Toronto’s Eliza Niemi Release Video Ahead of Album Release

Toronto-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eliza Niemi grew up with the influence of music all around her. She first learned the basics of bass and guitar from her dad, and these childhood experiences of playing music together by ear fostered the sense of playfulness that she’s approached her craft with ever since. 

Her vibrational song, “Walking Feels Slow,” is about being caught between different ways of moving through the world: on the one side is taking things slow and stopping and smelling the roses, and on the other is a sort of reckless, free barrelling-through. 

“I wanted to evoke the feeling of desperately trying to stay present – the little games we play with ourselves and mantras we repeat to prevent us from projecting or worrying about the past or future,” says Eliza. “There’s a manic energy in trying to slow down and enjoy each bite as if it’s the whole fruit – a sort of buzzing at a high frequency – that I wanted to embody and convey in this track.”

Her self-produced new album, Staying Mellow Blows (Out August 5th), is about slowing down for the first time in a long time and having space and time to reflect on her life. She’d spent the majority of her adult years on the road with various bands such as Mauno and when the pandemic hit, she was suddenly and unexpectedly in one place for over a year. It was a shock to her system and brought about some serious introspection.