ILSE, the Belgian-born, Brooklyn-based singer who, months before releasing her debut album, gained international attention, knows first-hand what it means to hold on steadfast to her dreams. Born without her left arm, she overcame the odds and made her way to center stage, enchanting listeners with her voice and music and touching their innermost emotions. Drawing from childhood experiences in Belgium and her new life in New York City, ILSE sings about loss, courage, self-affirmation, attraction, romance, fear, and hope. 

Music has always been her biggest passion, it runs through her veins. ILSE's musical roots originate in the music of her father, a former bass player. Initially, it was his love of rock music that inspired ILSE, but the sound and spirit of soul music pushed her to find her own unique musical path. On the way, ILSE quickly discovered her passion for bearing her soul before live audiences and this passion is what makes the stage ILSE's new place to call home.

After majoring in Psychology, ILSE moved to New York to pursue her dream. ILSE struggled during her first years in New York City, slowly finding her footing despite poverty and rounds of rejection. She gained experience in regular performances at open-mics, where she has shared the stage with Lana Del Rey (formerly known as Lizzy Grant). ILSE's commitment paid off one day when she was approached by Michael Douglas after a show in Manhattan's Sugar Bar. Soon after, she had her first sold out show in the legendary Joe's Pub, The Public Theatre, a venue from the "Best of New York" list (where artists such as Amy Winehouse, Elvis Costello, Adele, Lady Gaga and many others have played). 

Today she is collaborating with a dream team of producers like the Grammy-nominated Joshua Valleau (John Legend, James Blake, BBC), the U.K.'s Sebastiaan Vandevoorde (Moonlight Matters, Arches, Villa; known for Adele, Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, and Moby remixes), and New York City-based Juliette Jones (Florence + The Machine, Pharrell Williams, Aretha Franklin, Janelle Monae, J.Cole, Nicki Minaj) of Jules & The Dirty Collective.  With six singles already out there making waves, the full album is a crystallized, devastatingly exposed and quite liberating manifesto of human and feminine experience, forging some new rules to female rock-pop: From the first single ‘I Am Human’, an uplifting call-to-arms for diversity and pluralistic acceptance, to the very different introverted second single, ‘Behind the Scenes', an intimate seductive invitation into an inner, private world where lovers can let down their guard; through 'Running up that Hill’, ILSE’s charged up, forceful, heady tribal-electro dancy riff on Kate Bush’s most portentous hit; down to the feel good home-run ‘Hollywood Hills’, a tip of the checkered fedora to golden-age disco and ‘Work It!’, her immediate girl-power hymn, which lashes out as a flashy, cheeky, silk glove slap to all those macho peacocks out there.

With full-page newspaper and exclusive magazine interviews, appearances on national radio stations and a growing presence on television and social media, ILSE is loudly and proudly making people pay attention. International press reviews make this absolutely clear:

Her nonconformist, piercing views and inspiring messages do resonate with the masses: Over a 100,000 fans have joined online and her Youtube channel is counting more than a million views. Her summer single 'Work It' is listed Number 1 as most popular track on Twitter’s Hypemachine. And of course, heartwarming thumbs-up in the form of Tweets and follows from fellow visionary artists such as Mikky Ekko, The Unkown Mortal Orchestra and Mike Posner.

With its bass-heavy, lavishly cinematic sound and undeniable charm, ILSE's music dances between musical eras while pointing towards the future. Hers is music made for everyone—music made for you to feel. ILSE's music is made to bring people together.