“This song is very personal to me,” Elise Huang says of her new single, “It’s also the first time I wrote a melody like this, and it’s so exciting to finally unlock different sounds and ways to write my songs.” That song is “Blind,” which is out now on all music streaming platforms. Huang composed the song, and Karlo Maglasang and Sam de Leon produced it. Elise Huang sang and played electric guitar on the track, while Daniel Monong played drums, and de Leon was on bass.
While Huang says that “Blind” is a long way from her early songs, including “Coffee,” the song continues her journey as a songwriter exploring topics that connect with her listeners’ experiences. The song, she says, “is about not seeing the bad in people until it is too late.” The song is written from the perspective of someone in a relationship that turns out to be not quite what it seems. Its electronic beats undergird the emotional honesty that her voice expresses. It all comes together in a perfect little musical package.
“Blind” Huang says, is perfect for listening to on a rainy day in a cold place—going through a breakup or a falling out (at least from her experience). That experience bore fruit with the song and what it has to say to its listeners. “I wrote this song as a reminder to not let myself be taken for granted,” she says, “to still love, but [to] know when to say, ‘I need space’ or ‘this is not okay.’” Evoking an old Latin maxim, she concludes, “You can’t give what you don’t have, and neither can they.”
Huang hopes to continue making music and performing it, especially as things slowly return to normal. If this track is any indication, her musical explorations will continue with the rawness and honesty that makes her music her own.
ABOUT ELISE HUANG
Elise Huang brews human stories through music
Throughout her childhood, Elise has been exposed to many different genres thanks to her family’s musical background. This valuable influence has since helped her hone her own musical identity–modern yet still deeply rooted from what her parents used to play when she was young.
For Elise, her music is a reflection of who she is. “I have many interests, and so my music taste is always changing.” Right now, she takes inspiration from the music of H.E.R., Mahalia, IU, UMI, and Tori Kelly. Listening to these artists led her to explore R&B, soul, gospel, and light pop genres for her latest releases.
Her new song, Lonely, is a fruit of these inspirations—a modern pop R&B that is “a middle ground sound between acoustic and alternative R&B pop.” Elise believes that only by exploring and experimenting would she find her sound that both she and her fans could love.
Her evolving musicality is also evident in her songs like Coffee, Won’t Stop, Nights, and In My Heart. Across the genres of pop-jazz fusion, gospel, indie pop, and soul, her musical creativity brings a new and unique touch to a wide range of well-loved genres. But what makes fans entranced by her music are the real stories and emotions that are told—narratives of relatable experiences wrapped in the soothing melodies that are unique to her.
“I want to be a role model to younger people like my little sister. I want to be the type of artist that doesn’t have a picture-perfect Instagram feed or only talks about music. I want people to know that even as an artist I am not any different from them. I still have other interests like coffee, food, or playing video games. I want to be of help to people that struggle with some things I have struggled with in the past, and I will try to do that through my music.”
Elise writes songs that are from personal experiences, regardless if it’s her own or others’. She threads each word from her perspective as she tries to tell what she thinks should be said or done. By telling stories that are based on real and relatable human events, she wishes to communicate to the humanness in her audience—a place within all of us where raw and imperfect emotions reside.
Elise’s authenticity as an artist is never lost in translation as she is present in all aspects of making her music. From the arrangement to music production, and even to its technical considerations, she makes sure that the intent, the message, and the core of her songs would be delivered to her listeners just how she first strung it from her heart.
As a natural-born artist who started writing songs when she was in college, Elise has written a good number of unreleased songs that are yet to be heard by her fans—something that everyone can look forward to.