For a new age of popsters—usually with the prefix “indie” attached—the central space for creation has moved. It’s no longer a rehearsal space, or a studio—it’s at home.
Eric Elbogen is emblematic of this shift. He’s been making emotive mumbles into pop songs since 2001, first under the name Say Hi To Your Mom, and more recently, since moving to Seattle two and a half years ago from Brooklyn, under the simplified moniker Say Hi.
“To me, the recording process has always been inherently tied to the songwriting process,” Elbogen says. “It’s hard for me to visualize how I want the song to sound or be arranged without me actually sitting and trying out all the parts for myself.”
As he describes it, the progression of an album, like last month’s Oohs and Aahs, is an arduous process of recording and careful editing.
“I’ll just shut myself off from the rest of the world and sit down and try to write some melodies and drumbeats,” Elgogen says. “Then I’ll spend a good four, five, six, seven, eight months just sort of writing and recording at the same time. That will usually produce anywhere from 30-100 songs and then somewhere toward the end of that process I’ll realize that all but 10 or 12 of those are pretty terrible, and I’ll throw the rest out.”
The resulting records often toe the line between fastidious products of personal neurosis and engaging pop hooks.
Oohs and Aahs, his first record on Barsuk (and the first not to be self-released) falls squarely into the latter category. From the opening buzzy guitar riff of “Elouise,” which reads like a love letter to a late night Seattle radio DJ, to the synth-horn driven opening of “Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh,” Say Hi’s sixth record is a compelling compendium of layered elements.
Elbogen’s vocals, featuring layers of harmonies and an echo-y disposition, come out as sweet, despondent melodies very much in the vein of labelmate David Bazan and world-conquering duo The Postal Service. His lyrics set up romantic narratives and scenes that are grounded in specifics, yet broad enough for interpretation.
“I pull some from real life. Some is pulled form dreams that I have. Some is pulled from other art that I appreciate,” Elbogen says of his lyrics. “I think for my own sanity I try to avoid overarching message. I’m just sort of more interesting in painting little portraits and vignettes and situations.”
Part of the tension of Say Hi’s music is its solo project status. The drums, guitars, bass, synths and piano are all played by Elbogen, and we know this. Like major pop music, it is a construct, but in this case, there’s only one architect. It only exists because of digital manipulation.
“I think that certainly 20 years ago, I couldn’t do what I’m doing,” Elbogen says. “The fact that I essentially spent no money making these records except for the investment in software and hardware is definitely a testament of the times. Whether or not that’s good thing, I don’t know.”
Here, Elbogen has identified the central conundrum of the digital recording age: It’s cheaper and easier than ever to record music, which in turn makes everything more disposable. Elbogen’s process takes advantage of this truth—he records a lot of songs, but makes sure to choose only the best.
“I’m certainly guilty of it to,” he says. “The technology of auto-tuning vocals or quantizing drums def. produces some laziness. The more and more I do it, the more I try to avoid stuff like that.… But I would lie if I said I didn’t take advantage of that stuff every now and again. And it definitely, in a subconscious kind of way, detracts from the music.”
But then again, Elbogen knows the path he set out on. He says that writing his music alone has become, over the years, the way he toils.
“Part of it, y’know, is 32 years of me being disappointed with other people in the world,” Elbogen says. “And that actually sounds a bit more dramatic than it is, but when I was in grade school the thing I always dreaded the most was when we had to break into groups to do a project. I’ve always been into working alone.”