Interview by Brooke Gibbs

Hip-Hop/R&B songstress, annelise. has released her latest single, Mumma Gave Me, through Campbelltown Art Centre’s Conscious Program.

Futuremag Music sat down with annelise. to talk about the single and learn more about the Conscious Program.

FMM: Thank you for joining me. This is a big week for you because we're leading up to the release of your new single. How are you feeling?

Annelise I am so excited. It's been such a long time coming for me. This is my first release in three years since I took a two-year complete hiatus from music. After Covid, I released a single called Queen and then I just wasn't feeling it mentally. I just probably wasn't in the right headspace, to be honest. But, about over twelve months ago, I started writing again and went to some different events. I’ve been really blessed to have met some wonderful producers and written with some amazing people. I'm just so happy and excited to have this project.

FMM: As you mentioned, it has been a long time coming, so do you have any big celebrations planned?

Annelise: Oh, not so wild. For this song, I'm probably gonna just enjoy it, take it all in and move on to the next song.

FMM: It’s timed so perfectly because yesterday was Mother's Day and this song sounds like it's all about a big inspiration your mum's been. Can you tell me more about that and how your Mum has inspired this song?

Annelise: t's so funny, when I initially started writing this song, it wasn't my intention to write a song like this and shout out to the Conscious Program, Campbelltown Art Center and Village Boy Entertainment for having me part of the Conscious Program and allowing me to create this song. Honestly, if it wasn't for them, I probably would have just kept something like this in the vault because it's probably one of my most personal songs that I've ever written. We were just in the studio and hadn't heard the beat. I had sent the producers this massive reference word doc of songs that I liked and wanted them to reference. It’s wild, but they just played me the beat and it just kind of started and I got the hook first. It just kind of came to me and I was like, oh, okay, maybe I could actually really turn this into a personal moment.

As an artist and as a person, I'm very much about uplifting and inspiring women to be strong, independent, and 100% authentically them. She's definitely one of my inspirations or the main person in life who has allowed me to be that for myself. Kind of like how Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For? was Barbie's heart song, this song's kind of like my heart song, where mu Mum is kind of my world. She’s the essence of who I am and has allowed me to be the person I am, and then to give that to other people. It was a super beautiful experience to write. It's probably the fastest song I've ever written. I think I wrote it in like 90 minutes, which was really wild. I was so, so insecure about my writing pre hiatus, and then after hiatus, I think I definitely tried to push myself and really try different things and try not to be so generic and try and tell my story the way that I want to, and add those personal elements. I never really had those out there personal elements or things that made me feel vulnerable, because I didn't really want to be seen as vulnerable. But, I think there's something really powerful in being vulnerable whilst trying to be this strong figure. It was a very beautiful, kind of full circle moment, this track.

FMM: Your Mum sounds wonderful, so what a perfect way to get back into releasing. I'm assuming your Mum's heard the track? What was her reaction?

Annelise: Well, it's so funny, because my Mum, she has heard the track, but initially she didn't want to hear it until it was all finished. I actually played for her at a show I did back in March. I was part of a lineup for Breaking Sound at the Lansdown, and I performed a number of my unreleased tracks that night, and this song I debuted for the first time. Mum was there and Mum doesn't really come to gigs very much, just with work and everything else like that. It can be a bit full on. I mean, I did cry and I've never cried on stage. I'm very much like, yeah, this is me. This is who I am. I'm here. I'm just super excited to be here. But, it was a very emotional kind of experience to have her there and to actually hear her singing, because my Mum tells it how it is. I remember when, oh, God, I was singing in like a showcase, and I was sick, and it really wasn't my best performance and she told me. My Mum's not one of those mums that will tell you that you're good for the sake of telling you that you're good. She will tell you if you're not good. Other than myself, I think she's probably my biggest critic. I was definitely a bit nervous when I played it to her or sang up for her for the first time, but she did like it. I'm glad too, thank God because I’m sure what I would have done if she didn't like it. She's definitely very, very humbled and happy that I'm able to write something that encompasses who she is and what she's given me. So.

FMM: Earlier, you gave a bit of a shout out to the Conscious Program. Can you tell me more about that and your involvement in the program?

