Born to a jazz pianist and retail clerk, the Amsterdam-based Elif Dame (meaning she who brings light) started practicing her creativity at a young age. Her musical interests were initially sparked by the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and the gospel genre. It would greatly expand and shift through the realms of countless genres throughout the years. By writing her first songs to beat tapes of MF DOOM, J Dilla, and Madlib and experimenting with different sounds, Dame gradually allowed her sound to develop into an eclectic form of alternative R&B through which she touches on topics such as her battles with depression and anxiety, insecure attachment and relationship issues, trauma, family drama and addiction.
After releasing a slew of singles from 2020 – 2021, it became clear to her that her lifelong battle against depression in combination with the pressure to consistently put out new work had taken away the joy she previously felt in releasing and thus decided to go on a long overdue self-care hiatus. In the year that followed, the artist committed herself to prioritizing her own mental health – all while documenting the process.
The result of that hiatus is her upcoming EP, Securely Detached. The release showcases the artist’s journey of learning to take back her own life, differentiate her own feelings from the feelings of her surroundings, and also about learning to focus on herself instead of preoccupying her mind with making other people happy and comfortable. Dame confides, “It’s about reframing my co-dependent relationships and about my time on the waitlist to get mental health care. It’s about the important process of learning what it means to put yourself first.”
The EP kicked off with the release of “Celexa (Buy Me Time)” where Dame opened up about hitting rock bottom and weighing up the options of going on medication. Followed by “Killing It” which specifically focuses on letting go and starting to feel the benefits of medication, all whilst having doubts about being on the precipice of another manic episode.
Securely Detached also features songs such as “How to Self-Care” and “Self-Care Pt. II” where Dame admits to not being able to fulfill her primary needs as a basic means of maintaining her stability and consequently facing a never-ending cycle of healing and self-sabotage. Then there is “Grandmothers Fault” and “Good Friend” both of which speak about the songwriters struggles with unhealthy relationships in her life, as well as “Nature of the Beast” where the artist realizes that addiction is a family disease.
The EP comes to a close with the title track “Securely Detached” which is a cheerful admission of her feelings, as she shares, “This song is about trying to do better but accepting that it’s a journey, about lovingly detaching from others and accepting that through dedicated self-work, some things stay as they are and I’m alright with it.”
Having garnered nearly half a million streams for her debut single, Elif Dame is heading in the right direction, with Securely Detached set to take her to new heights, as she connects with listeners around the world with her beautifully honest and vulnerable music.
Photo By: Eva Baselier, provided by LPR
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