Beautiful War

If you would have asked Elizabeth Anne Mall when she started college in 2011 what her primary instrument was in composing, she would have said piano. Four years later, at the release of her full length album 'A Beautiful War,' that answer has changed. 'I feel like MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is my primary instrument now. It's not the most glamorous instrument I suppose...

I mean, I sit in a tiny recording studio here on campus with a computer and a keyboard and create the sound of a full band. But it's amazing because it's like painting with sound to me,' Elizabeth said after completing the album. Elizabeth attended College of the Ozarks from 2011 to 2014 where she wrote, recorded, and produced the entire album herself using Logic Pro in a MIDI sound recording class. 'A Beautiful War' mixes the modern with the traditional, often incorporating strings and traditional solo piano with electronic elements and rhythms. 'I grew up learning classical cello and playing in a chamber orchestra. So I understand how songs fit together based on my experiences with string instruments. I think that carries over into the whole process of how I compose, and it can also be heard in the structure of many of my songs.' To Elizabeth, music is more than a hobby or even a career. It is a God given calling. 'I have a deep Christian faith, and I think my love of creating pop music is a unique avenue to present that message. I write many songs that aren't overtly Christian because my goal isn't to scream at everybody who Jesus is but rather to paint a picture of what my relationship with him is like.' Elizabeth's lyrics have been described as 'haunting' and 'complex.' Her voice has been described as 'sultry,' which isn't what most Christian artists lean towards. 'I don't mind as much any more when people sense a sensuous in my songs, because that is a picture of God's love for us that isn't often explored. In my song 'Salvation,' God is the narrator who says 'I'll touch you, and I'll love you, and you'll begin to know salvation...don't you know what I, what I would do with you? Make you come alive, make a mess or two.' That's a pretty sensuous message for a human to say to another human. The intimacy and vulnerability implied is emotional and physical. And that's precisely what I was playing off of...that intense kind of human relationship that also points to how God pursues us.' Hear more from Elizabeth at elizabethannemall.com and facebook.com/elizabethannemall Elizabeth loves connecting with fans, and encourages them to write to her at elizmall2014@gmail.com.