Interview: Elyse Saunders Discusses The Release Of Her Latest Single “Wine Down”!

Upcoming Canadian country recording artist Elyse Saunders has caught the attention of fans & critics alike with her ear-catching musical style, which has led to her receiving over 500,000 streams on Apple Music & Spotify through a variety of incredible releases.

Elyse recently released the new single “Wine Down” & has kindly taken the time to speak with Fierce & Fabulous Revolution about her latest track, along with discovering more from the artist herself.

Hey Elyse, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Can you start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself?

Elyse: Hey there! Thanks so much for chatting today. My name is Elyse Saunders and I’m a country recording artist and singer/songwriter from Ontario, Canada. I’m currently based in the Toronto area and I just released my new single “Wine Down”. I love being on stage playing live. I haven’t been able to do as much live shows this year due to obvious reasons, but I look forward to being back there soon!

When did you first discover your passion for music?

Elyse: It’s always been a part of me and I’ve always been naturally drawn to the arts. I would put on shows, sing, dance, and write songs at home growing up and always knew that I wanted to be an entertainer! I didn’t know that I could really pursue a career in music until the end of high school, when I started working with my music mentors and learning the ropes, so I guess you could say that’s when my passion really kicked into gear.

Have you always known that a career within music was what you wanted to pursue?

Elyse: Yes and no. I’ve always loved the arts and knew that I wanted to be on stage performing, but I had no concept of music as a career, what that was, and how to go about it at first. It was always a part of me, and it was pretty exciting to start working with other professionals who were doing it and to learn from them. I was hooked on pursuing my career in music once I found my true calling.

How would you describe your musical style to someone unfamiliar with your music?

Elyse: Country storyteller with modern inspired pop melodies. My songs usually tell a story of empowerment or life celebrations with melodies that come from my heart.

You recently released the brand new single “Wine Down”, how did the idea to create this song come together?

Elyse: This song started with the title! I was in Nashville on a group songwriters trip and had a bunch of co-writing sessions lined up. One the writers from our group is named Daryl Scott and when he mentioned his title “Wine Down” to me, I immediately jumped onto that one and told him that we had to write that song together. The title really grabbed me and it felt like my song! So we took that one into a co-writing session with our friend Joey Green and it all seemed to really click together. I’ve been in love with this song since the day we wrote it and really like how it shows more of a vulnerable side to me as an artist. I’m so happy that it’s finally been released to the world!

How would you describe the creative process behind this song to your previous releases?

Elyse: My other releases were written around a melody and a hook that I already had tucked away in my songwriting ideas. This one started with a title and happened to come up in conversation. It was fun to be inspired by a title from my co-writer and then create the song around that. As soon as I heard the title I started to imagine some melodies and what the feeling of the song would be. When we went into the session with Joey, we mentioned this song idea to him and he immediately seemed to be on the same page because he started strumming the chords that I was already hearing in my head. When a session comes together like that, it’s pretty special!

What does the song personally mean to you?

Elyse: For me the song is about celebrating the one you love and honouring moments with them. There’s a lot going on in everyone’s lives and right now especially. With the news on TV and your phone, it can be a lot and pretty distracting. This song is about being with the one you love and really honouring them by being there with them not distracted by life. I love the pictures it paints and just like a glass of wine – this love story is timeless, classic and gets better with time.

If listeners could take anything away from this song, what would you like it to be?

Elyse: I hope that the message resonates with them and that the overall production brings them happiness and makes their hearts glow

Are there any further upcoming musical releases planned that you are able to tell us about?

Elyse: Yes! I do have more music coming down the pipeline with a future album release coming in the summer of 2021. I can’t tell you too much about the songs right now, but they’ve been recorded in the studio, most have always been mixed and mastered and some need final touches on them but there’s more coming soon!! Fortunately even through covid, we’ve been able to record this project in order to give people more music! I believe music is so important for people right now.

What are some of the things you enjoy outside of music?

Elyse: Outside of music I love spending time with my family and loved one. I love being outdoors by the lake, camping, bon fires, going to the beach, going on new adventures, exploring, and travelling. I’m an animal lover and just love being surrounded by nature. I’m also a big movie fan, so I enjoy a good flick!

If you could perform a duet with anyone in the world, who would you choose & why?

Elyse: Chris Stapleton or Ed Sheeran. They’re very different artists but I believe our voices would sound awesome on a recording together and between our musical styles, we could come up with something really fun. I also love their music! So either of those artists.

What song do you always keep on your playlist & why?

Elyse: Anything by Shania Twain! She’s one of my role models and I grew up listening to her music. I could turn on one of her songs and it feels like instant nostalgia for me. I love singing along to her tunes.. her music makes me happy.

What was the first album you can recall purchasing & do you still listen to it now?

Elyse: One of the first albums I bought was from Alanis Morissette. I was pretty young but I thought she was so cool! Her songs are what taught me how to bring vocal breaks to my style of singing. I also really loved how authentic her songs are. I listened to that album over and over and although I was young and didn’t understand all of her lyrics at the time, I knew that I could feel her music! I still listen to her music today.

Finally, is there a message that you would like to say to the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?

Elyse: I just wanted to say thanks so much for checking out my interview today and I hope that you love my new song “Wine Down”!!! I believe music heals and I’m so grateful to be able to release new music right now… I hope this tune helps you in some way. Stay fierce & fabulous all, sending much love! And thank you Jess for the interview 🙂 You rock!

You can check out the official video for “Wine Down” below.