A poet at heart, Anna Elyse is a singer, songwriter and producer who draws inspiration from prolific songwriters like Neil Young and looks to modernize her sound with influences from producers like No ID, Mike Dean and Illangelo.”I always found solace in music, especially when I connected to the stories. And I hope to provide that for someone else.”
After graduating from UCLA, with a concentration in Creative Writing (Poetry), she went on to Audio Engineering School and found that one of her very favorite places to be was in the studio. She was used to spending many hours in the dance studio growing up, and stepping into the recording studio was like slipping into an immersive world she knew she fit.
She worked behind the scenes in recording studios and serendipitously ended up on a few prominent hip-hop albums (Logic’s albums: Under Pressure, The Incredible True Story, and No Pressure). But, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that she decided to let go of her reservations and release her own music. Her self-produced and mixed debut single, “Trading Glances” landed her on several upcoming folk-pop playlists (Greywood Records, Dave Powers, HQIndie).
What is your creative process like?
This changes all the time. Sometimes I start with just my guitar or piano and go from there. It often helps me to take a walk in nature or have a day where I can zone out and just focus on writing. Other times I start with the production first, and the song flows from a more constructed place. I like switching it up though. Very recently I started with the lyrics before anything else and it was really calming. So, maybe I’ll start doing that more!
If you could go open a show for any artist, who would it be?
Dermot Kennedy or Neil Young
What would you be doing right now if it weren’t for your music career?
I’d definitely still be writing. It’s just my way of walking through the world this time around, but I probably wouldn’t have any social media. Maybe I’d live off the grid a bit with just a piano, guitar, and notebook…possibly somewhere up north or in Ireland. I love to be surrounded by nature.
Have you got a ritual of sorts when writing and thinking about your music?
Not necessarily a ritual. I try to just be consistent and write a bit each day. Songs come easier when I’ve been out in nature, especially the beach when it’s rainy, foggy or just nighttime. Being active also gets the juices flowing. After an open-water swim this summer I went home and immediately wrote a song after being inspired by the strong swell that day. It can be pretty random. Also, traveling or just getting out of the normal routine, so that I’m seeing the world from a different perspective, love doing that. If I can’t seem to zoom out of my own perspective, it’s time to take a trip.
What is the best advice you have been given?
To do it now, release it now. Don’t wait until something is perfect because, by the time you’ve perfected it, people have moved on. And maybe they connect to that initial raw version because it shows some cracks. There’s a certain amount of time that the universe is asking for a certain thing. Don’t miss that window because you don’t think it’s perfect. Just go forth!
Have you always been interested in music? Was there a particular song/performance that made you say “Woah! I want to do that!”?
I have always been very interested in music. And I always wanted to dive inside of the music I loved and look at it from every angle. I remember all through high school anytime we’d have to write an essay, I’d find a way to explicate a song. Or at least use lyrics from songs to make my point. I even won a poetry contest themed Your Favorite Place with a poem entitled “Inside the Beat of an Incredible Song.”
I grew up dancing as well and on our varsity dance team you could audition your choreography for the annual show, and I just loved being able to interpret songs through the choreography, especially adding in the lighting and the video that went on before. I could create this whole atmosphere.
In audio engineering school after UCLA I got to learn how to craft songs from the ground up, from their initial conception to the final master. It was so fascinating to me how the smallest changes could drastically alter the end result, sound-wise. It’s just always been something I cherish.
I do remember being at a Dave Matthews Band concert with my dad and being so captivated by the live sound, so high on the entire band and his storytelling, and thinking, “I have to be a part of this, this is all that I want to do.” It wasn’t an option, it was a must, an eternal pull. Music is so healing for so many people.
What is next for you?
I’m looking to start playing some live shows and collab with other songwriters, producers, and musicians! I’ve also got a bunch of songs written that I’m looking forward to producing!
What is the most useless talent you have?
I can guess birthdays, sometimes
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Yesssss, anything that’s stuck in my head, sometimes I get stuck singing jingles from commercials!
What would be a good theme song for your life?
All of the great songs I like that I can think of seem to be a bit sad or troubling when you really look at them haha. But I think #41 by Dave Matthews is a good one. It has a complex yet triumphant feel to it. The release in the chorus is so freeing. The belting part at the end of the first verse feels so good. And it all seems a bit dreamy to me as well. It feels like he’s walking out of something and is better for it. He can rely on himself to deal with whatever is thrown his way and can do it in a way that expands his consciousness rather than shrink it.
Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
Millie Bobby Brown!
If you were talking to a younger version of you, what advice would you give yourself?
Do all of the things you want to do. Nobody has it figured out. Nobody. Don’t listen to people who haven’t done what you want to do. Everybody is just navigating the world from their perspective shaped by their own experiences. Nobody knows what you’re capable of or what you can do. If you know what you want, go get it. Be impulsive and unapologetic about the things that you love, that light up your life. Work as diligently as you can and keep moving forward, keep stepping out of your comfort zone. Everything is figure-out-able. Grit is the most important quality. Just keep going! You’ve got this!!
Anna is excited to share her newest track, “Faster Than We Ran” with the world. Here’s what she had to say about it:
“This song came to me one foggy morning at the beach while staring out at the water and the thick mist hanging over everything. It felt like I was about to watch a portal open up into a different world. ‘Faster Than We Ran’ is about looking back on something that was magic and feeling immense gratitude for it. It may have been short-lived and incongruent or wrong in some ways, but it still lit you up and that’s what life is about. It’s looking back and saying, ‘That was so awesome, the human experience is such a magical thing.’ even when it’s imperfect”.
