“Heaven aimed gun then a blank shot”: Elke’s Kayla Graninger Unpacks Her Visceral Fever Dream, “Hide in Heaven”

Charged and churning, Elke’s “Hide in Heaven” – the latest single off her upcoming sophomore album, ‘Divine Urge’ – is an intense, unapologetic, and unfiltered outpouring of the soul. It’s catchy and cathartic, and unlike anything we’ve heard this year.

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Stream: “Hide in Heaven” – Elke

It’s the main song off the record that makes me feel the most in my body. I want to box to it, I want to show up and fight for myself.

For two and a half minutes, Elke basks in a raw, relentless, and roaring heat.

And while her song itself may have been born out of more tangible flames, her passion – that raw, kinetic energy that lights up the airwaves and sends shivers down the spine – burns from the fires within. Charged and churning, “Hide in Heaven” is an intense, unapologetic, and unfiltered outpouring of the soul. It’s catchy and cathartic, and unlike anything we’ve heard this year.

I’d keep running past the books end
Throw it in the fire
I can barely see when I feel like this

No one in the world
Said command the trumpets
Unleash the hounds
But guess what
You can’t catch me

Released October 10^th via Congrats Records, “Hide in Heaven” is a dramatic, evocative, and truly breathtaking display of musicality and individuality from Elke’s Kayla Graninger. Following her recent singles “Enchanté” and “Insect Song,” the third teaser taken off Elke’s forthcoming sophomore album, Divine Urge (out October 25^th, 2024) highlights the Nashville-based avant-pop artist’s charisma and character.

“I was on a mushroom trip years ago that taught me about my instinct to run away from people, even if they aren’t dangerous,” Graninger tells Atwood Magazine. “But people eventually stop looking for you, and that I needed to face.”

From its searing, sawtooth guitars and thick, roaring bass tones to the drums’ infectious strut, “Hide in Heaven” is two and a half minutes of in-your-face bliss. At the center of the track lies Graninger’s evocative, emotionally charged voice; she is unleashed, passionately singing her poetic, provocative lyrics for all to feel what she felt the very first time she put pen to paper and brought gave these words life:

No one will look for me
when I hide in heaven
No one will look for me
when I hide in heaven

“This song is the reason the record Divine Urge exists,” Graninger explains. “I asked Jake McMullen to write a song with me just for fun. It went so well that I asked him to co-produce the record with me. What I remember most clearly was bobbing up and down a lot in my seat while working through the parts – we both are goofy and curious and communicate well while exploring. We didn’t chat about inspiration, we were always on the same page looking for that thing based on what was in front of us. I had my notebook on my knee the whole session and was writing lyrics in real time, which is usually something I wait to do until I’m alone. We drank a lot of coffee.”

Heaven aimed gun then a blank shot, daddy
Heaven aimed gun then a blank shot

Hello little trouble frozen solid
that a flick could break
The trouble couldn’t startle a fly
But yet I run away

“Hide in Heaven” is emphatic; it’s sleek; it’s infectious; and it’s a perfect reintroduction to Elke and her sophomore album.

Dive deeper into the song below as we chat with Kayla Graninger about her music, be sure to give Divine Urge a full listen upon its release in late October.

“It’s the main song off the record that makes me feel the most in my body,” Graninger beams. “I want to box to it, I want to show up and fight for myself… It takes me to a place that I needed for a long time.”

it pinched the skin of the earth
I watched the clouds pull away
I’m down here gasping the invisible stuff
Screaming yelling you can’t catch me

No one will look for me
when I hide in heaven
No one will look for me
when I hide in heaven

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:: stream/purchase Hide in Heaven here ::

:: connect with Elke here ::

Stream: “Hide in Heaven” – Elke

A CONVERSATION WITH ELKE

Elke: Berserk. A word my mom would use to describe me as a child. In the studio we used descriptors like “forest rave,” “unmusical,” “rock em sock em robots,” “fairy song for tough guys,” or “coach.” There was no ambition to make it sound like songs we already knew. Also whimsical.

Elke: Wow thank you!!! The song is about a mushroom trip I’d taken a long while back. My friends built this colossal bonfire upstate and it was a beautiful star filled evening. Everyone gathered around feeling connected and happy to be together. I, on the other hand, kept running away from everyone – I’d be hiding in a bush feeling glued to the ground and someone would have to come get me. I’d do it again and again. It made me aware of the fact that I was actually always running away, and desiring to be found in my relationships with people. I therefore had to ask myself why.

I wrote imagery first, lyrics like “I keep running past the books end” and “heaven aimed gun then a blank shot.” I actually wrote the first verse next to a bonfire at my spot in LA. It wasn’t til later that I attached the mushroom trip to the song’s concept.

Elke: This song is the reason the record Divine Urge exists. I asked Jake McMullen to write a song with me just for fun. It went so well that I asked him to co-produce the record with me. What I remember most clearly was bobbing up and down a lot in my seat while working through the parts, we both are goofy and curious and communicate well while exploring. We didn’t chat about inspiration, we were always on the same page looking for that thing based on what was in front of us. I had my notebook on my knee the whole session and was writing lyrics in real time, which is usually something I wait to do until I’m alone. We drank a lot of coffee.

Elke: It’s an instinct that I developed a little after my teens. Up until then I never knew what red flags were and suffered greatly from that, nor had I developed skills to stand up for myself. Running was the only defense I had. This also eventually caused suffering. I’d never let friends get to know me, or let them know if they hurt me. Which as an ultra sensitive person mixed with having friends who were also bad at communicating, this would definitely happen. But I’d just back away, put up more walls, and isolate often. At a certain point it stopped working for me, I wanted to learn how to trust people and my gut. This song pays homage to that process.

*fun fact, in my song “RinseRepeat” off of my first album, I’m kinda talking about this too. Which is something I hadn’t connected until recently. I’ve been working through this issue for a long time.

Elke: “Heaven aimed gun then a blank shot.” That came from a dream I had. I was on a track about to compete in a 100 meter dash. The ref shot the gun with the blank shot, but I could not move while everyone sprinted ahead of me.

“Hello little trouble frozen solid that a flick could break, the trouble couldn’t startle a fly but yet I run away.” I had this image of me flailing in fear over something that could not hurt me at all, to the point that even the fly next to me wouldn’t budge over the thing I’m terrified of. If anything the fly is yawning and judging me.

Elke: It’s the main song off the record that makes me feel the most in my body. I want to box to it, I want to show up and fight for myself. A lot of the visuals I created for this record are inspired by this song, it takes me to a place that I needed for a long time. To the listeners: You were made to be heard. Let them know how you feel. CAUSE A RUCKUS.

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:: stream/purchase Hide in Heaven here ::

:: connect with Elke here ::

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Stream: “Hide in Heaven” – Elke

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