Can music heal? Can a song hold all the weight of love, longing, and transformation? Jelisa’s voice makes you believe it can. With a sound that blends the depth of alternative soul with the richness of jazz, blues, and psychedelic influences, her music carries a wonderful warmth, intensity, and sincerity. With her new EP Do You Feel the Same?, she invites listeners into a deeply personal journey of love, longing, healing, and transformation.
To visually interpret the heart of her EP, she teamed up with Amsterdam-based photographer Zsófia Bodnár, who has Hungarian roots, for a stunning editorial, capturing the essence of each song through intimate, evocative imagery. Every frame captures the vulnerability and strength embedded in her music.
“I want listeners to know that it’s okay to feel, and that we’re all on this journey together,” Jelisa shares in this conversation, reflecting on the healing power of music. In this interview, she opens up about the inspiration behind her songs, the emotions that shape her sound, and why love remains the most important force in her life.
Your upcoming EP is a deeply personal project. Can you share more with us about the inspiration behind it?
I think I get a lot of inspiration from life and its emotional shifts, both the good and the bad. My upcoming EP Do You Feel the Same? reflects on these transitions. I guess I’m exploring a lot of love, sadness, confusion, healing, and growth. It’s a deeply personal project that, for me, embraces vulnerability and inner strength. Musically, I think I’m influenced by a wide range of genres like jazz, indie, blues, soul, R&B, funk, psychedelic, African rhythms, different cultures, different kinds of art, and time periods. But in the studio, I just let my intuition guide the creative process, which makes the sound feel pure and authentic to me. Hopefully, the listeners connect with the journey and find their own emotions in the music.
Which song on your EP is your favorite, and why?
For me, it really depends on my mood. The song I’d Rather Live in My Dream really reminds me of a memory that I cherish. But sometimes I feel like I want to experience the depth of the song and get lost in Hurt, while other times, I gravitate more toward something uplifting like Flying Away or This Body. Each song brings its own story and emotion. I guess I love them all for different reasons.
The photoshoot with Zsófia visually interprets the emotions behind your songs. How does it feel to see your music come to life through images?
She captured the emotions so beautifully and authentically. I felt like we connected, and she understood the heart of the music. It was also really special that we got to create something together. It was such a lovely day. While we were shooting, we were listening to the music, and it was amazing to see how Zsófia really connected with it.
“If my music can help someone feel less alone or more connected to their own emotions, then that adds extra purpose to me and to the music.”
How did the two of you connect creatively, and what was the collaborative process like?
We first met on another editorial shoot, and I immediately loved her energy and work. We get along really well, which is so important to me when collaborating. We wanted to create more together, so the creative process felt so easy and natural. I feel—and hope—that connection shows in the final result.
Music often has the power to heal and connect. Is this the message you hope your listeners take away from this EP?
Yes, definitely. I’ve always felt that music has the capability to heal and bring people together, and that’s something I really hope comes across in this EP, Do You Feel the Same? For me, music is a way to express how I feel and what I sometimes can’t say or am not aware of. Writing music feels like therapy sometimes. Getting it out and making art from it feels really fulfilling. If it can help someone feel less alone or more connected to their own emotions, then that adds extra purpose to me and to the music. I want listeners to know that it’s okay to feel and that we’re all on this journey together.
Love and life are recurring themes in your work. In your opinion, is love the most important thing in life? (smiles) Are you in love right now?
Yeah, I actually talked about this recently. I’ve come to realize that love is the most important thing, even more important than being ‘happy’ all the time. Happiness comes and goes; we can’t be happy every second of the day, and that’s okay. Sometimes we want to feel our deepest emotions, cry while listening to music, or experience a breakup and come back stronger. But love—whether it’s for ourselves or the people around us—is something constant that we can always work on. It’s what keeps us grounded and makes life feel meaningful, even when things aren’t going as planned. And yes, I am. (laughs)
“Love—whether it’s for ourselves or the people around us—is something constant that we can always work on. It’s what keeps us grounded and makes life feel meaningful.”
As an alternative soul artist, your sound is truly heartwarming, deep, and intense. Does this reflect your personality?
Thank you! (laughs) Maybe not always intense, but I can be very introverted too. I try to be kind and give love, and while I can be happy or sad, I keep those feelings to myself or share them with my inner circle, but mostly, I express them through my art. I’m always looking for adventure and new experiences, constantly searching for meaning in everything. So yes, in a way, my music reflects those deeper emotions and thoughts.
Soul music has such a rich history of storytelling and emotion. How do you see your music fitting into that tradition, and how do you hope to push the genre forward?
I mean, I’d love to carry the soul tradition with me, but I’ll do it in my own way. Soul music is about storytelling and deep emotion, which I connect with naturally. While I try to honor those roots, I guess I also bring in my own voice and experiences. My music will always be centered around stories and emotion, but I hope to stay true to my creativity and intuition while continuing to blend more genres into it.
Where do you see yourself in around 10 years?
Oh, that’s a tough question! In 10 years, I hope I’m still joyful and deeply connected to my passion. If that’s still music, that would be amazing, and I’d love to still be writing music that feels authentic. I’d love to be touring, playing at festivals like North Sea Jazz, Montreux, or Glastonbury, and sharing my music with people who truly connect with it. (Manifesting haha.) Collaborating with other musicians and continuing to explore new sounds. But most of all, I just want to keep growing, stay true to my creativity and intuition, touch people with my music, and explore and enjoy life in general. And I’d love to be a mom someday. (smiles)
@jelisajamy photographed by @zsofiabodnar_ph
