We were lucky to catch up with Elise Solberg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elise, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Oftentimes, being multi-faceted means that you’ll be misunderstood. Most times, people have good intentions when they say “stick to what you’re good at” or “stick to what has made you the most money.” This thinking comes out of a lack mindset though, and success can only come when you take risks.

There have been several times when people thought I should just stick to playing keys behind artists, since I’ve proven myself in that realm. When I wanted to branch out into producing or songwriting, I received some pushback – for several different reasons. I took that risk of diving deeper as a producer, and it’s really paying off.

Elise, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a keyboardist, producer, songwriter, composer, flutist and an executive director of a nonprofit. I started out playing classical piano from a young age, and eventually got into USC’s Thornton School of Music as a classical piano major. Going to USC turned out to be a lucky decision, because Thornton has a wonderful pop music program. In my first few years at Thornton, I would go to the pop music program showcases and was just so impressed and loved the performances. I talked to Patrice Rushen (the head of popular music division) and asked if there was any way I could be involved in the pop music program. She said that the junior pop class could use another keyboardist, so I joined the junior class as a senior (still being a classical major). In the class, I wrote, produced and performed music. It was one of the best learning experience I could ever ask for, and wanted to pursue popular music performance/production further.

A month after graduating USC, I got a call to perform with Chloe x Halle at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. Ever since then, I have performed with them as a duo, as well as their solo projects. With them, I have performed at NPR’s Tiny Desk, Global Citizen Festival, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the BET Awards, the VMA’s, the New Yorker Festival, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the Late Late Show with James Corden, and more. It has been a blessing to see their growth over these five years of working with them. It has been a blessing to work with their incredible music director, Derek Dixie, ever since we’ve started! He also brought me on to play for Beyonce’s Oscars performance, which was an honor. I also started working with Doechii – our first performance together was Coachella and we also did Vevo Live. I’ve also been blessed to work with Pawpaw Rod. It’s been amazing to see his growth over the years as well. We’ve performed at Outside Lands, Afropunk, Ulla Johnson at NYFW, and more!

This year, I was just signed to Warner Chappell and Sir Nolan. I am working as a songwriter/producer now, and I have loved every minute of it. Just got my first production credit on Dannylux’s album “DLUX” on a song called “Ambición.” And more on the way!

I think what sets me apart is my ability to adapt to pretty much any situation. I am willing to put in the hours to get it right, and do whatever it takes for the music to be as excellent as it can possibly be. Whether it’s performing, or creating a song from scratch. Perfection isn’t possible, but excellence always is.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think that sometimes people view music as a hobby and an excuse to have copious amounts of fun. I am very blessed to do music for a living. However, it is an insane amount of work to not only get your foot in the door – but an even more insane amount to maintain an actual career in music. Especially as a creative. There’s so much more to the job than just “playing” or “writing” or “producing.” Any of those careers alone means you have to be “on” 24/7. I have gone months without a single day off, but it is worth it to me because I love what I do. At the end of the day, it comes down to if you love it enough to make major sacrifices. You have to love what you do so much despite the crazy schedule, despite the music industry often trying to screw you over, despite people saying “no” to you a million times. You have to love it so much that you are willing to sacrifice your time, relationships, and your sleep. It is not for everyone.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to ultimately be a part of performances, records, and projects that I am proud of. My goal is to also help bring along young women along the way that are more than deserving to be working in the industry. That’s the reason why I started my nonprofit Turn Up Her Mic. The music industry discourages a lot of folks. But I have found it is especially discouraging to a lot of talented young women – in countless ways. I want to make sure that these young women have mentors and people to talk to so that they keep their spirit up. Things can get very dark in this industry, but having a mentor on your side really helps. My goal is for Turn Up Her Mic to help as many of these young women as possible!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elisesolberg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliseyuka
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elise.solberg3/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elise-solberg-36253415/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elisesolberg9742
• Other: https://www.turnuphermic.org

Image Credits
Donovan Washington Neil Schwartz