Eliza Oakes On Vulnerability, Strength, and the Making of "The Weight of the World"

Eliza Oakes's latest single, "The Weight of the World," is a soulful dive into vulnerability, resilience, and growth that hits like a breath of fresh air. This track is layered and richly orchestrated and pulls listeners straight into Eliza's world of emotional honesty. Think Florence + The Machine meets London Grammar, but with a unique, bold edge, that’s all Eliza. Her voice rises and falls effortlessly over deep harmonies, each line packed with subtle power and undeniable conviction.

Co-produced with the talents of Lorenz Okello-Osengor and Jess Camilleri, "The Weight of the World" combines haunting strings and moody synths with Eliza’s vocals taking center stage. Unfolding with dramatic flair, echoing that feeling of carrying the weight of the world, Eliza’s clever shifts in rhythm and dynamics also add a sense of playfulness. It’s a sonic journey, blending introspective lyrics with anthemic crescendos that make you want to listen again and again.

Eliza’s vocal prowess is undeniable here. Her voice commands every twist and turn without ever feeling overdone. It’s what makes a good storyteller when she makes you feel every ounce of struggle, release, and transformation woven into the lyrics.

"The Weight of the World" tells a tale of survival and acts as an ode to self-discovery. For anyone feeling the pressures of life, this track is like a musical therapy session delivered by one of the most authentic new voices on the scene.

"The Weight of the World" does an excellent job of capturing themes of survival and resilience. How did these personal experiences shape this song and your broader creative journey?

The process of writing and crafting this song was a real learning experience for me as a writer and producer! 

The Weight Of The World is a song that expresses the power and sense of identity/self that can be found in states of isolation and fear.  I wrote it a few years ago in what felt like survival mode, and I wanted to ‘watch the thinker’ and, in a way, champion the feelings I was experiencing at the time as a way to help process them.

It jumps between negative emotional feelings in the verses and states of optimism in the pre-choruses, and this arc helped shape the song's harmonic and melodic journey. As soon as I had the chorus written on just piano and voice, I was really drawn to exploring quite a weighted textural arrangement and production, Lorenz Okello-Osengor and Jess Camilleri who I co-produced this song with helped bring this vision to life! 

I’m continuously grappling with my relationship with fear, and I know it’ll be a subject I continue to explore in my future work.

Vulnerability is such a beautiful thing. How do you decide which parts of your life and emotions to channel into your music?

It is indeed, and as a listener, I find a level of vulnerability to often be vital when connecting to someone else’s music, however I know it can take a lot of bravery! 

I’m definitely still in a stage of lyrical discovery, and vulnerability within that lyrical realm is something I’m dedicated to figuring out and harnessing as a writer as I move through a lot of personal change. I guess I decide which parts to channel by what feels the most honest to share at the time, but more specifically, what parts organically show up at the piano when I sit down to play.

When I begin a new idea, I tend to lead with harmony, there’s such a variety of emotion that you can find in different combinations of chords and voicings, the mission then becomes finding what truly weaves and connects these elements together.  

What role does solitude play in your songwriting and personal growth as an artist?

Solitude for me is a necessity to not only creative growth and flow, but for life in general, it’s something I deeply value and actively practice in day to day life, the power of solitude affirms a connection to a sense of being which is essential to creative energy.

This year, I’ve gratefully found myself in a whole variety of expansive musical spaces, from studying and performing medieval Old Roman Chant in the mountains of Pigna, Corsica, with Idrîsî Ensemble to playing Glastonbury and touring the world as part of Jordan Rakei’s band. 

The need for solitude to ground and tap back into my own creative artistry has been vital!  

In a digital realm, we’re constantly bombarded with images, comparisons, and expectations, and I think we’ve forgotten how to be bored, how to be still, how to just be. 

I grew up singing communally, with choirs and other people, so for me, singing is a spiritual practice that requires solitude to better understand your individuality but also equally requires community and other voices to learn from. It’s definitely about balance! 

In "The Weight of the World," there’s a tension between vulnerability and strength. How do you balance these two sides in your life and in your music?

It takes vulnerability to be strong and vice versa, and in this song, I’m definitely toiling back and forth between the two. There’s a saviour of some kind in the song that appears in the pre-choruses, the identity of this saviour has come to re-define itself as time as gone on.  A friend of mine asked if I’m referring to God, which I resonate with (though not in a religious sense). 

The savior role has been a partner and a friend, but also myself- ‘sweet clarity, you’re my sanctuary, yeah you help me stand.’  

The pre-chorus continues with ‘sometimes, I’m filled with so much love that I could break.’  Whether that role be your self or someone else, there’s such undeniable strength in expressing vulnerability, these forces go together.

How do you define authenticity in today's music? What is your mission statement as an artist?

To me, authenticity is leading with musical intention rather than musical brand, prioritizing the experience over the product and community over numbers and stats. We’ve become extremely consumerist as a society, and as we have fast fashion, I find we also have fast music.

The honing of your craft and the dedication of time with your instrument, your pen, and your voice shows resilience, even if your journey may feel slower or uncertain in comparison to others. Amongst so much noise, good and bad, leading with honesty is as authentic as it comes.