.Dance.Sing", inspired by the events of the pandemic. "Walk.Talk.Dance.Sing" explores the range of emotions that we all went through as a society in an instant. Eli realized how much music truly meant and how powerful it really is to keep us going.
I'm so very grateful to have had the opportunity to connect with Eli Lev. The first words that come up to my mind when I listen to his beautiful music are "sunny" and "rhythm". Sunny because he's a sunny person, he's able to spread light in everything he does and especially with his music, always solar and happy. Rhythm because this guy really "got rhythm" as Gene Kelly sang in An American in Paris! You can especially feel it while listening him playing acoustic during is weekly Wednesday IG livestreams, it's really something that will blew you away. His newest EP is the best example of that: sunny, catchy - I'd say the best way to start your day in a good mood. So let's listen to it!

The EP consists of 5 singles, "Be Your Someone" kicking everything off with an indie pop sound similar to that of Ben Harper or Bon Iver and takes a deep dive into the forced isolation and connection we all had to go through. For Eli, he and his partner were figuring out how to live and coexist with each other. "There were a lot of tears and confusion as we tried to figure out how to live with each other in our new reality, but in the end we knew that we were each other's someone - and it was ok to love and hate and have all those mixed emotions play out in order for us to better understand each other, and better understand our relationship together", shares Eli.
"Dancin’ on the Lawn" takes on a Lauv meets Jason Mraz vibe, with an upbeat melody and whistling throughout. It’s hopeful that we will all be able to have fun again and enjoy live music together. We will one day connect through music. Eli says, "My entire 2020 tour was canceled because of the pandemic and I truly missed being able to share my songs with folks face-to-face so I wrote this song about the day in the future where we'd all be dancing together again".
"Move As You Do" still has a pop feeling, but has more of an acoustic sound to it. It starts a little slower while Eli sings about the future and how we are told there’s a "right way" to go through life. But, it happens slowly, one step at a time; everything happens for a reason, and not necessarily in the order you want it to happen. It’s a reminder that there’s no "right way" to do life.
The fourth single, "Vacation" is bubbly and harbors a Caribbean beat. After 2 years of being stuck and isolated, "Vacation" reminds us that we need a physical and mental vacation from everything that’s happened, that we need a break and movement. "I wrote this song turning all the mundane tasks of everyday living during the pandemic into something exotic and special and interesting - kind of like an extremely long vacation!" Eli says.
"Walk.Talk.Dance.Sing" wraps up with "Singing Along for the First Time", released in conjunction with the EP. It takes on a shuffle beat folk style sound, with a hint of Ed Sheeran. It’s upbeat, quick, and has a guest appearance by Crosby Cofod in fiddle. It is about hope and joy, finding the joy and majesty in music and the power it has over us. It’s a celebration of music. Eli shares, "When we realize what music can do to our hearts and souls and bodies, there's this new yet ancient reckoning of us re-becoming our human selves and what it means to be part of the larger community of humanity. This song feels so good! It's that moment as a human when you realize you know the song well enough to sing along to it for the first time and the pure elated joy it brings. It's my happy place and wanted to honor those moments in the car, or the shower, or with friends at a show where we are just singing along at the top of our lungs to our favorite song".

Singing Along For The First Time

I was the age of eight when I played the tape
And I heard a voice come through
It was singing loud and singing strong
To the words I barely knew
I was hanging on to the edge of the song
Waking up all my senses
I’m untied
I’m singing along for the first time
For the first time
Singing along for the first time
I’ve been hearing songs since I came along
On radio and TV
But this one song when it came on
Felt like it was just for me
Now I’m singing along for the first time
For the first time
Singing along for the first time
It was Springsteen in the street
Cash in the summer heat
Willie on the road
Cobain in the cold
Stevie in my room
Learning every line to that tune
When the chorus came it was my chance to
Get up and start to dance away
Away, away, away
I’m singing along for the first time
For the first time
I’m singing along for the first time
I’m singing along for the first time
It was Springsteen in the street
Cash in the summer heat
Willie on the road
Cobain in the cold
Stevie in my room
Learning every line to that tune
When the chorus came it was my chance to
Singing along for the first time  

Eli Lev

 Instagram: @elilevmusic

Website: https://eli-lev.com

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