Phil Elverum#Career

File:The Track House.jpg

File:Phil Elverum, Geneviève Castrée (retouch).jpg

Phil Elverum was born on May 26, 1978, in Anacortes, Washington.{{cite web|url=http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/pwelverum|work=Pwelverumandsun.com|title=Biography of Phil Elverum|last=Elverum|first=Phil|date=August 31, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190608082856/http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/pwelverum|archive-date=June 8, 2019|quote =I was born in 1978. I am from Anacortes, Washington...}} Growing up, Elverum's father regularly made mixtapes for him and his sister. He soon started to play the tuba but after three years moved onto drums.{{cite magazine|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/microphones_mount_eerie_and_melancholy_the_career_of_phil_elverum|magazine=Exclaim!|title=Microphones, Mount Eerie and Melancholy: The Career of Phil Elverum|last=Gormley|first=Ian|date=November 5, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190608083338/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/microphones_mount_eerie_and_melancholy_the_career_of_phil_elverum|archive-date=June 8, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019|url-status=live}} At age 14, he started his own band "Nubert Circus", playing the drums and writing lyrics. Elverum attended Anacortes High School.{{cite news|url=https://jessestoddard.com/life-high-school-interview-phil-elverum/|title=Life After High School: Interview with Phil Elverum|website=Jesse Stoddard|last=Stoddard|first=Jesse|date=November 17, 2016|access-date=May 4, 2020|archive-date=February 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229175835/https://jessestoddard.com/life-high-school-interview-phil-elverum/|url-status=live}} After graduating, he traveled across Canada with his then-girlfriend. In the summer of 1997, during his "punk rock experience", he moved to Olympia, Washington, where he lived until 2002.{{Cite web|last=Bemis|first=Alec Hanley|date=March 11, 2008|title="Die in Anacortes": Phil Elverum (aka The Microphones aka Mt. Eerie) Interviewed: Part 4 of 4|url=https://www.laweekly.com/die-in-anacortes-phil-elverum-aka-the-microphones-aka-mt-eerie-interviewed-part-4-of-4/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103338/https://www.laweekly.com/die-in-anacortes-phil-elverum-aka-the-microphones-aka-mt-eerie-interviewed-part-4-of-4/|archive-date=September 13, 2020|access-date=September 13, 2020|website=LA Weekly|language=en-US}} Elverum briefly attended Evergreen State College.{{cite web|url=http://freewilliamsburg.com/july_2002/phil/philstory.html|title=A Conversation with Phil Elverum|work=freewilliamsburg.com|access-date=February 29, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608083539/http://freewilliamsburg.com/july_2002/phil/philstory.html|url-status=live}} He expressed little interest in college, favoring the music scene, although he remained a relative unknown. Elverum would later cite the music scene as the reason he moved. Elverum's primary source of income was music, performing small tours.{{Cite web|last=Howe|first=Brian|date=May 13, 2008|title=Microphones|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/6849-microphones/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005223007/https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/6849-microphones/|archive-date=October 5, 2019|access-date=August 11, 2020|website=Pitchfork|language=en}}

In his adolescence, Elverum worked at Anacortes-based record store The Business where he would record music in the backroom after hours. During his time there, he met Beat Happening member Bret Lunsford who offered him a job as the drummer of the band D+ alongside Karl Blau. While living in Olympia, he would periodically return when low on money. Elverum described his time at The Business as his "entry point to alternative music", noting how it helped him become immersed in the scene. Also during his adolescence, Elverum expressed a desire to become a filmmaker, frequently making movies with his friends and screening them at a coffee shop.{{Cite web|date=May 3, 2012|title=5 (+ several more) Questions with Phil Elverum|url=https://www.firstorderhistorians.com/2012/05/03/5-several-more-questions-with-phil-elverum/|access-date=July 5, 2020|website=First Order Historians|archive-date=August 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830111630/https://www.firstorderhistorians.com/2012/05/03/5-several-more-questions-with-phil-elverum/|url-status=live}}

By January 2000, he was living at the "legendary Track House", after living in various other houses, such as the "House Of Doom" in Quincy, Washington, which was according to Elverum, "Legitimately haunted. Raccoons and rats would eat your food right off the shelf. Poison barrels buried in the yard."{{Cite web|last=Woulfe|first=Chris|date=February 17, 2016|title=The Storied History of Olympia's Track House|url=https://imposemagazine.com/features/track-house-olympia-wa|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703145953/http://www.imposemagazine.com/features/track-house-olympia-wa|archive-date=July 3, 2016|access-date=August 8, 2020|website=IMPOSE Magazine|language=en}} A black house surrounded by forests, the Track House was used by prominent independent musicians in the Olympia music scene. In his free time, Elverum would record music across the street at Dub Narcotic Studio and volunteer at the local food co-op. Elverum moved out of the Track House by 2002.

