It seems somewhat contradictory referring to Elijah Waters as an enigma, such is the honesty and forthcomingness of the young Dutch musician pushing the boundaries of genre and lyricism with every new song. Musically, however, there is little choice. How else might one describe the uniquely creative mind of an artist whose experimental amalgamation of hip-hop infused funk and soul has propelled him to the forefront of the music scene, not only in The Netherlands, but across the world too. This is a creative that pays respect to the inner workings of their brain; what we get is unfiltered and uncurated in a way that many musicians nowadays fear, leading from spontaneous thought and building around that rather than trying to push any neat, sanitised package. The result is a sonically eclectic, thematically meandering body of work that delves in and out of introspection, simultaneously allowing us a glimpse of both Elijah Waters the musician, and Elijah Waters the man. While the notion of an open enigma seems contradictory — a Catch 22 perhaps — it is representative of a musician who refuses to be binaurally categorised, who relishes intersection and collaboration, for whom the overall creative vision comes first.

The roots of Waters’ creative heterogeneity can perhaps be traced back to his childhood. Growing up in Rotterdam, a major port city in the Dutch province of South Holland, Waters thrived in the diversity of metropolitan life, relishing the cultural and social diversity that formed the city’s makeup. “Coming from here you can experience anything,” he says. “There are a lot of different cultures, and every side has their own different community.” While the city’s broad range of settings instilled a fascination with multiplicity that is still present in his music, Rotterdam also became a counterpoint for Waters, the city’s post-war industrial dogma standing in some contrast to how he perceives himself emotionally. “It’s engraved in the city because the whole mentality of Rotterdam stems from the war, where half the city got wiped out and everyone had to rebuild,” he explains. “So there’s slogans from the city that are like: ‘we push forward, we don’t talk, we work’ type shit. But I’m way more emotional than all of that – I’ve always been softer than that”.