ELIALUME on ‘Cream & Sugar’ and the Human Creator Behind a Virtual Artist

What is "Cream & Sugar" about for you, and what moment or feeling first set the song in motion?

ELIALUME: For me, Cream & Sugar brings together two things that give me the most pleasure in this world: coffee in the morning and being in love.

The song is about the cracks that begin to form in a love that once seemed so perfectly blended. It paints a picture of a woman, ELIALUME, who feels herself losing her grip on the love of her life. She doesn't even want to look him in the eyes because she knows the truth – he's preparing to leave the relationship. Instead, all she wants to do is smile through the pain and pretend everything is okay. She can't fathom anyone else ever comparing to him. Nobody else could take her order quite the way this man could.

I was sitting in my kitchen one morning, listening to music and finishing my coffee, when I came across an instrumental piece featuring a xylophone. It sounded so ethereal and intriguing that it sparked something in me. That's typically how I work. I have to feel moved by a particular sound enough to want to put pen to paper.

The sound made me feel this sense of brightness and warmth, almost like the feeling of the morning sun touching your face. And with that feeling, I introduced coffee into the picture. What better way to experience it than with that perfect blend of cream and sugar? From there, the story began to take shape.

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Take us through how "Cream & Sugar" came together, from the first idea to the finished track. Which decision along the way most changed how it ended up sounding?

ELIALUME: After developing the story, I wrote the lyrics, created the melody, and recorded my vocals to the instrumental track. I also recorded an a cappella version, which I then brought into Suno, an AI music creation platform, where I began developing the production around my original lyrics and melody.

My role throughout the process was really that of the songwriter, composer, and creative director. I had a clear vision for how I wanted the song to sound and feel, and I used Suno as a tool to help bring that vision to life.

This particular song took several days to develop. It wasn't as simple as pushing a button and having the finished arrangement magically come together. I spent many hours experimenting, refining, and making creative decisions about the tone, mood, style, instrumentation, and vocal delivery until everything felt right. I also trained a voice model using my own vocals, which gave me another way to shape the vocal performance.

I didn't want a lot of riffs or unnecessary ad-libs. I wanted warmth, richness, character, and a little swag that would marry well with the jazzy vibe of the song.

I would say the decision to use my trained voice model made a significant difference in the vocal character and overall feel of the track. And the choice to incorporate strings was really the cherry on top for me. They brought another layer of warmth and emotion to the arrangement that I just loved.

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You sign as Elle Molina, Creator of ELIALUME. Where does the name ELIALUME come from, and how would you describe the line between you and the project?

ELIALUME: Great question. Yes, I'm Elle, the creator of ELIALUME.

When I was brainstorming names for this character I was creating, I knew I wanted something that sounded and looked unique but also carried meaning. ELIALUME blends a personal familial connection with "lume," or the idea of light. It took quite some time to land on the name, but when I did, it just felt right.

As for the line between us, creatively speaking, it's actually quite thin. ELIALUME is a distinct character, but so much of what she represents comes directly from me – my music, my melodies, my stories, and my creative vision.

I actually grew up in the entertainment industry as a child and was fortunate to have incredible exposure to music, film, television, theater, and voice work. I recorded my first demo when I was 16, and ever since then, I've been writing lyrics to instrumental beats. That process was, and still is, very therapeutic for me. Sometimes I would write poetry first, and then after hearing a beat that evoked a particular emotion, I would tailor my lyrics to fit and build a melody around them.

All that to say, I've been writing and singing for a very long time. It's only recently that I decided to pursue music in this more unconventional way.

I became fascinated with the idea of creating something multidimensional, where my original music, cinematic storytelling, and technology could all intersect. Being able to create the melodies while also directing the visual elements and building these worlds for ELIALUME has been incredibly freeing and exciting for me.

https://www.instagram.com/itselialume/

Where did you grow up, and what music, people or places from those years still find their way into what you make today?

ELIALUME: I grew up in Pasadena, California, and was introduced to the wonders of sound, melody, storytelling, and performance from as far back as I can remember.

My parents grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Los Angeles at a young age in support of my dad's pursuit of a music career. His father, my grandfather, was also a singer, so music was something deeply rooted in my family and in me from a very early age.

I grew up with my two older brothers listening to an incredibly eclectic range of music – Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Michael Jackson, Sting, Janet Jackson, Journey, Celine Dion, James Brown, just to name a few.

Being exposed to so many artists, genres, and styles throughout different stages of my life has really helped shape how I write, the stories I like to tell, and the sounds I associate with those stories.

My original songs can range from pop to R&B and neo-soul to even blues rock. And that's something I've carried into ELIALUME. She's not bound to any one particular genre. The common thread is ELIALUME herself, with my songwriting and creative vision behind it all, if that makes sense.

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You mentioned wanting to share the creative vision behind ELIALUME. How would you put that vision into words, and what do you hope stays with a listener after a song ends?

ELIALUME: I don't view ELIALUME as simply an AI R&B/pop artist. To me, she's part of a multidimensional creative project where my original music, cinematic storytelling, world-building, and technology all intersect.

When listeners visit her social media or are introduced to one of my songs through ELIALUME, I want them to first be moved by the music, whether that's emotionally, physically, or both. I want them to fall in love with the sounds, the melodies, and the stories being told.

And while ELIALUME is a virtual artist, with AI playing a role in the vocal production, arrangements, and visuals, I want people to understand that there is a human creator behind it all. The lyrical concepts, original melodies, and creative direction come from me. I'm involved in shaping every stage of how these songs and their accompanying worlds come to life.

Technology has given me an exciting new way to express and share my creativity, but at the heart of it all is something very human. There's real heart, soul, and intention behind every song I share.

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What keeps you making music on the days when it feels hardest, and what has been the toughest part of building ELIALUME so far?

ELIALUME: I actually stepped away from pursuing music for some time because of where life's journey was taking me. But the further I stepped away from creating music, the more I felt like I was holding back a part of myself. I knew there was still some really beautiful, dope music in me that I wanted to share.

I feel music so deeply that even when days are challenging, I turn to writing as a form of healing. There's really nothing comparable to the joy I feel when creating a new musical story.

Building ELIALUME, though, has been hard work. I've had to do a tremendous amount of research into various AI platforms for image creation, video production, editing, music, and so much more.

And it's funny because sometimes the seemingly simplest things, whether it's making a small edit to a video or searching for just the right instrument, style, or sound, can take the longest.

This project has required an enormous amount of patience and a lot of trial and error. But when I finally see everything come together the way I envisioned it, that feeling makes all the hard work worth it.

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What comes next for ELIALUME after "Cream & Sugar", and what are you most eager to try that you haven't done yet?

ELIALUME: Cream & Sugar is one of five songs on ELIALUME's debut project, The Becoming, which is out now. Each song has its own mood, sound, and story, and I'm excited to continue building visual worlds that bring each of them to life.

There's still so much I want to explore creatively. I'm especially eager to keep learning and mastering some of these tools so I can push the visual storytelling even further and create some truly mind-blowing scenes and videos.

I also want to keep experimenting musically, exploring different sounds and genres without feeling confined to any one particular style.

I'm excited for people to discover ELIALUME, explore the music, and follow along as these stories and visual worlds continue to unfold. You can find her on Instagram and listen to The Becoming, available now on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.

This is really just the beginning.

https://www.instagram.com/itselialume/