In 2002, Elverum spent a winter in northern Norway, two hours from Bodø. He kept a log of his time there which became Dawn: Winter Journal and the songs composed for Dawn.{{Cite web|last=Haver Currin|first=Grayson|date=August 7, 2020|title=An In-Depth Guide to the Microphones|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/microphones-guide|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808175629/https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/microphones-guide|archive-date=August 8, 2020|access-date=August 7, 2020|website=Bandcamp}} In 2003, Elverum met Canadian artist and musician Geneviève Castrée through mutual friends. The pair married on February 29, 2004. They originally intended to move to Canada, but after searching for residency decided to remain in the United States, in the town of Anacortes, where they both would become influential in the local music scene, in particular the forming of the What The Heck festival.{{Cite web|last=Clough|first=Rob|date=July 14, 2016|title=Geneviève Castrée: 1981–2016 {{!}}|url=http://www.tcj.com/genevieve-castree-1981-2016/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715153659/http://www.tcj.com/genevieve-castree-1981-2016/|archive-date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 10, 2020|website=The Comics Journal|language=en-US}}{{cite podcast|host=Marc Maron|title=WTF with Marc Maron Podcast – EPISODE 818 – MARK MULCAHY / PHIL ELVERUM|website=YouTube|date=June 8, 2017|time=26:00–28:30|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrL0Z1ghZHM|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103354/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrL0Z1ghZHM|url-status=live}} Castrée was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer following the birth of the couple's only child in 2015{{Cite web|title=Phil Elverum Seeks Donations for Wife's Cancer Treatment|date=June 2, 2016 |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/65886-phil-elverum-seeks-donations-for-wifes-cancer-treatment/|access-date=January 28, 2017|publisher=Pitchfork.com|archive-date=January 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128072516/http://pitchfork.com/news/65886-phil-elverum-seeks-donations-for-wifes-cancer-treatment/|url-status=live}} and died on July 9, 2016.{{Cite web|title=Geneviève Elverum Has Died|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/66697-genevieve-elverum-has-died/|access-date=January 28, 2017|magazine=Pitchfork|date=July 10, 2016 |archive-date=January 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130042032/http://pitchfork.com/news/66697-genevieve-elverum-has-died/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=July 10, 2016|title=Geneviève Castrée, Artist Married to Phil Elverum, Has Died|url=http://www.spin.com/2016/07/phil-elverum-says-geneveive-castree-has-died/|access-date=January 28, 2017|work=Spin|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202044327/http://www.spin.com/2016/07/phil-elverum-says-geneveive-castree-has-died/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last1=Monroe|first1=Jazz|title=Phil Elverum Seeks Donations for Wife's Cancer Treatment|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/65886-phil-elverum-seeks-donations-for-wifes-cancer-treatment/|magazine=Pitchfork|access-date=July 10, 2016|archive-date=July 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708134229/http://pitchfork.com/news/65886-phil-elverum-seeks-donations-for-wifes-cancer-treatment/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Jayson|date=November 12, 2019|title=Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum Starts Over, Again|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/mount-eerie-phil-elverum-lost-wisdom-pt-2-interview/|magazine=Pitchfork|access-date=May 4, 2020|archive-date=November 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120170330/https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/mount-eerie-phil-elverum-lost-wisdom-pt-2-interview/|url-status=live}}

Elverum married actress Michelle Williams in July 2018 in a private ceremony in the Adirondacks.{{cite web|title='I Never Gave Up on Love': Michelle Williams on Her Very Private Wedding and Very Public Fight for Equal Pay|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/michelle-williams-marriage-wedding-equal-pay|access-date=December 26, 2018|work=Vanity Fair|date=July 26, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726182509/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/michelle-williams-marriage-wedding-equal-pay|url-status=live}} Around the same time, he moved from his long-time residence in Anacortes to Williams' home in Brooklyn. The couple separated in January 2019, and filed for divorce in April 2019.{{Cite web|last1=Jordan|first1=Julie|last2=Russian|first2=Ale|date=April 19, 2019|title=Michelle Williams and Husband Phil Elverum Split After Marrying Last Summer|url=https://people.com/movies/michelle-williams-husband-phil-elverum-split/|access-date=May 4, 2020|publisher=People|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612205302/https://people.com/movies/michelle-williams-husband-phil-elverum-split/|url-status=live}} Following the split, Elverum moved back to Washington, after having lived in New York for about nine months. By November 2019, it was reported that they were no longer married. In 2020, Elverum, with help from his brother, was building a house off the coast of Anacortes. Elverum had previously intended to build the house with Castrée.{{Cite web|last=Gotrich|first=Lars|date=August 6, 2020|title=Phil Elverum Returns To A Refuge As The Microphones|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899325158/the-microphones-2020-phil-elverum-interview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811220011/https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899325158/the-microphones-2020-phil-elverum-interview|archive-date=August 11, 2020|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=NPR|language=en}}

Elverum has described his parents as "mystical about nature", although these beliefs were not tied to a specific religion. In an interview from 2012, he stated that "a lot of the ideas that I’m trying to enunciate reflect a more or less Buddhist ideology. Even though I’m not Buddhist, at all, I come across these same ideas... I’m taking things from that tradition and reframing them in my world."{{cite web|title=The man behind the mountain|url=https://15questions.net/interview/The%20man%20behind%20the%20mountain/page-2/|access-date=January 30, 2020|website=15questions|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103340/https://15questions.net/interview/The%20man%20behind%20the%20mountain/page-2/|url-status=live}} Elverum has expressed disdain for religion in general.{{Cite web|last=Parker|first=Bryan|date=June 11, 2012|title=It's Like Sculpting: An Interview with Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum|url=http://www.poppressinternational.com/2012/06/11/its-like-sculpting-an-interview-with-mount-eeries-phil-elverum/|access-date=September 13, 2020|website=Pop Press International}}

{{Main|The Microphones|Mount Eerie}}

File:Dub Narcotic Studio.jpg

Elverum is best known for having recorded and performed under the band names The Microphones (1996–2003, 2019–2022) and Mount Eerie (2003–present). While the projects are distinct, Elverum views them as "one progression" stating that his goal is to make a varying body of work with a cohesive theme running through it, although there is a "dividing line between pre-Geneviève dying and post-Geneviève dying".{{Cite web|last=Klinge|first=Steven|date=May 22, 2018|title=Mount Eerie: Songs Of Pain And Devotion|url=http://magnetmagazine.com/2018/05/22/mount-eerie-songs-pain-devotion/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026172349/http://magnetmagazine.com/2018/05/22/mount-eerie-songs-pain-devotion/|archive-date=October 26, 2019|access-date=September 11, 2020|website=Magnet|language=en-US}} He is known for his prolific recordings with both projects; in 2019, The National reported that Elverum had created 40-plus albums.{{Cite web|last=Hancox|first=Dan|date=March 17, 2019|title=How Phil Elverum's journey with grief led to inspiration for his music|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/how-phil-elverum-s-journey-with-grief-led-to-inspiration-for-his-music-1.837928|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103340/https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/how-phil-elverum-s-journey-with-grief-led-to-inspiration-for-his-music-1.837928|archive-date=September 13, 2020|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=The National|language=en}} He uses mostly analog recording equipment and often works in his own studio spaces, where he has the time and freedom to experiment with sounds.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/features/mount-eerie/mount-eerie-phil-elverum-is-analog-in-a-digital-wo/67068/|title=Mount Eerie: Phil Elverum Is Analog In A Digital World - Prefixmag.com|first=Mike|last=Burr|date=July 12, 2012|magazine=Prefix|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=April 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406154344/http://www.prefixmag.com/features/mount-eerie/mount-eerie-phil-elverum-is-analog-in-a-digital-wo/67068/|url-status=live}}

