Meet The Rising Avant-Pop Songstress…Ellise

It’s safe to say that at Spindle HQ we are obsessed with alt-pop newcomer Ellise. The LA-based rising star has already released one of the standout pop tracks of the year in the shape of ‘Bubblegum Brain’ – an Avant-pop earworm featuring Shea Coulee in the official video.

As Ellise unleashes her newest single ‘Feeling Something Bad’, we caught up with her as she’s sprinkling the last handful of sparkle to her forthcoming album. We go deep with the Depop dream and discuss Drag Race UK and the pitfalls of social media.

You need NO introduction but for anyone in the UK that isn’t familiar with you yet, how would you introduce yourself?

For anyone who doesn’t know me, my name is Ellise, I’m a singer/songwriter and my music lives in a dark space and touches on topics like toxic relationships, negative emotions, and mental torment. I love writing and making songs about my personal life experiences and creating uninviting visuals to accompany them. I hope if my stuff reaches you, you’re able to relate to it in some way, or at least feel something from it. 

Where do you draw inspiration from for the visual identity behind Ellise the artist?

I’d say I’ve conjured up this elevated, more artistic version of myself for my artist project. At its core, it’s really me, because everything I write about and create stems from my real personal life. My musical and aesthetic inspirations growing up have also helped me to culminate this vision. Seeing artists like Lana Del Rey or Frank Ocean create a visual universe around them is what inspired me to want to do the same and is what got me thinking at a young age about what MY aesthetic would be, and what my world would look like. 

There can be a lot of pressure on young artists nowadays with social media allowing fans to peer inside every aspect of your life. Do you feel as though social media is a help or more of a hindrance to a young artist in 2021?

Social Media is great in some ways, but of course, harmful in others. I think it’s created a whole new space for artists, especially in times like these where touring and meeting fans in real life is impossible, to connect with people. I also think it has helped bridge the gap between artist and listener- people feel more connected and in the know and I find that to be really cool. I will say I’m not the best at posting lol, and I definitely wish social media wasn’t used as such a power tool and such a large judgement of how successful you are. 

What is your favourite social media platform and why do you love using it?

My favourite is 10000% Twitter. With Instagram and TikTok, I sometimes feel pressured to look absolutely perfect and typically feel anxious right after putting something up. On Twitter, it’s so low stress, I feel like that’s the best place to communicate with the people who support you. I use my Twitter like a text group message between me and all my fans, and they’re so funny and on it, I can laugh at my screen for hours with them. We even kind of cyberbully each other in a loving way and it really just feels like a friendship. It makes me the happiest!!

‘Bubblegum Brain’ is such an earworm and has a very distinct sound. What would you say that your brand is in terms of how you want your music to sound?

Thanks!! I can best describe ‘Bubblegum Brain’ as my one true “bubblegum pop” song on the upcoming album. I wanted there to be a juxtaposition between the depressing lyrical content and the upbeat production. My album has a lot of different flavours because when it comes down to it, I’m really just creating music that I like. That can mean different things on different days. Some days I’ll make the saddest breakup song ever and some days I feel confident and make an upbeat “f**k you” song. I think what keeps it consistent and cohesive is the fact that it’s all pouring out of me, so no matter what, the writing and melodies all live in the same world. 

We can’t not ask about queen Shea Coulee in the video – how did that happen?

SHEA!! My literal queen. My creative director was friends with her and asked her if she would want to be in my video. I didn’t know her previously; she was just so sweet and decided to hop on board!! She pulled up glammed to the gods and was genuinely the sweetest human. Not to mention she killed it and elevated the video to a whole new level. We’ll be working on some songwriting a little later this year!!

RuPaul’s Drag Race is the talk of the UK at the moment. Who are your Top 5 queens to grace the runway ever?

1. Shea Coulee (obviously!!)

2. The Vivienne

3. Tayce

4. Jaida Essence Hall

5. Yvie Oddly

Your new single ‘Feeling Something Bad…’ is the next track to be released from your forthcoming album. What can you tell us about the song?

Feeling Something Bad is one of my favourite songs I’ve ever made. It pushed me out of my comfort zone creatively, and it also feels symbolic to me of when I really started evolving in my music-making. After ‘Feeling Something Bad’, the rest of the album started falling into place so easily. I made it almost a year ago and it still holds up to me, which is rare, because usually, I feel I’ve outgrown a song a few months after I make it. Prepare for a very sharp left turn from ‘Bubblegum Brain’, and a better idea of just how much differentiation there is on my upcoming album.

What can we expect from the full-length album? Any surprises?

 I think anyone who’s been listening to my music for a while will be very surprised. This album is just so much more deep, detailed and diverse. There are a lot of tracks on this album that have a sound that no one’s heard from me before. I wanted to broaden my horizons and push myself, and I think it really comes across. I LITERALLY CANNOT WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR IT!! Especially my day one fans. I just know they’re going to appreciate the growth from my early music. Ahh!!

What was the first album you can remember buying with your own pocket money?

Not an album, but the first song I ever bought on iTunes was ‘Run This Town’ by Jay Z and Rihanna. I remember my mom getting really upset at me because I wasn’t supposed to be listening to explicit music. Now I make explicit music.

What was the last track that you listened too?

‘Telepatia’ by Kali Uchis!!

When creating your own music in the studio, do you tend to shy away from listening to other people’s music, or do you feel inspired to create when surrounded by music?

I don’t usually listen to other people’s music when I’m in the studio, but I am ALWAYS curating an ongoing playlist of inspirational songs. Whether it’s the 808 or the topline melody or a specific lyric, my range of what I’m inspired by is pretty large. It’s helpful to me to listen to all different kinds of music to keep my brain open to new ideas and stylistic choices!!

Let’s talk fashion – where do you shop, and do you have any key brands that you’re loving right now? What are the Ellise staples in terms of fashion?

Honestly, I buy almost everything I own off of depop!! I’ve almost completely stopped fast fashion shopping within the past year, and now I mostly buy from small independent designers that I find online!! Some really cool ones are Malicious Designs, Rhi Dancey, harlothands and Mata Complex. If I’m buying designer, I usually use secondhand designer apps like TheRealReal, Treasures of NYC… 

What couldn’t Ellise live without?

 I could not live without music, online shopping, yellow cake with chocolate icing, fake eyelashes and rain.

Make sure to watch Ellise’s video for her brand new single Feeling Something Bad… and listen to the track here.