Anna Elyse is a singer/songwriter and producer based in Orange County, California. We first fell in love with her music upon hearing her delicate and ethereal tune ‘Slot Machines’, and have been keeping a close eye on her musical evolution ever since. A poet at heart, Anna took a while to let go of her reservations about releasing her own music, but once she did, there was no looking back.
Desperate to get to know her a little better, I was thrilled when she agreed to an interview! Talking with us about her brand new self-produced single ‘Horses Running’, her unwavering love for the Dave Matthews Band, and what being successful in the music industry would look like for her, please give a warm welcome to our friend Anna Elyse!
Welcome aboard Anna! I’m so excited to re-introduce you to our ever-growing audience! For those who haven’t discovered your musical prowess just yet, who is Anna Elyse and when did your love affair with music begin?
Thank you so much for having me! I am a folk-pop singer, songwriter, and producer from Orange County, California. I’d also call myself a poet 🙂 I’ve been writing poetry for as long as I can remember and was in the poetry concentration at UCLA!
My love affair with music started very young. I’ve always been obsessed with lyrics and diving into them to pull out every meaning I could. I think my first thought of “I have to do this” was at a Dave Matthews concert. I was entirely lit up by all the musicians and the reaction of the crowd. I felt I was part of something way bigger than myself, all of these people connecting to these songs in their own way, all these people brought together. It moved me. It wasn’t until a few years back that I finally got past my hesitation and jumped in. I’d spent so many years learning everything around the craft, went to audio engineering school, worked in studios etc.
I played my first live show in November of last year and it reminded me of the picture I drew in my journal as a kid of me on stage with my guitar. It was so cool to think of how proud my younger self would be.
We at Mesmerized were introduced to your work with last year’s release ‘Slot Machines‘. We instantly fell in love with the ethereal and delicate tune which has now surpassed over 21,000 plays on Spotify! I’m wondering if you could tell our readers how it feels to know that so many people have heard and resonated with one of your tracks.
It’s really exciting for me and thank you so much for your kind words! I co-produced that one as well! It’s almost hard to grasp that all these people are listening and resonating with my words and my song! I’ve always wanted to do this, so it’s heartening to start gaining some traction and be a part of this world. I spent so much time in the wings waiting to release stuff.
Now, onto your stunning new release ‘Horses Running’. You’ve mentioned that it’s a song about realizing that one has to let go of what one cannot control and that life moves on regardless. What else do you want our readers to know about your latest single?
It’s fully produced by me! Yes, exactly, it’s about watching a situation go up in flames. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do except step back and let it go. I kept the production pretty minimal, as I wanted it to feel like riding a train or something through the story, peering out at the surroundings as you pass.
This was a fun one to put together because I enlisted the help of a couple of friends (Julian Rawlinson and Dustin Bookatz) to lay down extra guitar and bass parts. Augustina Quintero put together some animations for it as well and it was really cool to see the way she interpreted the song.
Who would you put down as some of your biggest musical influences and who would you ultimately credit for helping shape and mould your overall sound?
Hmmm, this is tough! I grew up listening to a lot of Dave Matthews Band. I always loved his storytelling. Also, Dire Straits and Neil Young. More recently I’ve been impressed by Jensen McCrae, Lizzie McAlpine, and Dermot Kennedy (more his earliest releases). I’m very much obsessed with words.
I grew up in the dance studio, so I also gravitated to a lot of artists like Natalie Merchant, Sarah Fimm, Alanis Morisette, Enya, and David Gray. I’ve got the moody vibes in my blood.
So, Logic is undoubtedly one of my favourite rappers and producers of all time! He is such an unbelievably talented artist! Could you tell us how you came to be on three of his albums and what that experience was like?
Yay! Yes! I was working at the recording studio where he was recording his first album. As we were talking, he said he liked my voice. (He asked me to sing, but at the time, I had developed a fear of singing and wouldn’t. It was a weird time in life for me.) Not long after, he mic’d me up and we kept chatting, totally organically. That’s the conversation you hear on one of the tracks of that first album. After that, he had me try out the rest of the dialogue parts. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but here we are! The fans enjoyed my character, so she remained!
And, of course, he’s great, a total creative type. So we clicked in that regard.
What would “being successful” in the music industry look like for you? And do you see it as an imperative or more of a cherry on top?
It’s pretty simple for me actually. Just being able to support myself solely with my music and writing. I see it as a must for me in this life. I will get it done 🙂
If you were given the chance to collaborate with any musician or band, who would you choose?
Dave Matthews Band would be sick! I’d also love to write with Dermot Kennedy.
Thanks so much for chatting with us Anna! It’s been awesome getting to know you a bit better! Before we say farewell, what comes next for you musically?
Thank you so much for having me! I’ve got a few more songs coming out this year, and possibly another music video! I’m also looking forward to playing more live shows and collaborating with other producers and songwriters. I’d love to start writing and producing more for others as well!