In 2004, Elverum created the label P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.,{{cite web|title=P.W. Elverum & Sun|url=http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/|publisher=Phil Elverum & Sun|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=May 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512173956/http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/|url-status=live}} through which he has released records by Mount Eerie and The Microphones, as well as The Spectacle, Thanksgiving, Woelv, Nicholas Krgovich, Key Losers and Wyrd Visions. Prior to this, he was closely linked to K Records, working with artists like Mirah, Kyle Field, Karl Blau, Calvin Johnson and The Blow.{{Cite web|last1=Porter|first1=Christa|last2=Porter|first2=Richard|date=March 19, 2018|title=An Interview With Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie|url=https://www.liveineverett.com/blog//an-interview-with-phil-elverum-of-mount-eeriethe-microphones|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607132330/https://www.liveineverett.com/blog//an-interview-with-phil-elverum-of-mount-eeriethe-microphones|archive-date=June 7, 2020|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=Live in Everett|language=en-US}} Though influenced by the sense of community, his releases from that time were primarily made by himself. Elverum personally prints, packages, and ships his own vinyl and merchandise. He explained his reasoning for doing so as wanting to "understand the process holistically, and then maybe grow into more complex forms of organization later." Elverum also creates all of the visual art for his musical releases. In 2012, he helped establish a studio and venue called "The Unknown" at a disused church in his hometown of Anacortes.{{cite web|url=http://www.anacortesunknown.com/|title=the UNKNOWN|publisher=Anacortesunknown.com|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514053907/http://www.anacortesunknown.com/|url-status=live}}

Elverum has also performed with other bands, worked as a producer for other artists, and released music under different names. In 1996, he joined D+ as the drummer. That same year, Elverum released a cassette under the title X-Ray Means Woman. In 1998, he became the drummer for Old Time Relijun, a position he held until 2002. In 2000, Elverum produced Mirah's debut, You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This. He went on to produce her next three records as well as performing on The Old Days Feeling. His production credits would extend to 2004 when he produced Adrian Orange's Thanksgiving and Castrée's Pamplemoussi. Castrée's next album was also created with Elverum's involvement.

His musical influences include Eric's Trip, Will Oldham, Björk, Nirvana, Popol Vuh, Sunn O))), Angelo Badalamenti, Tori Amos, The Cranberries, Sinéad O'Connor, Red House Painters, Sonic Youth, This Mortal Coil and Stereolab.{{cite web |last=Elverum |first=Phil |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Entry Level: Phil Elverum's Inner Battle With Black Metal |url=http://www.invisibleoranges.com/entry-level-phil-elverum/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529130635/http://www.invisibleoranges.com/entry-level-phil-elverum/ |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |access-date=May 30, 2018 |website=Invisible Oranges}}{{cite news|title=Home – WRIR 97.3 fm – Richmond Independent Radio|publisher=WRIR|url=http://wrir.org/index.php?/blog/entry/8223/|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103341/https://www.wrir.org/?%2Fblog%2Fentry%2F8223%2F|url-status=live}} Both Eric's Trip and Stereolab, in particular, were important to Elverum. A self-described fan of Eric's Trip, he has called Julie Doiron his favourite singer and stated that meeting and playing shows with her[https://julie-doiron.com/ Confer "Biography", Julie Doiron official web site] "was a dream come true."{{Cite web|last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=July 30, 2009|title=Mount Eerie|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/8491-5-10-15-20-mount-eerie/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710060140/http://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/8491-5-10-15-20-mount-eerie/|archive-date=July 10, 2017|access-date=August 11, 2020|website=Pitchfork|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Krystal|date=September 25, 2019|title=Mount Eerie and Julie Doiron announce new album, Lost Wisdom Pt. 2|url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/09/25/mount-eerie-and-julie-doiron-announce-new-album-lost-wisdom-pt-2/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417023552/https://www.factmag.com/2019/09/25/mount-eerie-and-julie-doiron-announce-new-album-lost-wisdom-pt-2/|archive-date=April 17, 2020|access-date=August 11, 2020|website=Fact|language=en-US}} He toured as Mount Eerie with Doiron in 2019.[https://www.bandsintown.com/e/101438533?affil_code=js_julie-doiron.com&app_id=js_julie-doiron.com&came_from=242 Doiron's official web site : julie-doiron.com AND ]

He also recalled how he would send fan mail to the band. In the song "Microphones in 2020", he described seeing Stereolab perform "one chord for fifteen minutes" in a show at Bellingham, Washington, and stating that "something in me shifted" and that "I brought home belief that I could create eternity."{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7BkabF31ak|title=the Microphones – Microphones in 2020|website=YouTube |date=August 6, 2020 |access-date=August 8, 2020|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808215019/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7BkabF31ak|url-status=live}} He has also called grunge a "formative influence." Elverum's non-music influences include zen poetry, specifically the work of Eihei Dōgen and Gary Snyder.

