Anna Elyse – Slot Machines (2023)
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see that a song bears the title ‘Slot Machines’? These days, it could be something like a song with a fast-paced beat and a lot of electro-sounding effects, or at least a similarly fast-paced electropop song either quite suitable for playing slot machines or a shoot-them-up video game.
Well, Orange County, California singer-songwriter Anna Elyse, had a completely different idea with a song that bears such a name – it is a ballad that does pick up a pace somewhat; a ballad that gives a full showcase to her excellent songwriting, production skills and a vocal to match. Lyrically, she takes it elsewhere, using slot machines as a metaphor. It is something that Neil Young might come up with if he was inclined to use producers like No ID or Mike Dean.
Elyse herself seems to like spending time in the studio as she has honed her production skills to a tee. You see, after Elyse graduated from UCLA with a concentration in Creative Writing (Poetry). From there she went to Audio Engineering School where she applied her studio sense and skills. Elyse was used to spending many hours in dance studios while growing up and heading to recording studios was a natural progression for the US-based musician.
What ensued was her work behind the scenes in recording studios, ending up on a few prominent hip-hop albums such as Logic’s albums Under Pressure, The Incredible True Story, and No Pressure. It wasn’t until 2020 that she decided to let go of her reservations and release original music. Her self-produced and mixed debut single, ‘Trading Glances (Take Me By The Hand)’ was met with rave reviews, radio airtime and placement on several international folk-pop playlists. A couple of years later, Elyse shares her addictive new single ‘Slot Machines’ with the world (which is bound to receive more praise on a global scale). Talking about the new single ‘Slot Machines’ Elyse says:
“‘Slot Machines’ is about realising you’ve outgrown a situation. You try to make it work, like sitting at a slot machine and continuing to pull the lever in hopes that you’ll hit the jackpot the next time around. Even if you wanted things to go back to how they were, it wouldn’t be possible. You don’t belong there anymore. You’ve completely changed”.
For more from Anna Elyse, check out her Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