Annelise: I've known about it since it started. It's had artists like Becca Hatch, A.Girl, Jess Jade, who else? Oh, my gosh. Nardean, Patience formerly known as Clarissa Mei There's so many artists, I just can't put a finger on it. This program, it selects a cohort of artists. This year, there's four. It's myself, Ruu, Gemma Navarrete, and Zion Garcia. They're all collated or their hand selected by Campbelltown Art Center in conjunction with Village Boy Entertainment. I went to their first networking event under the Conscious Program called Conscious Connects, which I kind of introduced myself to them. It's a really great program to be a part of, supported in creating not only a single, but a music video as well. It's been a really beautiful program to be a part of because the mentorship that you get with with Campbelltown Art Center, it's been really refreshing and really helpful. I've learned a lot of things and I feel like in the industry, you're always learning, and it can feel like sometimes that people are trying to gate keep information from you on how to do certain things or whatnot. But, it's definitely a really nice program to be a part of, to be able to have that support and that mentorship to create a track, create a music video and then market it, how to create your content well, and how to strategise and everything that goes on behind the scenes. And yet all the advice that I've gotten, Elfresh has been a phenomenal mentor. Any time that I had questions about anything, he's been willing to pick up the phone and chat. It's a really amazing program that I've been blessed to be a part of because not everyone gets to do it, but it is an amazing program. I'm so blessed to be part of the opportunity.

FMM: That sounds amazing. What an incredible opportunity. It sounds like there might potentially be a music video for this release as well?

Annelise: Yeah, there is. I'm so excited. The music video is coming out two weeks after the single, and it's a bit of an emotional one. I watched the first edit just the other day and I think I started crying within the first 20 seconds. It was a really beautiful experience. I think I've done only one music video prior to this, and that was for my single Queen, back in 2021. It was really great to work with Curious Works, who are the production team and those filming,my director, Tammy, who is phenomenal. She honestly brought my vision to life. If I didn't have her, I don't know what this music video would have been like. It's been a very amazing experience because I'm not very familiar with visuals. Again, I've only done one music video prior to this, so it was definitely fun to experience or have that experience where you can play around with visuals, because I'm also a dancer. I dance hip hop mainly, and so it was really nice to actually be able to incorporate dance within my visuals as well, which you will see. I feel like visuals can tell a different story or can add extra.

FMM: Yeah, I was going to ask if you're a dancer, because listening to this particular release, it's so catchy. I was listening to it thinking this is the perfect dance track, so it makes sense that you've shared that and mentioned it will be in the music video.

Annelise: Yeah, I'm always dancing. It's actually so funny I nearly dislocated my shoulder during the shoot, but it's all right. We're all good. It didn't happen, but it was really fun to get back into dance properly because I've always wanted to have that, have the two worlds collide and use my music within dance as well. It's great to be able to have both worlds collide with this project.

FMM: It’s so amazing seeing so many great things coming out from Campbelltown because I'm actually from Campbelltown myself. I grew up in Minto.

Annelise: Oh, my gosh.

FMM: As soon as I saw the Campbelltown project and then I saw on your Instagram, you performed at Ingleburn Alive. I loved Ingleburn Alive. How was it performing there?

Annelsie: It was actually so good and am such an advocate for, because all other gigs that I have been doing, it's all inner city or inner west, and, like, as much as the inner west are great, they've got so many locations, but nothing beats doing a gig or just being within your local community. Being at Ingleburn Alive was actually so fun. It was so good, and meeting all the people there, it was just such a beautiful, homely vibe.

FMM: I used to be in a dance group when I was younger and we performed at Ingleburn Alive regularly. It the highlight of my childhood going there. Small world.

Annelise: That's wild. I love that. That's so cool.

FMM: It looks like there's lots of great things coming out of Campbelltown musically at the moment, so that’s incredible to see.

Annelise: Yeah, it's so good. It's actually great, and I live in Western Sydney right now, but I feel like.. Western Sydney, don't get me wrong, they're doing some amazing things too, but I feel like Southwest Sydney are doing it a little bit better, if I do say so myself. I feel like they're doing a little bit better than Western Sydney, but I could be wrong. That could be a talking point. But, yeah, I feel like Southwest Sydney are doing it a little bit better than Western Sydney.

