For over two years now, Woolish has shared a unique connection with EiK. Our story began when we heard him on the radio sharing a familiar struggle: he’d lost his hat, and winter’s chill was creeping in. Right after he wrote the lyrics to his song "Meie Süü", we decided to gift him two of our men's merino hats, and he’s been part of the Woolish family ever since. His music often plays in our studio, inspiring us as we watch him grow as an artist.

Over the years, EiK has featured Woolish knitwear in his music videos, including the Mara merino sweater in "Sire ja Mure" (EiK feat. Maris Pihlap, Luurel Varas & Mattias Tirmaste) and the Nami merino vest in "Head Aega" (INGER feat. EiK). Now, as he shares his thoughts on health and wellbeing, we hope his story inspires others just as he has inspired us.

In November there is special attention on men's mental and physical health – what are your thoughts on the matter? 

Actually, we should be focusing on it year-round! It’s nice to see that in recent years, the life expectancy of Estonian men has gradually been on the rise again. However, it will probably take a long time before we can shake off our "Truth and Justice" mentality, that men don't cry, work themselves sick, and only deal with their health when there’s a real problem already at hand.

But there's still hope! Young people aren’t drinking as heavily as they did a few decades ago, mental health issues are being discussed openly, and soon the information overload will become so unbearable that we’ll all want to go back to using basic mobile phones with buttons. Stop talking about "grinding" and "winter arcs" and take some time for yourself – let's see where that leads us!

What message would you like to send to your listeners, especially young men?

You have to chill. We often hear that we should take time for ourselves amidst everything else, but the whole point of living is that "our own time" should be priority number one, with everything else following that. Allow yourself to be bored, try to do one or two big things each day (no more, or it becomes a hustle), and just chill!

Mara merino sweater

Hiro merino hat beige

What role do exercise and a healthy lifestyle play in your life? Is it sometimes challenging to focus on this while being creative?

Honestly, it’s wildly challenging to keep everything in balance. Since my work has an utterly chaotic schedule – I perform late at night on weekends and on weekdays I work in the studio or deal with music-related tasks whenever possible or when the mood strikes. Food is often just fuel, and exercise is mainly long walks to calm my nerves, or bouncing around on stage and during rehearsals like a madman.

We’re currently recording new material with Rein Fuks, the leader of the band Pia Fraus, and he had a great story about how, when his daughter was born, he had a concert the same evening. When he tried to leave for the gig, the hospital staff stopped him in his tracks, asking, “What kind of job starts so late?”

As Anne Veski once said, this business doesn’t allow for sleep. But as someone prone to anxiety, I quickly realized that if I don’t want my body to start to strike or mental stress to turn into physical pain, I just have to move and rest; that is if I want to make music for a long time and in good health.

What are the most important themes and feelings you want to convey with your music?

I kept a diary for years, but at some point, life became so colorful that I couldn’t keep up with recording all the events. Now, my poetry and song lyrics have become a kind of chronicle – I interpret everything happening around and within me, then condense it into short forms.

Since the human experience and cultural context are somewhat similar for all of us here at this edge of the world, it seems that these often very personal and (super) specific images, feelings, people, places, and things that I pack into my texts resonate with listeners. I can’t pinpoint the most important themes or feelings; I’ll leave that up to the audience to decide what they find meaningful and touching.

Where are you on your creative and personal journey right now? What are your next steps?

Creatively, I’m preparing for a big solo concert taking place on December 5th and exploring punk and rock, both of which have been fascinating me since third grade and steered me toward writing lyrics. The next album will likely be a stark contrast to the previous electronic “party music” album; most parts are played with real instruments, the knobs on guitar effects pedals are cranked up, and the drums are satisfyingly loud and energetic. But amidst all this, my unique sound won’t be disappearing – Mattias Tirmaste still plays the same heartfelt solos, and Maris Pihlap still sings beautiful backing vocals.

I want to finally show a side of myself that I haven’t had the chance to demonstrate before. And it is incredibly liberating. It's for the joy of that little EiK who sang along to Propeller and Sex Pistols songs in his bedroom, wanting to be just as cool and “do it yourself.” Even if this music doesn’t go mainstream, it’s going to be one intense album with good drive.

On a personal level, I’m wrestling a bit with autumnal melancholy. After nearly four years of living together, my girlfriend has gone to France and Italy for three months with her friend; they’re helping out at various farms, organic restaurants, and eco-hotels through a program, discovering the world. Here in gray-weathered Tallinn, it feels a little strange to be waking up alone day after day. But at the same time, I have tons of time at the moment to make new music day and night, and I feel incredibly inspired. Autumn is always a highly creative time for me – I perform in the summer, hibernate in the winter, and during these few months in between, I write and record like crazy.

Do you have any tips for improving a low mood?

Just the most basic things that we tend to forget all the time. If you start feeling down, go out and move, take a few laps around the block, and let some oxygen get to your brain – it helps immediately. One of my friend’s grandfathers, for instance, goes running every time he starts to feel unwell, and that usually clears it all up.

I personally love cleaning and organizing things and files when my mind feels chaotic. When the room gets tidy, my thoughts become clearer too. And, of course, talk to others about your troubles; human connection is key. I don’t think I have much better advice to give than that. Like I once wrote in a song, “Only you can save yourself, no one else has that power”.