“My music is my magic, my songs are my spells."

"I feel like I’m moving
forward and growing every time I listen"

"No matter how little money we had or how much we
struggled, we have always maintained this ideal   vision of our future together, and little
by little we are making it happen"

“Of all the songs in the world, this one makes me feel the most like myself. And
that guitar solo at the end, just wow."

Jean-Luc Eldenwood

@jeanluceldenwood

“I’ve got dreams you know, but they’re just dreams you know” sings Jean-Luc Eldenwood on his latest single ‘20 Something’. His gentle yet commanding and controlled voice floats above the jangling melodies and stretched guitar sounds as he asks “whatcha doing 20 something?” provoking us regardless of our age to think for a second..”what am i doing?”… One thing is clear the 26 year old Mission-Veijo born Jean-Luc knows exactly what he’s doing, and thats inviting us into his uniquely crafted soundscape that feels both comfortably nostalgic and wildly original at the same time. Growing up in a multi cultural household, His mother American born and his father from France Jean-Luc didn’t have the typical So Cal upbringing saying “My identity was never solidly one thing; I never felt fully American, nor could I claim to be fully French, I was just Jean-Luc. While this perturbed me for a time, I quickly learned to appreciate my innate ambiguity. It allowed me to curate myself from the ground up”. The dualistic nature of his upbringing combined with his parents love for music, who played everything from April March to Stevie Nicks saying “Music was always played very loudly in my house. Louder than any other house on the block” It’s no wonder Jean-Luc has been able to combine different genres, styles and influences so effortlessly into his own music. “I am a singer-songwriter. I have been crafting songs since I was twelve ever since I heard Stevie Nicks sing her own music and realized that in a song you build a whole world and crystalize it forever, and you could go there whenever you like.” Jean-Luc Says “ As a child I was fascinated by magic; I constantly dreamt that I could fly and I wrote spells in all my school notebooks and in the margins of every essay. I still love magic, and I still do feel like I am flying when I am at the piano singing a newly written song. My music is my magic, my songs are my spells.” Currently living in the Miracle Mile neighborhood in Los Angeles with his husband Baptiste and small dog Nathan Jean-Luc is a voice, piano, and songwriting teacher by day cementing that above all else he is a dedicated musician “I must say that I do have a very devoted mind, I am almost always thinking about music, so all of my passions seem to lead back to music.” If you take the time to listen to Jean-Luc sing, see him perform live or talk to him about music, you’ll quickly see that his passion for music is not only the inspiration for his songs, but its truly his way of life. With this mix i’ve title Making Magic I hope you’re able to hear not only the music thats inspired Jean-Luc to create but also the magic he’s found within these songs as well.

Making Magic- Jean-Luc Eldenwood's Mix

00-5:05 -Joni Mitchell- Coyote - On Jean-Luc’s most favorite album of all time Joni Mitchell’s Hejira, The record begins with the opening track Coyote, Which felt like the perfect way to start this mix as well. “Hejira is an exploration of sound and mind “ Jean-Luc explains “It is such a realistic and honest reflection on life, written by one of the best songwriters this earth has ever seen. I feel like I’m moving forward and growing every time I listen, but it also has this floating quality to it, as if time didn’t matter any more.” I don’t always have the luxury of personally knowing everyone I interview, but with Jean-Luc I did, and in my mind Joni and this album in particular will always be intimately tied together with Jean-Luc. I remember him telling me in great detail how much this album meant to him years ago, explaining the lyrics and how the songs were phrased and built and telling me not to skip a song. Soon after i found myself obsessed with Hejira as well. Like most millennials I met Jean-Luc online and the day we finally got to meet in person, Jean-Luc gifted me a vinyl copy of Hejira and said “this record sounds best on Vinyl”.. He was right.