In a 2014 interview, Elverum discussed how he almost always composes songs as he records them, with songs created outside of a studio setting usually recorded not long afterward.{{Cite web|last=Mescher|first=Daniel|date=October 8, 2014|title=Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie: "Songs are evolving, living things"|url=https://www.cpr.org/2014/10/08/phil-elverum-of-mount-eerie-songs-are-evolving-living-things/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830111637/https://www.cpr.org/2014/10/08/phil-elverum-of-mount-eerie-songs-are-evolving-living-things/|archive-date=August 30, 2020|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=Colorado Public Radio|language=en}} In that same interview, he talked about his desire to record music that was "deep sounding enough that a listener could potentially inhabit the world of sound totally."

Under both Mount Eerie and The Microphones, Elverum has recorded multiple versions of and sequels to his songs, such as demos or auto-tuned re-recordings and condensed albums.{{Cite web|last=May|first=Thomas|date=October 25, 2012|title=The Quietus {{!}} Reviews {{!}} Mount Eerie|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/10487-mt-eeerie-clear-moon-review|access-date=July 21, 2020|website=The Quietus|language=en-us|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913103353/https://thequietus.com/articles/10487-mt-eeerie-clear-moon-review|url-status=live}} Common themes and motifs in his work include the Moon, humanity's relationship to nature and technology, health, relationships, the human condition, impermanence, loneliness and the fleetingness of life,{{Cite web|last=Parker|first=Bryan|date=May 22, 2012|title=Album Review: Mount Eerie – Clear Moon|url=http://www.poppressinternational.com/2012/05/22/album-review-mount-eerie-clear-moon/|access-date=July 22, 2020|website=Pop Press International|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722013652/http://www.poppressinternational.com/2012/05/22/album-review-mount-eerie-clear-moon/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Sanford|first=Ryan|date=March 16, 2018|title=Review: Mount Eerie – Now Only|url=https://www.slugmag.com/national-music-reviews/mount-eerie-now-only/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903194614/https://www.slugmag.com/national-music-reviews/mount-eerie-now-only/|archive-date=September 3, 2020|access-date=August 16, 2020|website=SLUG Magazine|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Ransom|first=Brian|date=September 15, 2017|title=Staff Picks: Morphine, Martyrs, Microphones|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/09/15/staff-picks-3/|access-date=September 17, 2020|website=The Paris Review|language=en}} although he denies that any of his songs are about "sadness or isolation".{{Cite book|last=Surkan|first=Neil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ba1vDwAAQBAJ|title=On High|date=September 6, 2018|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-5546-4|language=en}} According to Elverum, nature within his work is "just the version of the world that I use to represent a neutral, non-human place where we're living out our weird adventures." Before meeting Castrée, his songs would be dictated by "whatever specific turmoil I was going through."{{cite web|last=Kornhaber|first=Spencer|date=March 14, 2017|title=The Pointlessness and Promise of Art After Death|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/03/mount-eerie-now-only-interview-phil-elverum/555485/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214746/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/03/mount-eerie-now-only-interview-phil-elverum/555485/|archive-date=November 19, 2018|access-date=February 7, 2020|website=The Atlantic}} After meeting her, he became more withdrawn and intentionally chose not to discuss their relationship, until Mount Eerie's 2017 album A Crow Looked at Me, which is centered around her death.

File:Phil Elverum, 2008 (cropped).jpg

On the topic of his musical style, Elverum has said: "You can easily find out what my music sounds like. I will not try to describe it".{{cite web|title=Biography of Phil Elverum|url=http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/pwelverum|last=Elverum|first=Phil|date=August 31, 2014|work=Pwelverumandsun.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190608082856/http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/pwelverum|archive-date=June 8, 2019|access-date=October 27, 2019}} He has, however, described the aesthetics of his music as an attempt to replicate "a dark presence in nature" found in shows such as Twin Peaks.{{Cite web|title=Interview: Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum {{!}} The Village Voice|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/08/10/interview-mount-eeries-phil-elverum/|last=Miller|first=Michael E.|date=August 10, 2009|website=The Village Voice|access-date=May 26, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914095440/https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/08/10/interview-mount-eeries-phil-elverum/|url-status=live}} Elverum's writing has been described as Lynchian.{{Cite web|last=Power|first=Ed|date=September 1, 2020|title=Interview: Phil Elverum on Microphones in 2020|url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/interview-phil-elverum-on-microphones-in-2020-22826480|access-date=December 26, 2020|website=Hotpress}} Erin Vanderhoof of Vanity Fair described Elverum's aesthetics as "acoustic...stripped-down and ponderous."{{Cite web|last=Vanderhoof|first=Erin|date=July 26, 2018|title=Meet Phil Elverum, Michelle Williams's New Husband|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/07/phil-elverum-michelle-williams-husband-marriage|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=Vanity Fair|language=en-us}} Sam Lewis of The Skinny described it as "dreamlike, morbid and transcendent." Brea Acton noted that it "displays a fine balance between digital and analogue processes", with Elverum "drawing on digital techniques as a distancing mechanism as well as using it to enact intimacy."{{cite thesis |last=Actom |first=Brea |date=2016 |title=Aspects of place in new folk music |type=Masters Research thesis |publisher=University of Melbourne |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11343/122906 |pages=1–84|hdl=11343/122906 |access-date=October 25, 2020}}

Elverum's music incorporates elements of ambient, folk, and black metal. Despite this, Elverum's music has also been said to elude an exact genre.{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Brady|date=September 13, 2009|title=Interview: Phil Elverum|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2009/09/13/interview-phil-elverum/|access-date=September 13, 2020|website=Spectrum Culture|language=en-US}} His songs frequently "alternate and shift", "transitioning from beautifully delicate melodies to pounding, fuzzy riffs".{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Sam|date=May 8, 2013|title=Mount Eerie: "Things have changed a lot. My first tour was booked by telephone" {{!}} Interview {{!}} The Skinny|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interviews/new-old-space-mount-eeries-phil-elverum-in-interview|access-date=September 19, 2020|website=The Skinny|language=en}} They also frequently feature "skittering rhythms" and the "merging of drum machines". His lyrics have been described as "confessional", "sparse", "tersely poetic" and "conversational", his singing "speak-sing" and his storytelling "free-flowing."{{cite web|title=Mount Eerie|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mount-eerie-mn0000517078/biography|last=Phares|first=Heather|website=Allmusic|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=February 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229054130/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mount-eerie-mn0000517078/biography|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=An Essential Guide to Mount Eerie, the Microphones and the World of Phil Elverum|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/an_essential_guide_to_mount_eerie_the_microphones_and_the_world_of_phil_elverum|last=Hill|first=Eric|date=March 27, 2017|website=Exclaim|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=September 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916132951/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/an_essential_guide_to_mount_eerie_the_microphones_and_the_world_of_phil_elverum|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=3 Things We Can Learn About Song Making from Phil Elverum|url=https://flypaper.soundfly.com/write/3-things-we-can-learn-about-song-making-from-phil-elverum/|last=Laitman|first=Rachel|date=November 10, 2015|website=flypaper|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=July 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717074119/http://flypaper.soundfly.com/write/3-things-we-can-learn-about-song-making-from-phil-elverum/|url-status=live}}

The Believer magazine described his work as "delicately sparse or layered and noisy, often in the same song. Lyrically, he focuses on memory, first-person storytelling, myth, naturalism, the everyday as sacred, and sense of place (in and out of Washington state)".{{Cite web|title=An interview with Phil Elverum|url=https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-phil-elverum/|last=Stosuy|first=Brandon|date=July 1, 2009|website=Believer Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=May 26, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114132720/https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-phil-elverum/|url-status=live}} Slate described it as "fairly subdued yet intense and solipsistic, with a kind of American transcendentalist aesthetic (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman) combined with a distinctly Pacific Northwest naturalist mysticism."{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Carl|date=March 19, 2018|title=Mount Eerie's Haunting New Album Explores the Stages of Grief That Come After "Acceptance"|url=https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/mount-eeries-new-album-now-only-reviewed.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612220513/https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/mount-eeries-new-album-now-only-reviewed.html|archive-date=June 12, 2019|access-date=August 17, 2020|website=Slate|language=en}} Todd Van Luling of HuffPost noted that despite Elverum's "noise experimentation", "the cores of the songs are still straightforwardly affecting."{{Cite web|last=Luling|first=Todd Van|date=June 2, 2015|title=How To Be A Mountain Within A Brutal American Culture: An Interview With Phil Elverum|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/phil-elverum-interview_n_6516228?ri18n=true|access-date=September 19, 2020|website=HuffPost}}

