salem ilese
Photo Credit: Bendik Møller
Salem Ilese, despite the name, says she’s “not a witch,” but instead, a pop artist. And, we’d say she’s a rather successful one too. Ever since her debut with 2018’s “Awake,” Ilese has racked up over 1.6 million Spotify streams. Most notably are several remixed renditions of her hit single “Impatient,” a catchy pop song with a modern sound. A California native, Salem’s electro-pop music conveys her bubbly personality remarkably well, which she often pairs up with biting lyrics, as in her most recent single, “Mad at Disney.” Ilese’s resulting musical charisma has earned her spots on 5 Spotify curated playlists, most notably New Music Friday, Fresh Finds, and Young and Free. We recently spoke with the rising star about the beginnings of her career, a few of her career highlights, and more!
How did you get started making music?
When I was four-years-old, I was obsessed with “My Little Ponies.” I liked them so much, I thought the only way to truly express my affection was to sing about it. Very loudly. Unfortunately, my parents have recorded proof of this, which they proudly show off each time I bring a friend home. I started singing about everything, from toys, to made up stories, to bugs I found under rocks. My family caught on very quickly and enrolled me into chorus classes. When I was ten, I took a songwriting class over the summer at Blue Bear Music School in San Francisco. By some grande stroke of luck, my first songwriting teacher happened to be the brilliant Bonnie Hayes, who is now chair of the songwriting department at Berklee College of Music. She took me under her wing, turning my affinity for music into an addiction. That marked the start of my long term relationship with my one true love, songwriting.
In high school, I decided I wanted to be the next Norah Jones. I covered “skinny love” about 200 times and exclusively wrote piano ballads. This changed when I attended Berklee College of Music and discovered the exciting world of electro-pop. I met producer/writer Bendik Møller and quickly fell in love with his unique production style, and with him! We created an EP with our friend Noah McGuire, pulling inspiration from artists such as Marian Hill, Tove Styrke, and my queen, Lorde. Bendik and I started dating almost immediately after finishing writing the body of work that is now known as “757” (available on all streaming platforms). I dropped out of Berklee after my sophomore year, and we moved to LA. Now, we spend our time devising new ways to push the limits of pop.
What do you consider your greatest achievement thus far?
In 8th grade, I built a hovercraft for my science final. It rose 3 inches off of the ground, and I don’t think I’ll ever make something that cool again. Other than that, I’d have to say moving to LA at 19 and (somewhat) successfully functioning. I kind of forced myself to grow up on hyperspeed, dropping out of Berklee two years early and launching myself into the LA music community. My biggest fear about the move was that I wouldn’t be busy enough. This caused me to insert myself into writing sessions 5-7 days a week, sometimes two a day, until quarantine. I’m still writing everyday, for myself, for other artists, and sometimes for my computer’s “trash” folder. The decision to move was a big one for me, as I’m a severely indecisive person, so really any big life decision I make feels like a sort of achievement. I’m just trying to make my 12-year-old self proud out here.
It’s your day off: How are you spending it?
Quarantine feels like one long day off. I’m still working, but only from the confines of my bedroom. I’ve discovered that productivity feels increasingly less productive when done in bed. Pandemic aside, though, my perfect day off would consist of morning coffee on my patio with my bearded dragon lil cow, a beach day (swimming mandatory), and a modest amount of TV binging (probably “Desperate Housewives”). Being a songwriter is funny though, in the sense that you can never really have a day off. I can’t stop my brain from looking at the world through a writer’s perspective. Not a day goes by where I don’t write at least something, if not a full song than at least a concept. My work rarely feels like true work, more of a fun brain teaser. Nothing is more frustrating than getting stuck halfway through a song (except maybe people who walk into an elevator before letting the last passengers exit), but nothing is more rewarding than unsticking yourself. That was quite tangential, but to conclude my day off, I would crack open a pint of dairy-free peanut butter fudge ben and jerry’s.
What’s been the biggest influence on your music style?
You are what you eat! Similarly, an artist is an amalgamation of the music that they consume. My “breakfast” was music like The Beatles, Bowie, The Killers, U2, Sheryl Crow, and Fleetwood Mac. All the classic dad music. Being a product of my generation, I went through the obligatory Britney Spears phase, and never really grew out of it. You can hear that influence pretty clearly in my song “Roses to His Ex” (take note of the strings). Now, I eat a pretty well-balanced diet, listening to a good mix of angsty rock, alternative pop I find in the depths of the internet, nostalgic acoustic music, and Jack Antonoff productions. The real core of my music comes from experience, though. Honesty is the main goal of every song I write. I have a strong belief that anything in the world can be relatable, as there is only a finite set of emotions. It’s impossible for me to have a thought or feeling that’s unlike anyone else’s. Therefore, anything I write about is guaranteed to resonate with someone. You’d be surprised how many messages I’ve received saying “I’m mad at Disney too!!” since the release of my latest single, “Mad at Disney." In life and in songwriting, I think that honestly is the best policy.
You’ve got access to every artist who ever lived: which is your choice for a collab?
This is going to sound bad, but hear me out: Myself. Honestly, I’ve always wanted to see what I’m like in a writing room! I have no idea what it’s like to work with me, and that’s terrifying. I would love to experience my strengths and weaknesses from a different perspective like that; I think it would really help me grow as a musician. I write alone quite a bit, but nothing compares to having someone else’s energy in the room with you to feed off of. I’m not sure about the logistics of this collaboration, but I’m imagining a clone of me, or maybe me but a few years older. We would probably get along terribly.
Most artists have a dream venue. Where’s yours?
I’ve always wanted to play Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco. Growing up in the Bay Area, OSL was always the height of my summer experience. My dad took me for the first time when I was 14. That year, The Killers headlined at the same time as Tiësto. Being 14, all I wanted was to dance to the popular EDM song “Wasted” by Tiësto and alleviate my groundless teen angst. My dad, on the other hand, forced me to stay for the first few songs by The Killers. I lost my mind to Mr. Brightside, which he quite enjoyed seeing, but then dragged him away from the supremely talented group to an unarguably less impressive DJ set. Today, The Killers are my favorite band. I kick myself daily over this; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the rest of the set online. It was brilliant! My dream has since been to headline at the Land’s End stage. Just gonna put that out into the universe.
Speaking of future projects, what’s next for Salem?
I’m currently finishing up an EP! It will (most likely) see the light of day before the end of 2020. I worked on it with a small number of people, the most frequent collaborator being my boyfriend Bendik Møller. Our litmus test for the quality of a song is how much we fight while creating it. If one of us cares enough to truly fight for a lyric line, melody, or production element, we know it’s probably something worth arguing over. This EP has resulted in numerous heated debates, which we take to be a good sign. It gives me a great deal of anxiety to sit on too many songs at once, so I’m personally very excited to keep releasing music. I can only hope my excitement will rub off on others!