5:05- 11:02 Fleetwood Mac - Sarah-  “I always loved music, but I became obsessed with music when I discovered Stevie Nicks.” The most brought up entity in Jean-Lucs musical story is the magic of Stevie Nicks citing Sarah as one of his favorite songs ever saying “ It is pure magic, from the lyrics, to the drums, the production, and most importantly the spell that is Stevie’s voice.” This song strung together by a haunting soaring melody and lyrics that feel like something out of a spell book, Its easy to see why this song has held such an enchantment on Jean-Luc

.11:03-14:09 - Connan Mockasin- Do I Make You Feel Shy - From his album ‘Caramel’ Jean Luc says “I think Connan is a genius of atmosphere. His music is soft and sexy and sweet and bitter. When ‘Do I Make You Feel Shy’ comes on, you don’t know whether to dance or cry in a jacuzzi.” Stating that Connan is also one of the best artist to see live “I have never seen anyone put on a more musically rich live show. He takes you straight into the world of his songs and rubs them all over you, he teases and then gives you exactly what you wanted from him, and he knows just how to leave you wanting more. A total mastermind.”

14:09-18:13- Celine Dion- On Ne Change Pas (Live at La Stade de France 1999) “Baptiste and I have always looked forward. No matter how little money we had or how much we struggled, we have always maintained this ideal vision of our future together, and little by little we are making it happen; with patience, support for one another, and love that never dries up.” Jean-Luc said about his Husband of 4 years, French Author Baptiste Piriou. After meeting on Instagram and flying to Paris they have been together ever since and the love they have for each other can be so clearly felt in the very music Jean-Luc creates. When asked about a song that will forever remind him of his husband he chose this live version of Celine Dion’s ‘On Ne Change Pas’ saying “ The lyrics are so stunning. They speak of the child that lives within us all, the fragile little babies who never truly leave us. We cover them in clothing, make-up, and time, but they are still there, laughing at our mistakes, dancing to our joy, and crying when we hurt. I see that child in Baptiste, and he sees the child in me. That’s why we work, despite our differences, those kids get along so well.”

18:14 -24:57 -Erykah Badu- Didn't Cha Know (live at VH1 Soul)- From Erykah’s Album Mammas Gun Another one of Jean-Lucs top favorite albums he says “The taste, the musicianship, the production, and the singularly unique voice of Badu is unbeatable. She has her own way of speaking, writing, performing - and it all comes out with such beauty, intelligence, wit, and warmth. She is a prodigy and to see her live is to be entertained in every sense of the word.” Seeing Ms.Badu come up as one of Jean-Lucs favorite artists hits a special place in my heart, As she is my personal favorite artist. When he turned me onto the world of Joni Mitchell, I was able to return the favor and shared with him the magic of Erykah Badu. Now i’m sure she would’ve found her way into his ears at some point, there’s no doubt about that, but i’m just happy to know she’s inspired him the same way she’s inspired me.. I chose this live version of ' Didn’t Cha Know’ cause it captures her essence perfectly how she performed live, her soul, her vibe, her wisdom, her strong voice and the spirit of what she’s about.. Love.

24:58- 02- 27:55  Jean-Luc Eldenwood- Peanut Butter-  "Anywhere we don’t need to be precise, you could put it anywhere and i would lick off, I would lick it off like a silly little dog” Jean-Luc sings with a wink and a mouth full of double entendre’s on his first properly released and recorded single ‘Peanut Butter’ that was produced by Ross Levinson. “I am so grateful to him for doing so, he really lifted me up and made me feel like my music was worthy of being recorded and distributed to the world. It is one thing to write songs and play them with a band, but it is an entirely different and complex process to arrange, track, mix, and master a collection of songs.” Jean Luc says “I just wanted to create something very fun, quirky, and sexy. The musicians I worked with, Nic and Fernando, I have been working with for a number of years now and they are so adept and so able to tap into the nuances that I desire for my music.” ‘Peanut Butter’ is one of those songs that just slinks out of your speakers and gets you into its groove to then hits you over the head with the sheer wit and humor of Jean-Lucs lyrics and insanely catchy chorus. This mix could not be complete without including the worlds first taste of Jean-Luc’s Music, which in my opinion, satisfies just as much. if not more as some good peanut butter itself..

