Seeing you every day makes it hard for me to staaaayyy heerree

You’re my greatest, you’re my greatest fear…

Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there dear reader, I was too busy jamming out to my favorite musicians.

…You’ve never heard of Elliander? Well, it’s your lucky day, because I had the fantastic opportunity to interview the two geniuses Bridgette Sanders ‘23 and Matt Ellersick ‘23 behind hit song “Greatest Fear,” just before their hot new single drops on Apple Music and Spotify this Friday.

Elliander began one fateful weekend when, as Sanders details, “Matt brought over his acoustic guitar for a jam session we had been discussing for a while. We messed around with chords and hummed out melodies until we had that ‘wait, play that again’ moment. It was incredible.”

But how exactly did their iconic artist name come to be? Legend has it that Bridgette’s mom Mrs. Sanders was mixing their names around for hours until they finally settled on the perfect mashup of Ellersick and Sanders: and thus, Elliander was born!

“We ended up writing all of ‘Greatest Fear’ in like one hour,” Ellersick details, “and then for like a month after we wrote it, we would meet at my house and start producing it. Once we finished we released it which was very nerve-racking because we didn’t know if people would like it, but we didn’t really care because we just were having fun.”

That song, released last October, has now reached nearly 500 streams on Spotify alone, just as Elliander prepares to release their newest single “Am I still on your mind?”

Ellersick explains, “I produced and did all the instrumental like three weeks ago and finished the whole song before I even started writing lyrics or melodies. And then this weekend, Bridgette recorded her part . . . and then it was done!”

Sanders describes the new song as, “something to accompany a drive down the beach or stargazing in the sand with the waves behind it. In other words, it gives PCH/beach vibes.”

I was fortunate enough to hear a sneak peek of their new single, and I instantly ascended to a higher state of being.

Well, maybe not literally, but the song is genuinely one of the prettiest things I’ve ever heard. I cannot wait to have this song on repeat for the entire summer. Its catchy beat, gorgeous lyrics, and mesmerizing music will keep me wrapped around its fingers for at least the next six months (but probably longer).

Not only do they share a love of music-making, but each of these musicians genuinely adores the other. Sanders says of Ellersick, “Matt is Elliander’s creative genius!! He sings, plays the guitar and piano, produces the tracks, writes AMAZING lyrics, and, in addition to all of this, is the best friend a girl could ever ask for. He is such a source of happiness to me and all those he meets – this same happiness is the fuel behind our music. So much joy, laughter, and deep talks are behind our lyrics and the process itself.”

Similarly, Ellersick professes, “Bridgette is the best person to ever exist. She has the most beautiful voice ever: every time she sings I ascend. She is a beautiful songwriter and writes the most poetic lyrics I’ve ever read. I am so happy, glad, and thankful that she is my bandmate!!”

I am genuinely in awe of each of these artists: every time they work together, magic happens in the form of lyrics, melodies, and overall fun. Be sure to give their new song “Am I still on your mind?” a listen when it’s released tonight at 9 p.m., and stay on the lookout for even more magic on the way in the future!