Ellise Interview: Breaking Genre and Finding Balance

Above all else, music is a form of expression. A medium to convert every thought and emotion into a flurry of colourful sounds, albums are like musical testimonies of the soul, illustrating the lives and outlooks of the musician in charge.

Even so, countless musicians pick a lane, rather than spilling out each and every idea. There are upbeat pop artists and crestfallen folk singers; raging punks and party-going electronic acts. For every artist who dedicates their entire life to song, there are a dozen more who pick a niche, exploring select fragments of their expression in pursuit of a recognisable sound or style.

Ellise is not one of these artists. A self-described dark pop singer, the American talent has dedicated her blooming career to finding balance, in her style, her brand, and her craft. Rather than home in on any one emotion or genre, Ellise is determined to balance the darkest and brightest parts of her life into a truly raw and authentic artistic expression.

“My philosophy is that life comes in phases,” Ellise said, describing her process. “There are going to be high phases and there are going to be low phases. For me, the life I am living very much mirrors the music I’m making. I let those phases ebb and flow, and as I’m feeling low in my life, I let myself write music about that.”

(Credit: Ellise)

Whether at her lowest point or jumping for joy, no time is the wrong time to make music, according to Ellise. “I think a lot of artists can relate to that, when they’re at their worst moment, they make their best art. Even in the happy times, I think when you are at a time when everything feels good and you are having a positive moment, it’s also important to reflect in those times and make music about it because you’re going to come at your situations from a totally different perspective from when you’re at that low.”

The singer’s latest album, PRETTY EVIL, reflects that. A delicate fusion of bubblegum pop with a nightmarish underbelly, the LP sees Ellise narrate her darkest moments with surprising joviality and colour.

“I had just got out of a very long, three and a half year relationship with ended with a big betrayal of him having another girl and cheating,” Ellise said on the genesis of the new LP. “I had just gone through the worst – the first ‘adult’ breakup of my life. That really shook up my world. Now you’re not with this person who was basically the main character of your life for so long. It gave me a new perspective and that allowed me to open my mind to creating music that I like.”

(Credit: Ellise)

With a laugh, she added, “I think I just needed to be traumatised.” Demonstrating the appeal of her style in real-time, Ellise finds the most cheerful ways to speak on the darkest of subjects.

While she has her signature look and feel, Ellise was not eager to label PRETTY EVIL as any certain genre. “People have their own aesthetics and niches and genres. I feel like genre isn’t even a real thing anymore. Everyone creates their own lane and world of sound.” That said, the concept behind PRETTY EVIL was easy to pinpoint. “The concept that I really wanted to portray was the process of love and loss, and the cyclical nature of when that happens. The full 360 of when you meet someone, all that happens in between, all the way to the end, and how you heal from it after.”

Putting the album together might have been a breeze for Ellise, but when it came time to decide singles, the real problems arose. “My family and friends notoriously say I’m horrible at choosing singles,” she admitted through a sardonic laugh. “Going back to the thing of genre and all these things not really existing as harshly as they used to, I don’t know what people are going to like. I don’t know what will resonate with people. It might be the one that the label thinks is a single because it’s a fast BPM and has a catchy hook, or an interlude acapella with a piano could go viral because somebody could make a sad trend over it. You just don’t know.”

That uncertainty extends to the album-making process. While PRETTY EVIL rests at a clean 12 tracks (or 16, counting the deluxe additions), Ellise made upwards of 50 more songs, but decided against releasing any of them. “I don’t even like 80% of what I make,” she said. “or me, it’s hard to pick songs. Oh my god, is this good, or is this the most embarrassingly bad thing anyone has ever released in the history of music? I just don’t know. Usually, if I don’t leave the studio immediately being like, ‘Oh yeah, that was fucking good,’ I’ll probably never go back and listen to that song again.”

(Credit: Ellise)

However, Ellise was never alone when it came to making creative decisions. From her brother to close friend Ella Boux, PRETTY EVIL required a gathering of close friends and family to happen. Perhaps most crucial to the process was Arthur Besna, who produced the majority of the tracks on the LP.

“He is a creative genius,” Ellise said. “We met and I immediately [thought], ‘This is the guy I want to do my whole album with.’ We had that sauce in the studio that you really want when you meet a producer for the first time … A lot of it was very much people I already know and love and have a great connection with, it made making the music so therapeutic and fun.”

Following the release of PRETTY EVIL and PRETTY EVIL DELUXE, Ellise is preparing to embark on her first headlining tour, visiting 15 cities across North America. “I’ve always been the opener – your set is much shorter, a lot less of the pressure is on you. This is a different animal altogether and there is a higher expectation, but I love a challenge … When you’re an opener, the crowd is not your crowd. You definitely have some people there that know you, and people are awesome in crowds and will support you even if they don’t know you. But I think that, opening night, looking into a crowd where everyone in there is going to know my words and scream the lyrics back to me – that’s going to be a very emotional night to me.”

Celebrating the success of PRETTY EVIL, the tour will be a much-deserved victory lap for the singer to relish in her latest music and reach even more ears with her eclectic sound. This is the biggest step yet in the singer’s career, coming after years of navigating the industry and finding her place as an independent musician.

“I love being an independent artist,” Ellise said. “I think it’s much more work, but it’s such rewarding work. In my time being independent, I’ve learned so much about the business side of the industry. You know, the side that nobody wants artists to know anything about.”

Aged 17, Ellise left school early to pursue her popstar dreams in LA. Nine years on, the singer is thriving as an independent talent, unafraid to express herself in her lowest and highest moments. 26 years old, she remains a relative newcomer to the industry, but the lessons she has learned are things she will never forget.

She said: “I honestly think the biggest lesson, and something I always try to carry with me now, is this industry will try to pull you a million different directions, whether it’s a label, managers, friends, the dark side, parties, drugs, alcohol. There are so many devils on your shoulder in this industry, and so, above all the noise, you have to always trust yourself and love yourself.”

Find Ellise here.