FMM: Yeah, but still, you know, progress is progress.

Annelise: Yeah, exactly. It's happening. It's happening regardless, so that's what we want to see.

FMM: Yes, and I mean, look, Ingleburn Alive is obviously reaching Darwin again, so there you go.

Annelise: Love that.

FMM: Speaking about your actual sound, as I said, I love it. It's catchy. It just makes you want to get up and dance. Who are some people or albums that influence you in your sound?

Annelise: Oh, my goodness. I have so many influences as an artist. I honestly could be here for like half an hour talking about it. But, I guess this sound in particular, I'm very much into the late 90's, early 2000s sound. That's what I grew up listening to, particularly Timbaland, Aaliyah, Missy Elliot. I absolutely loved what they did in that time, and with the dance side of things, they are phenomenal. Their music is so phenomenal to dance to. I definitely used a lot of that influence, but tried to make that as modern or as much me as it is, with a modern sound. I listen to a lot of Kendrick Lamar, Doja Cat and SZA. So, I've taken from a lot of different artists and hearing what other people are doing and kind of trying to take that, but then make it my own. There's definitely a lot of different influences in this sound, but I feel like it's definitely something that is more me and still has that homage to my childhood and what I grew up listening to, but I guess kind of more grown up, which is cool. I take so much inspiration from Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Prince. They're probably my big trilogy, my big three, for everything artistry. Their stage presence is absolutely everything. There's so much good music out there and I wanted to be more experimental and to push boundaries. Previously, I was quite generic in my lyric writing and what my music sound was. I didn't really want to be generic. I want to be me. If I’m gon a put my music out there, I want something that’s like, ‘This is who I am. Annelise is here.’ It's been amazing to kind of take everything that I've listened to in my life and put it all into my sound in my own way.

FMM: It sounds like since your hiatus and since putting this release out there, you’ve found that confidence and it sounds like you're in the space now where you want to keep going after this and release more music. Is that correct?

Annelise: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I have so much, so many ideas in the works, but at the moment, I am currently working on an EP, which this, which Mumma Gave Me is going to be a part of. It's definitely like my, hey, I'm back in here. This is who I am and really pushing that idea of, yeah, I'm an independent woman. I'm powerful, I'm strong, and you can be, too, but you can also be vulnerable, and this is why you can be vulnerable, and this is how I've become the way I am.There are definitely more times within the project that will allow me to be a little bit more vulnerable as well. I've called the project One Of Me, because there is only one of me, and there's only one of every single individual. I feel like what I'm creating is something that encompasses me and what I stand for and why I've become the way I've become.

FMM: Sounds exciting and a very busy year for you You're doing that project, you’ve got the single release, and the music video. It sounds like you've got a great year ahead.

Annelise: It sounds very wild, but obviously can never do enough. I'm always just like, let me do more. I haven't got any shows lined up lately, but I would love to get back up on stage and share my music with new audiences. My favourite part about being an artist is just being on stage. I just love feeling the energy of people and really connecting. During my show with the Lansdowne for Breaking Sound, I literally laughed, cried, and vibed with my whole audience. It was like an emotional roller coaster, but everyone kind of went with it and really felt it, and it was just a beautiful experience. Definitely performing live is on the cards a bit more this year. We just need to get that going.

FMM: That's pretty much all my questions. Did you have any other comments you want to add about this upcoming single or things you want people to know about you, your music, the EP?

Annelise: Oh, well, I feel like with this EP, like I said before, it's definitely something that encompasses me, but when people listen to it, it's not just like, oh, yeah, this is just annelise. When I create music, I want people to just take it their own way. It doesn't have to necessarily mean, like, for example, with Mumma Gave Me, just because my Mum is a major person in my life who's given me a lot of things and a lot of confidence to be who I am, that doesn't necessarily mean that's the same for someone else. That could literally be someone's Dad, or it could be someone's auntie, or close friend. It could be anything. I just want people to listen to my music and take their message that's specific for them that they can relate to with my music. With this project, I'm just so excited to actually put my music out there because I got this voice that just people obviously haven't heard for a while. I just want to be able to share my music with the world and just let God take care of the rest.