Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Elise

Elise is a rising star whose career on screen and in the studio is sweet as candy. She’s appeared in projects including The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Darcy on House Arrest and released hit songs like “Few Words” and “Note to Self”.

This October, she continues her rise to the top with the release of “Sweet Love”.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Elise about her multifaceted talent, “Sweet Love”, and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Elise: I started acting and singing when I was very young. I think that’s because I was surrounded by it from the get-go. I believe I started music theory for development at age four, live performance around eight or nine, and film acting around age ten or eleven. My dad was a gaffer, so I grew up surrounded by lighting equipment, visiting him on set, and getting some firsthand knowledge of how things worked on that front.

On the music side, my mom is a harpist and my dad was a bass player and singer, so music was all around me! It wasn’t until sometime in high school that I started writing my own lyrics and not until much more recently that I started working toward more professional pursuits for that passion. All I know is that it makes me so happy to create music and to share it, so I’m going to keep at it!

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Elise: At the risk of this sounding like a cop-out answer (but it just is the honest truth): my family. My dad had the largest influence on me musically while he was here. I cherish that very much. My mom was always supportive of my acting and film involvement and did everything she could to help me follow those passions—while still staying hands-off so as to make me carry the weight of the pursuit myself. I don’t even know where to start on how much my brother means to me and how much he’s influenced my resolve to keep pursuing a career that I love. He’s the other half of our duo and is irreplaceable to me.

PC: In addition to songwriting, you also act. How has your work in music made you a stronger actress and vice versa?
Elise: I love this question! They absolutely help each other. Specifically, I love using scripts that I work on as an actress to influence new stories, character perspectives, and ideas in my lyrics. I spend so much time getting out of my own head and into someone else’s when I’m acting, so it’s such an awesome way to instigate new lyric ideas.

This also works the other way around. While doing character work, I almost always end up with a go-to song or two which elicits the same emotion and experience of the character. It’s really fun! There’s also a parallel level of professionalism and execution that needs to happen when the cameras are rolling, just as when you’re on stage performing. You don’t have infinite takes on set, and you similarly don’t have infinite chances to captivate the same audience twice. Overall there are so many different ways the two empower each other—art stimulates art!

PC: What is your creative process like when you’re working on a song? Has that changed throughout the years?
Elise: You know, it’s tough to pinpoint a specific process I follow because it is constantly changing. I suppose I most often build off of a small portion of a melody or lyric idea that I randomly recorded into my phone at whatever point it popped into my head (which always seems to happen in the most public places). I’ve recently enjoyed messing around with bits of samples—building new ideas from them musically, and then removing the sample and continuing to build the song out into whatever it’s meant to be. Using samples as a tool for inspiration and then removing them so as to not use them as a crutch is a great flow I’ve found—especially when your mind (like mine) tends to want to go everywhere at once!

PC: Tell us about “Sweet Love” and the inspiration behind the song.
Elise: I really wanted to write something playful and lighthearted. I’ve been doing a lot of object writing and working on intentionally incorporating more metaphors and literary devices to strengthen my writing. Related to that, I wanted to work through the idea of writing an entire song which was a metaphor from beginning to end with as many literary devices wrapped up in it as could fit. I was actually working on the topline of a different song and was really hitting a lyric wall on that one. Everything I wrote felt stale. And who likes stale? So I left the studio and went on a walk (sunshine, walking, and running are some of the most direct recharge factors for me). I was looking around and admiring so much of the natural beauty around me. I started imagining this wonderland where everything I was seeing was made of candy and sweets, and the lyrics just sort of started to flood out. I thought “This is what I’m supposed to be working on today: something light and fun that brings me joy!” A world without negatives—just sweet, sugary goodness!

PC: In the past few years, you’ve dropped a few singles. If you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Elise: If I had to choose, I would say my single “Few Words” would be that pick. Primarily because it was the first time I had the courage to share something I had created from nothing—which is a very vulnerable space to try to get used to. I’m very proud of taking that first step and am still overwhelmed by how positively people responded to it. I love all of the singles I’ve released in their own right, so to pinpoint one is tough. But “Few Words” would be that one.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2021, what can fans expect from you?
Elise: I’ve got new singles coming out at the start of the year (how is it already going to be 2022?), which I’m extremely excited about. Also, a short film I am in, Planetarium, is coming out within the next month and I cannot wait! The initial edits look beautiful.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Elise: Maybe the combination of Tobi Lou, Lisa Prank, Tierra Whack, and Kip Moore on a single playlist?

PC: First album you bought?
Elise: Oops!… I Did It Again by the one-and-only Britney Spears!

PC: First concert you attended?
Elise: Either Tim McGraw or Christina Aguilera. I can’t remember which was first!

PC: An album that changed your life?
Elise: Songs in A Minor by Alicia Keys and Believe by Cher.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Elise: Red Rocks!

PC: A must-have on the road?
Elise: Gas in the tank…and also the mini stuffed animals my partner and I say are our “kids”.

To keep up with Elise, follow her on Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Pick up or listen to “Sweet Love” today.