Elverum's style has been praised for its personal and grounded nature. Rachel Laitman wrote: "The effectiveness of Elverum’s style reminds us about the injury, and profound misunderstanding, incurred when we put the form of expression called singing in a box." Under both The Microphones and Mount Eerie, "Elverum has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of current indie rock."{{Cite web|last=Sackllah|first=David|date=March 13, 2017|title=Album Review: Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/album-review-mount-eerie-a-crow-looked-at-me/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411040152/https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/album-review-mount-eerie-a-crow-looked-at-me/|archive-date=April 11, 2020|access-date=August 14, 2020|website=Consequence of Sound|language=en-US}} Isabel Zacharias claimed that Elverum, "to a pocket of Pacific Northwesterners, is more folkloric deity than musician" with his releases under The Microphones propelling him to "indie-god status".{{Cite web|last=Zacharias|first=Isabel|date=April 18, 2017|title=Mt. Eerie's Phil Elverum Faces the Reality of Death at Mississippi Studios|url=https://www.wweek.com/music/2017/04/18/mt-eeries-phil-elverum-faces-the-reality-of-death-at-mississippi-studios/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707125015/http://www.wweek.com/music/2017/04/18/mt-eeries-phil-elverum-faces-the-reality-of-death-at-mississippi-studios/|archive-date=July 7, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2020|website=Willamette Week|language=en-US}}

File:Phil_Elverum,_Photo.jpg

Elverum is also known for his artwork and photography. Early in his career, he produced limited-run fanzines and song booklets which were sold during Microphones tours. Since establishing P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd., he began to experiment with letterpress printing and other elaborate packaging ideas for his releases.{{cite web |url=http://www.bangback.com/print-crush/phil-elvrum-print-pioneer-of-the-pacific-northwest/ |title=Phil Elverum: Print Pioneer of the Pacific Northwest | Bangback |website=www.bangback.com |access-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331005652/http://www.bangback.com/print-crush/phil-elvrum-print-pioneer-of-the-pacific-northwest/ |archive-date=March 31, 2013 |url-status=dead}} In 2007, he published a hardcover book of film photography with a 10" picture disc titled Mount Eerie pts. 6 & 7.

In 2009, Elverum hosted his first art show, In Dreams, at Stumptown Coffee in Portland, Oregon. The exhibition consisted of landscapes Elverum photographed in Norway, France, and rural Washington, using antique cameras and expired film.{{Cite web|title=Grave Architecture|url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/grave-architecture/Content?oid=1327986|last=Motley|first=John|date=April 30, 2009|website=Portland Mercury|language=en|access-date=May 16, 2020|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910112700/http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/grave-architecture/Content?oid=1327986|url-status=live}} In 2014, Elverum released Dust, a book of digital photography bound in stamped linen. He sells large-scale photographic prints and ink paintings through his online store.{{cite web |title=The Art Store at P.W. Elverum & Sun |url=https://www.pwelverumandsun.com/artstore |website=P.W. Elverum & Sun |access-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420062222/https://www.pwelverumandsun.com/artstore |url-status=live }} His album Microphones in 2020 was accompanied by a lyric video consisting of over 800 photos.{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Conor|date=August 7, 2020|title=Phil Elverum in 2020|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/phil-elverum-the-microphones-in-2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807215222/https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/phil-elverum-the-microphones-in-2020|archive-date=August 7, 2020|access-date=August 7, 2020|website=Interview|language=en-US}} In 2020, Elverum stated that he was working on an art book of Castrée's unpublished work.{{Cite web|last1=Rosenthal|first1=Jon|title=An interview with Phil Elverum on The Microphones' first album in 17 years|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/an-interview-with-phil-elverum-on-the-microphones-first-album-in-17-years/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807133304/https://www.brooklynvegan.com/an-interview-with-phil-elverum-on-the-microphones-first-album-in-17-years/|date=August 7, 2020|archive-date=August 7, 2020|access-date=August 8, 2020|website=BrooklynVegan|language=en}}

