Annie Elise
I won’t write too much about Annie Elise on this intro because I prefer letting her tell you about her story. But what I can say here is that her single “We Can Pretend” is such a beautiful and dreamy song showcasing her stunning vocals and a sick production. The chorus is captivating and addictive, and it is my favorite part of this song. I’m so glad I discovered her music and I can’t wait to hear her upcoming EP - out next year !!
Annie Elise also recently released a song with SCayos, Aristotle Jones and frumhere titled “Know You Better”.
“We Can Pretend” is available everywhere :)
Photo credit: Madison Jonap
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hey, thanks so much for having me! My name is Annie Elise and I’m a music producer/artist. I grew up as a classically trained violinist, and then when a heartbreaking diagnosis of focal dystonia forced me to stop playing, I shifted into electronic production and I’ve been happy here ever since! I gave a popular TEDx talk about synesthesia and how it affects my creative processes called “Seeing Sound: How Synesthesia Can Change Our Thinking” that has since become the most viewed talk on the subject. More recently, I’ve been a brand ambassador for MXL mics, XLN Audio, Kilohearts, and Baby Audio and I’ve been fortunate to win some remix contests and even score a nomination for Best Pop Artist in the Central PA Music Awards. I’ve been releasing more music recently too, which has been lots of fun.
"We Can Pretend" is your latest single - what's the inspiration behind this single?
It’s a funny story, actually! We had initially wrote the song to be about a false awakening, you know, when you wake up in your dream but you’re still asleep – but the song turned into so much more than that. Aside from exploring the place between dreams and reality, it’s interesting to think about the concept of wishing you could get away from reality, especially during the past year. I think it’s something we all wish for at some point in time, and although we know it’s something we know we can never get, it is nice to pretend for a little bit. I think there’s great comfort in that. I also got to make the song with some friends that I’ve never got to meet in person, which was really special.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this particular single? How was it like to work with Josiah Soren on this song?
The whole process was super straightforward! Josiah had started the song and asked me if I would be interested in writing on it, and so he sent me an instrumental demo version and I got to work. Initially the song was written to be about a false awakening, like when you wake up but you’re still in a dream, but it kind of turned into a deeper song. I have been told that I have a knack for writing songs quickly. This song was not an exception – we ended up using the demo vocals in the final version because there was just nothing that needed to be changed! I tend to write exactly what I want to hear next, and this song just ended up writing itself. We then asked some friends to play instruments on it: Anthony Shay on violin, J. Hurlock on keyboards/synths, and JB on guitar. It was really special to have a song come together so naturally.
What did you feel when writing this song?
I felt confident. This was the first song that I’ve written with other people that I didn’t feel insecure in my writing abilities, and that was a really special feeling. I felt like the songwriter/artist/producer that I always wanted to be!
What's your favorite thing about "We Can Pretend"?
My favorite detail is the bass slide that hits right before the chorus… Josiah is such a talented bass player and you can really hear it on this song.
What made you want to release "We Can Pretend" as a single?
“We Can Pretend” is the lead single off of my next EP, coming in winter 2022! It is the perfect introduction to the new era of the Annie Elise artist project.
What can you tell us about your latest collaborations with SCayos, Aristotle Jones and frumhere? How did this collaboration come about?
Oh, we made a really cool song! It was so funny, SCayos and Aristotle and I all go to the same school. One night SCayos calls me up and says, “Hey, what are you doing RIGHT NOW” which is a common call that I get from him, haha. Turns out he was in a session with Aristotle that night and they needed a vocal hook for a verse he had written. We made the whole song in one hour using a sample from frumhere. That’s probably the record turnaround time for a track I’ve been involved with - I mixed the track the next week, and we had it out on Spotify within the month. It was a wild ride, and really fun!
As a producer, what equipments and softwares do you usually use?
If you’re talking DAWs, I usually bounce between Ableton, Logic, and Pro Tools. I love doing sound design in Ableton, tracking strings in Logic, and mixing in Pro Tools, but I consider myself fluent in all three. Usually it comes down to the preference of whoever I’m working with. My favorite synth plugin would have to be Kilohearts Phase Plant, that is an amazing synth! You have so much control over every aspect of the sound, and the mappable macros make it really cool for manipulating sound live as well. For hardware, I use an MXL 990 microphone going to my Apollo Twin interface. I also have an Arturia Keylab keyboard that I absolutely adore. And that’s about it!
How does your synesthesia impact the music/art you are making today?
That’s an interesting question. I think that because of the nature of synesthesia, it can affect my music without me consciously realizing it. It’s just something that’s always there. It definitely comes in handy for sound design though, I love making synths that are the exact color I need for a track. Being able to physically see the sound adds another layer of originality and complexity to whatever patch I’m working on, and that is pretty awesome.
How does singing make you feel?
For a long time, singing made me feel like a fraud. I grew up playing classical violin, and I had a voice that didn’t fit musical theatre or a traditional choir or even the general public opinion about what a pop singer sounded like. I have an incredibly soft voice and my voice has no vibrato, and although my singing voice is high my talking voice is really low. None of it was what you would expect by knowing me. I felt like I didn’t fit for a long time. Then I came to Berklee and discovered vocal jazz, and it changed my life. My group Point of Departure just won our second Downbeat Magazine award in a row, which is such a huge honor. I found that there was a place my voice could fit, and after a year of singing with PoD I realized that perhaps my voice could fit in other places. I started singing along to my beats and it felt so genuine, like the music was exactly what I wanted to say. I know that isn’t a happy answer - sometimes I still feel like a fraud when I sing, but for the most part, singing feels genuine. It feels like me. And I love that.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Only about 3% of music producers in the industry are female – that number is way too low, and often we aren’t taken as seriously as male producers. I’m on a mission to help increase that number, because I think that having female producers be visible and respected will go a long way in combatting sexism in the music industry. There’s a long way to go, but I’m optimistic.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
Failing is a good thing!! That took a long time for me to be okay with. I consider myself as someone who has a healthy relationship with failure, which is really important for anyone working in the arts/entertainment industry. My parents would throw me “Fail Parties” when I was younger to help me realize that celebrating failure is important. It really helps depressurize a certain situation and helps me feel confident even if something isn’t going as planned. I recommend bettering your relationship with failure – and when you don’t fail, it’s a lovely surprise!
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
I think if we as a society focused on listening and understanding each other from a place of compassion, a lot of problems will be solved. I’m a big proponent of compassionate listening, and I do a lot of work with the nonprofit Someone To Tell It To which specializes in training others to do that.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
I want young girls to know that they can grow up and do anything. I want them to know that so many road blocks are in their way because of their gender, but that they aren’t alone. I want them to know that it’s okay to be a little rebellious and it’s okay to absolutely kill it, and it’s also okay to fail. Your worth is not defined by the things that have happened to you, by your gender, or by your confidence. Prove the world wrong. Be confident in being uniquely you.
Connect with Annie: