Chris Bartels

Here's the thing. It's a mess. I'm a mess. I write a lot of music. Under a lot of different names. I've always been obsessed with music, and obsessed with making it. One week I can't stop listening to electronic-ambient, and that comes out in my Elskavon project, which has been around the longest (since 2007-ish). The next, I'm up in the indie-folks woods with Dellwood. Or I'm back to my chillwave-fan roots, writing synthpop as Bora York or Hi-Fi Cali or Mantel Fox. Or I'm reliving my long poofy hair high school days where I blasted The Strokes & Weezer out my old Honda Accord, and that comes out with KOATS. Cinematic ambient a la Sigur Rós & Helios has influenced a lot of my work - not only Elskavon, but also Blurstem, Sonant, Brylom, or under my own name. On an even more minimalist & organic side, Olma, illi mel & Emerald Ancients. Sometimes the inspiration comes simply from writing with friends: Glass Echoes, Mircadia, Lumado. A creative accident that blurs between lofi, hip hop & synthwave started Mum Child. Who knows, maybe there's another or a few hidden on the Anthem Falls Selects playlist. So yeah... it's a mess. I used to apologize to myself for littering the digital earth with music. No longer. I'm doing what I love - what I've always loved. There's no master plan. There's just music, and fun times with friends. If you find yourself lost in the mess, know that I'm grateful for that. Hope you're inspired to get a bit messy in your own creative obsessions. -Chris