Elise Del Mar is a quickly emerging pop artist based in Los Angeles, CA, known for her captivating performances and powerful songwriting. With a recent performance at Lollapalooza, one of the biggest music festivals in the nation, Del Mar has solidified herself as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Before making her mark in Los Angeles, Del Mar honed her skills and studied songwriting at Belmont University in Nashville. With several previous singles already released and thousands of streams across all platforms, Del Mar has proven her ability to connect with audiences through her raw, emotional lyrics and hypnotic vocals. Del Mar draws inspiration from her life experiences and uses music to connect with her audience on a deeper level, as she believes that "music is a way to let people into my life on a deeper level than what they see on the outside. I hope to be able to connect with people by putting raw emotion into songs and singing the words others sometimes struggle to find."
Elise recently released her newest single "Over For Good"on June 2nd. This female-produced release is the first from Elise's upcoming five-song EP Stages.
Stages will follow the five cycles of grief, from the loss of a loved one to breakups to grieving a past self. "Over For Good" represents the denial stage of the grief cycle, where the protagonist does not want their relationship to be permanently over, and denies that it inevitably is. Del Mar's lyrics are both intricate and relatable, and the opening line of the song perfectly portrays the denial the protagonist is experiencing: "I still have your t-shirt in your drawer, guess you didn't want it bad." The line encapsulates the singer's inability to accept that the drawer that was once her ex-lover's is now just a drawer in her house. The line that follows, "or maybe there's a chance that we'll still work, and it's your excuse to come right back," highlights the depths of their denial, as the protagonist believes that their ex-partner deliberately left their things as a way to leave the door open for a potential reconciliation.
Del Mar has been praised for her unique sound, which seamlessly blends emotive lyrics with catchy electro-pop beats, making her a force to be reckoned with. We had the opportunity to chat with the talented artist and we hope you enjoy learning about her as much as we did!
Hi, Elise! Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us what inspired you to start pursuing music as a career path?
Music is something I’ve always done. I remember singing and writing songs from a very young age. Its where my heart and passion have always been, but it wasn’t until I was deciding where I wanted to go to college that I started realizing I didn’t want to pursue a 9-5 just for money. When you’re choosing what to major in in college, it feels like choosing your career for the rest of your life. All I could think about was how unhappy I would be if I wasn’t doing music full time and instead chose a career path that appeased what society expected of me. Besides, all my free time growing up was dedicated to music. I must have looked like the most anti-social person to my family because I would lock myself away in my room and write songs for hours. The thought of not doing that anymore broke my heart so I started pursing music as my full time job.
What is the story behind “Over For Good”?
I’m really nostalgic and spend a lot of time in my head replaying old memories. It can prevent me from living in the present moment and accepting it for what it is. That was the initial idea behind the song. It is a part of my debut five song EP, “Stages,” which is slated for release in October of this year. The EP explores the five stages of grief in a variety of different contexts – from breakups, to past selves, to the loss of a loved one, etc. “Over For Good” is meant to represent the denial stage of grief and explores the idea of not belieiving something is really over.
What do you do to take a break and prevent burn out?
When I need a break, I try to find something to do outside. Whether that be go to a friend’s pool, the beach, or go for a drive with the windows down, I usually look for a way to get fresh air and spend ample time outside when I’m feeling run down.
Do you have any other upcoming projects that listeners can start getting excited for?
In addition to my debut EP, I am also releasing a collab EP this year with a friend of mine titled “With Love.” It’s a dance pop EP about getting out of a relationship and finding your independence again. The title came from the concept of ironically saying “with love” before saying something sort of harsh. The same way people say “no offense but…” we’re saying, “I say this with love, but I don’t need you”
What is your favorite part of being an artist? Why?
Writing and performing are tied for me. There is something so cathartic about writing a song, but something equally as cathartic about getting to connect with an audience over a song.
Describe your creative process.
I get song ideas at the most random times in the most random places. If I’m out and about then I’ll jot them down on my phone and work on them when I get home. Almost all of my songs start with just me and a guitar or me and a piano. I usually write all of the lyrics before I move on to the production process. Then I produce out the track or send a demo to a producer and work on the production with them.
What are your goals for the next five years?
I love playing music festivals. I really hope in the next five years I’m touring regularly and playing at as many music festivals as possible.
Describe your sound in 3 words.
Sad girl electro-pop
Who is your dream collaboration? Why?
My answer changes everytime I answer this question haha. There are so many people I would LOVE to work with. Right now I think someone I would really want to work with would be Ian Kirkpatrick. He’s written and produced some pretty sick tracks that I wish were mine so it would be super cool to be able to collaborate with him on something.
How can we connect with you and stay up to date on what you are working on?
You can follow me on Instagram @elisedelmar or on TikTok @elisedelmarmusic. I also have a website that you can check out! Its www.elisedelmar.com