In 2001, while on tour, Elverum wrote a "paper opera" play[https://issuu.com/fmart/docs/death_mag_1_pb_web_issuu2 Death: a magazine for the enthusiast and non-enthusiast alike, #1] as part of a magazine centering around the theme of death.{{Cite web|title=Sweet thunder microphones interview|url=http://sweetthunder.org/microphones/index.html|date=August 8, 2001|website=sweetthunder.org|access-date=May 15, 2020|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827191721/http://sweetthunder.org/microphones/index.html|url-status=live}} In 2005, he created a 365-day comic calendar titled Fancy People Adventures, which was later syndicated by music website Tiny Mix Tapes.{{cite web|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/tmt-comics/fancy-people-adventures/|title=Fancy People Adventures|publisher=Tinymixtapes.com|access-date=May 30, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214165916/https://www.tinymixtapes.com/tmt-comics/fancy-people-adventures|url-status=live}} In 2017, after finishing his eighth studio album as Mount Eerie, Elverum created a book about Anacortes, Washington.{{cite web|title=Death Is Real: Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum Copes With Unspeakable Tragedy|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/10034-death-is-real-mount-eeries-phil-elverum-copes-with-unspeakable-tragedy/|last1=Greene|first1=Jayson|date=March 13, 2017|website=Pitchfork|access-date=November 19, 2018|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214321/https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/10034-death-is-real-mount-eeries-phil-elverum-copes-with-unspeakable-tragedy/|url-status=live}}

Elverum has also experimented with filmmaking, producing background visuals for his shows (released as a limited-edition DVD entitled Fog Movies) and promotional videos for several Mount Eerie songs. He has stated that he does wish to one day make movies, viewing them as the "ultimate art form" and as such the culmination of his creativity.

{{main list|Mount Eerie|The Microphones}}

• Don't Wake Me Up (1999)
• It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water (2000)
• The Glow Pt. 2 (2001)
• Mount Eerie (2003)
• Microphones in 2020 (2020)

• "No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night (2005)
• Lost Wisdom (with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire) (2008)
• Dawn (2008)
• Wind's Poem (2009)
• Clear Moon (2012)
• Ocean Roar (2012)
• Sauna (2015)
• A Crow Looked at Me (2017)
• Now Only (2018)
• Lost Wisdom pt. 2 (with Julie Doiron) (2019)
• Night Palace (2024)

• D+ (1997)
• Dandelion Seeds (1998)
• Mistake (2002)
• Deception Pass (2003)
• No Mystery (2006)
• On Purpose (2008)
• What Is Doubt For? (2008)
• Destroy Before Listening (2018)

• The Fidalgo Island Beautiful Issue #5 1/2 (2007)
• Ditherer (2007)
• Weary Engine Blues (2013)

• Mostly Clouds and Trees – Beautiful Face (1996)
• Tugboat – The Tugboat Fiasco (1996)
• X-Ray Means Woman – Face Shapes (1996)
• Old Time Relijun – Witchcraft Rebellion (2001)
• Peace – On Earth (2007)
• DJ Microphone – The Fidalgo Island Beautiful Issue #5 1/2 (2007)
• Mirah – (a)spera (2008)

{{Reflist}}

{{Sister project links|d=Q7181870|c=Category:Phil Elverum|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=no|q=no|species=no}}

• [http://www.pwelverumandsun.com/ P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20191025150440/http://www.fancypeopleadventures.com/ Fancy People Adventures]
• [http://www.krecs.com/ K Records]

{{The Microphones}}

{{Mount Eerie}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elverum, Phil}}

Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:American male songwriters

Category:People from Anacortes, Washington

Category:American indie rock musicians

Category:Musicians from Washington (state)

Category:Songwriters from Washington (state)

Category:American multi-instrumentalists

Category:20th-century American guitarists

Category:21st-century American guitarists

Category:20th-century American male singers

Category:20th-century American singers

Category:21st-century American male singers

Category:21st-century American singers