Elie Al Hajj AKA ELY is a Lebanese musician, composer, singer, producer, actor and director who expresses himself through music. His latest single “My Falling Star” chronicles his feelings after a breakup but it’s not a fully solemn song but more so reflective. He also directed the music video for the song, ensuring the story is told both visually and auditorily and captures his thoughts exactly as he intended.
“The song was composed on classical guitar and completely arranged by me.” he said
Elie plays multiple instruments including drums, bass, a little bit of flute and keyboards but he credits himself most prominently as a singer. He finds the drums to be much more expressive than the bass guitar even though he is not as technical as other drummers.
Elie’s single, “My Falling Star,” was written at a time where he wasn’t feeling his best but that’s why the emotional resonance of the song is so strong. It’s a song written after a breakup and one that Elie found healing through.
“It’s hard because you don’t want the relationship to end but there’s nothing but negativity around it and it ends. You wish there was another way. People will understand what I’m talking about because we all go through emotional times in our lives and we have to continue and go on. When I wrote this song a year ago, I wasn’t in the best place but now I am much better.” he said.
As aforementioned, Elie directed the music video for “My Falling Star” which was shot in his home country of Lebanon and the director of photography was Mostapha Zakaria. The music video tells a story between Elie and actress/dancer Esperla Maalouf. The story, which contains no dialogue, is artistically depicted by their acting and reflects the lyrics of the song.
Elie has experience in directing but his experience actually comes from the film world. Having directed 2 feature films, his love for movies stems from his childhood days. His uncle, Moussa Al Hajj took him to video rental stores as a child and he started his own VHS collection at 7 years old. It comes as no surprise that Elie would jump into the acting world too.
“Acting is a bigger adventure because you’re going to a location with a crew and filming. It’s more involved than singing on stage. The building a fanbase aspect comes with signing too. I’m building mine slowly but surely. Acting is just something I did for fun and I’m not actively pressuring it. Singing is how I express myself.” he said.
Elie having full control of every aspect of the music is not new to him but it’s also not an experience that chronicled his entire music career. From 1996-2014, he was in a variety of cover bands and would release his debut solo album, The Reflection of Changes in 2012. Elie shared that there is a significant difference between being in a band and making solo music.
“Making music on my own was a little bit easier. There’s just my opinion and I can put what I want. But with a band everyone has their opinions. I would create the music myself as the composer and they would arrange it. These were all cover bands and we only had maybe two or three original songs but it still wasn’t always easy and sometimes it was uncomfortable.” he said.
While “My Falling Star” is about a break-up, Elie wants to reassure his listeners that a much more positive and uplifting song is dropping next. Titled “Something Magical,” the track will drop with an accompanying music video but this one was not directed by him. Being able to navigate multiple moods musically is the mark of a multitalented artist and that’s what Elie Al Hajj is.
“My Falling Star” and “Something Magical” are available on YouTube now.
You can experience more of Elie Al Hajj’s multitalentedness by following him on these platforms.
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