27:56 -31:10 - Charlotte Gainsbourg- Kate - There is a similarity between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jean-Luc that is not lost on me. Charlotte who’s mother is the english actress Jane Birkin and her father the French icon and Musician Serge Gainsbourg no doubt had a massive influence on the music she creates, But its the sense of seamlessly combining two different worlds to create one musical universe of its own that the two share for me. ”Charlotte has masterfully mixed drama with disco, she weaves from French to English flawlessly, and her poetry is strong and vulnerable. This song is hugely cathartic.” Jean-Luc says about ‘Kate’ From Charlottes Album ‘Rest.’

31:11- 35:44- Jill Scott- Jahraymecofasala - For each mix i choose one song to add based upon on our conversation and my musical interpretation of each artist, for Jean-Luc I chose Jill Scotts ‘Jahraymecofasola’ . There is something so unique in the song writing, structure and story telling of this song compared to others in Miss Scotts catalog that lends itself more towards a folk ballad than that of her other R&B driven tracks. All though my choice to add this song goes beyond just the sonics of this beautifully sang track it actually lays in the lyrics and meaning behind it. Taken from an interview with Erykah Badu Jill talked about the meaning behind this word she made up saying “ I was like, What’s another way to say, I love you? What can be more powerful than those words And I closed my eyes and I waited, and my pen was moving i and it Spelled Jahraymecofasola and i realized thats the way in which i sing, thats my voice in one single word, If i could give someone anything it would be that word because it holds all the power and love my voice has to offer and thats the greatest gift i can give, is to sing with love” When listening to Jean-Luc sing you cannot deny the enormous amount of love behind his voice and the music he creates, I believe that for him like Jill there is no greater way to express his love than through his voice. Jean-Luc he may not have a word like Jahraymecofasola to express that through but right now he doesn’t need to we can feel it anytime he starts to sing.

35:45-39:54- Fleetwood Mac- Gypsy - Starting with a demo from 1979 of Gypsy into Fleetwood Mac’s phenominal record version, Stevie Nicks spell on Jean-Luc continues as Gypsy holds the title of the most beautiful song he’s ever heard saying “ Of all the songs in the world, this one makes me feel the most like myself. And that guitar solo at the end, just wow.” Sometimes a song doesn’t need much explaining about why its great and Gypsy is one of those songs

 39:55- 44:11 Janis Ian- At Seventeen - Choosing this live version from 1976 to highlight the emotion of this song while Janis plays Jean-luc explained the meaning of this song to him saying “My grandmother, my aunt, and my mom all loved the song and we discussed how poetically it was written, and the music itself is so well composed and laid back but heartbreaking at the same time. There are so many phrases in the song that really take some time to sink in, it is so witty and biting, almost like a modern Oscar Wilde. That song has touched multiple generations and I think that is the sign of a beautifully and powerfully written song”

44:12- 47:30- The BeeeGees- More Than A Woman- We all have that one song that can always get you up and dancing. For Jean-Luc that song is More Than A Woman saying “I have so many memories dancing to this song but one of my favorites is being with all my friends at Oil Can Harry’s in Studio City dancing to this music all night long. I miss that place so very much, I sure hope it survives the pandemic.” In life there is nothing more fun than dancing with friends and wether our favorite clubs and venues survive this turbulent time we may not know, But what is certain is nothing can stop you dancing to your favorite song.

36:49- 39:02- Jean-Luc Eldenwood - Twenty Something- Ending this mix with Jean-Lucs latest release ‘Twent Something’ only seems fitting, describing the track jean-Luc said “I am so proud of the musicians on this track, and the production done by Cirilo Rios is magical. It is about being a twenty-something struggling to stay emotionally and financially afloat in these wild times. There is also a music video coming for it that I am really proud of. I wrote it in a moment of despair, and when I listen to it, it brings me comfort and peace. I hope it will do the same for my listeners.” I think this song captures the essence of Jean-Luc Eldenwood perfectly, It has wit, charm, and is musically distinctly Jean-Luc.