There are few artists active today whose music can traverse differences in musical tastes, radio programming formats, venues, countries, and cultures. ILSE shares about her struggles, victories, dreams and setbacks, all of which makes her real and…. human.

Work It

While there is still a lot of work to be done for women's equality, rights and pay, ILSE wants to put the sexual objectification of women in the media in the spotlight. ILSE is indeed all hot and bothered with this topic: she got pretty tired of male pop artists crooning about one night stands and itemizing female body parts on their 'to do' list. The whip comes down with 'Work It!', her new flashy, tong-in-the-cheek sexy single, a silk glove slap to all those macho peacocks out there.

To quote the hip-hop guff, this candy is sweet and nasty; a naughty theme flaunted in galvanized and teasingly bubbly electro-dance, driven by an insistent funky pulsating bass, with a sleek impish taunting cover photo to boot. So girls, next time you take a selfie, why don't you try a business suit instead of a thong.

Hollywood Hills

After resonant and emotive singles from ILSE, which were about expressivity and opening people's minds, comes this candy which is a straight out feel-good homerun. A tip of the checkered fedora to golden-age disco, 'Hollywood Hills' boasts club glitz and bombast yet funky horn sections, backed by the latest production whiz-ardry. 

Underneath the lush strings and the textured chords of the electric piano, the cracking snare drum and pulsing bass line propel this brassy club track forward, and the catchy hook and ILSE's seductive vocals bounce around in your ear long after the song is done.

Utilizing the concept of Hollywood as a symbolic springboard, the song is a barefaced, uninhibited celebration of achievement, all about 'making it' or 'getting there'. 'Hollywood Hills' takes a reflective and proud look at how far ILSE has come, no matter the obstacles. And above all, enjoying the moment with a significant other, for love is that sweet sweet frosting.

Running Up That Hill

ILSE, who considers the first lady of avant-garde Kate Bush a pivotal influence and a kindred spirit, has decided to introduce a current, charged up, forceful, heady tribal-electro dancy riff on Bush's most portentous hit, 'Running up that Hill'. Her spin on 'Running Up That Hill' is edgy, dark in tone and propulsive. If the original was resentful, ILSE's is cool and callous, like someone who's already gotten their revenge and wants to explain why. Phrases like 'Let's exchange the experience', and 'I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get him to swap our places' take on a new meaning. Withstanding bullying and other hardships early on due to her prosthetic left arm, ILSE had to fight for respect and self-love to survive, confronting people on their ignorance and reminding them of her humanity. When ILSE sings 'If I only could, I'd be running up that road, be running up that hill', she's speaking from the heart, and she invites her listeners to share in her challenges and triumphs. ILSE paid homage to Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' by making it her own. Its symphonic synths, fat 808 drums, intoxicating strings and ILSE's airy, ethereal voice make this techno-laced version of 'Running Up That Hill' trance inducing.

Within ILSE's sexy, coquettish charm, her lithe, seductive voice, and the music's pulsating rhythms are messages of love and resilience. ILSE pours this complex fusion of motion and emotion into her slow ballads as well as her infectious dance floor anthems. In fact, the full range of ILSE's character is spread throughout her debut album, "I Am Human". Best described with adjectives like cinematic, fresh, unique, retro, and futuristic, the shimmering essence of ILSE's music and spirit are best understood when heard. 

Behind the Scenes

A bold ballad from and for the future, this new single is about the search for love in the cavernous Big City and the desire to make a real connection between two people amidst the hustle and bustle.

"Behind the Scenes", follows ILSE through the urban night, confined by the impersonal environment around her. Hardened by the callous city, she searches for something real, something she can feel, a connection in an otherwise indifferent and alienating world. With its hypnotizing, stripped-down, and pulsating synths, bass, and drums, "Behind the Scenes" is a seductive invitation into an inner, private world where lovers can let down their guard, be vulnerable, and express their deepest feelings. The music video, shot in black and white, captures the alienated lovers on the city streets, and their dark passion behind the scenes. Future, past, and present converge with their every touch as time stands still. By the song's end, the swirling electric synths transform into a pulsing bassline and thunderous drums. What does it mean to finally get "behind the scenes"? Our world is a futuristic one dominated by technology, and virtual communication both connects us and isolates us in ways never experienced before. ILSE's new single gets us closer to each other, where we can touch more than just the screens of our handheld devices. "Behind the Scenes", touch is for real.

