“I keep my phone on-hand so I can record whatever sound or phrase comes to me because I never know when it’s coming or where it’s coming from,” she says of her creative process. Like many songwriters who’ve come before her, Elle admits that ideas reveal themselves in different forms, at different times and places. “People think different things about it, but I was more focused on playing with the words and nailing the lyrical flips.” “I get stuck whenever I try to explain where that song came from because it wasn’t really about anyone in particular,” she notes.
Is she talking about a pair of pumps? Maybe. At first listen, it seems as though she’s singing about someone special, but then she switches it up real quick. If you have her tell it, the song has taken many shapes and forms since she began writing it as a teenager. Leading the 11-song set is the flirty, funky single, “Only Wanna Give It To You,” produced by Pop & Oak and featuring J. “I can honestly say that I’m in love with every song on this album,” she says, matter-of-factly. When asked to describe her feelings about the finished product, Elle takes a moment to ponder the question. Crafting the album also proved to be a full-circle moment for the 23-year-old singer/songwriter as she enlisted the help of her parents – Jimmy Varner and Mikelyn Roderick – both of whom contributed their production and vocal arrangement talents and pushed Elle toward, and beyond, the bounds of her creativity. With the release of her debut album, Perfectly Imperfect (MBK Entertainment/RCA Records), which she wrote and co-produced, it’s evident that her early experiences have served her well. My dad always asked for my opinion about what he was working on and I remember my mom would ask, ‘What word should I add here?’ They really empowered me.” “At an early age, I absorbed so much about music and learned how to create a song, from beginning to end. “Growing up in the studio was absolutely normal for me, but looking back, I realize that it’s not a very common environment for a kid,” Elle says. Whether flipping through her mother’s Motown collection, singing along to Burt Bacharach classics or accompanying her songwriter parents to their recording sessions, music was an ever-present force. Hers was a childhood steeped in hooks and verses, melodies and choruses. There’s no doubt that Elle Varner’s creative journey should be filed in the latter category, but even as her destiny unfolds before her, she can barely believe her eyes. For some, living a dream is a privilege…a blessing, if you will.
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