PHOENIX

The lyrical intermezzo 'Phoenix' reflects ILSE's uplifting and triumphant journey, unmistakably setting another milestone in her adamant, unapologetic journey of refusing to be a victim. ILSE sees her prosthesis not as a weakness but just the opposite: a fresh and bold weapon against the bullies, the puritans, the conformists, the dated and stale gatekeepers of media, entertainment and fashion.

I AM Human

This captivating single is inspiring people from around the world. The response has been overwhelming: listeners say the song brings them to tears and gives them goosebumps. Others say "I Am Human" is already "song and video of the year" and "worthy of a Grammy." Her sultry, otherworldly voice is transformed into one that is vulnerable, courageous, and unmistakably human. After a tender piano opening "I Am Human" slowly swells into a lush string arrangement, beautifully showcasing ILSE's voice  and her powerful message of empowerment and hope. She sings about being vulnerable and finding strength through love from a deeply personal perspective. In "I Am Human," ILSE recounts her determination to stay true to herself and her vision, reminding us that "standing tall" after "going through it all" is no small victory. This song is about finding the strength to push past the obstacles despite pain and despair, because to assert oneself proudly in the face of adversity is the ultimate triumph.

The same message is depicted in the single's music video. Set in an abstract, surrealistic world, the video shows men and women of different shapes, sizes, and colors, ranging from younger to older, gay and straight, painted completely in white and moving uniformly. By the end of the song, they transform from their state of sameness to the full richness of their natural color, revealing again all of the beautiful diversity that was there in the first place. Like the song itself, the music video for I Am Human is about finding the courage to be different in spite of the powerful forces that stifle diversity and encourage conformity.

ILSE says:

I wanted to express my deepest vulnerabilities on the title track "I Am Human". I've been motivated to create music that is real and honest, and while I was going inward into my own story, something magical happened in the studio. An unexplainable feeling took over and the song became bigger than the producers, the musicians and me. We didn't dare to touch it after the last note. It was so fragile and yet so strong. We all felt that the piano and the breathtakingly lush strings conveyed our deepest emotions.

 

I am so grateful for this incredible experience and hope it can connect many people across the world because… we are all human. Let this song tear down walls, inside ourselves and in between each other, and lead to greater understanding, compassion, and more humane attitudes towards all living beings.

Living on a Cloud

"Living on a Cloud" is a strong introduction to the singer's dynamic, part-retro, part-futuristic, chic and style-bending musical world. Listeners think that ILSE's sound is "quality" and "reminiscent of the sixties,"  like a song from "a classic James Bond soundtrack". Opening with her long, sultry notes that drift above dramatic and unrelenting strings, this song is ILSE's seductive ballad to a lover who occupies her every waking moments and the verse's entrancing melody and pulsing drums lures in the listener like an incantation. By the time the booming brass and swirling strings come in at the chorus you're hooked, floating along with ILSE in a soulful and flirtatious fantasy. ILSE drops hints of 60's and 70's soul, French cabaret songs, and the boldness of current-day hip-hop production. Working with producers Nate and Noble Jolley, ILSE was able to find the creative space to revisit those musical golden years from the near and distant past, commenting that recording the single was "like stepping in a time machine… it was endless fun writing and recording that record." Like the song's title suggests, the catchy "Living on a Cloud" is a wistful dream but it's also a tease of something more to come if, like her lover, you're willing to give in to ILSE's alluring invitation.

And there's more in store...

And there's more in store because ILSE is just getting started. 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, ILSE promises a sound you've never heard before and one that you won't soon forget. 2015 will be the year of the Human. Get ready for ILSE. Get ready for I Am Human. Get ready for something refreshingly, unexpectedly, and unapologetically new.

I Am Human drops worldwide in 2015.