10 Questions To... Sonia Elisheva

Interview With Sonia Elisheva (10 Questions to…)

Her enchanting, totally enthralling and unique vocals have already managed to delight fans of Electro Swing on more than one occasion. Her charisma, commitment and creativity make sure that once you listen to one of her songs, you will remember it for a long time and want to explore all her musical creations. We are, of course, talking about Sonia Elisheva, whom I had the opportunity to interview. She told me about her amazing story and the beginnings of her career, her collaborations with Electro Swing producers and, of course, her brilliant first full-length album ‘Black Sea’. I present to you 10 questions to… Sonia Elisheva!

01. LadyDot: Hey Sonia! Thank you so much for agreeing to give me an interview – it’s incredibly important to me because you’re a phenomenal artist whose vocals are instantly memorable and captivating from the first seconds of a song. I’d like to start by asking you, how did it happen that you started singing? Did you dream about it since you were a child, or did this plan come about much later? At what point in your life did you realise that singing and songwriting was what you wanted to do in the future?

Sonia Elisheva: First of all, thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate them. I suppose my path to a music career was a little unusual compared to a lot of artists. I’ve always been creative and passionate about performing, but I never dared to dream of being an artist – I just didn’t think it was possible for me.

Back in school, I danced, acted, and played the piano and saxophone, so performing was always part of my life. But I’d never sung in public. I absolutely loved singing and used to do it in my room when I thought no one could hear me, but I didn’t have the confidence to bring it to the stage.

Then I moved to the Netherlands for university to study philosophy. Being abroad, where no one knew me, gave me the courage to try something new. I eventually performed at an open mic night, and that moment changed everything. From there, I got into jazz, started going to jam sessions, became the lead singer of the university band and the president of the music society, and by the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to pursue music seriously.
It’s been a journey of slowly stepping into something that’s always been there, just waiting for me to be ready.

02. LadyDot: I know you’ve talked about this recently, but I think our readers and your fans will be very interested in this – how did your adventure into Electro Swing start? What appealed to you most about this musical genre and how did Wolfgang Lohr discover your talent? What actions made your dreams of a career as a singer and artist come true?

Sonia Elisheva: So, during covid I started posting videos of myself singing covers on Instagram. Before that, I’d never really shared anything online because I was too shy. But I started gaining a little traction, and it made me think: maybe I could actually release my own music.
That’s when I remembered a genre my brother had introduced me to years ago: Electro Swing. It blends jazz and dance music, my two favourite styles, so I figured it might be a good fit for my voice. I searched “electro swing label” on Instagram, and Electro Swing Thing came up first. I took a chance and emailed Wolfgang Lohr, saying I was a singer and would love to collaborate if they ever needed a vocalist. I honestly didn’t expect a reply, but to my surprise, he got back to me and connected me with LVDS, who needed a singer for the final track on his album. And that was the beginning of everything. It led me to other collabs with big names in the scene like Odd Chap and Wolfgang himself. It’s crazy to say but sending that one email sort of changed the trajectory of my life. I definitely feel indebted to Wolfgang for giving me a chance. I really love the ES community; people have always been so kind and supportive of me, and I want to thank them for that.

03. LadyDot: Your debut was the release of the song ‘Golden Days’ with LVDS, which was, by the way, a track promoting his Swing Hop album of the same title. When I wasn’t yet working with Electro Swing Thing, I wrote a review of that album in Polish on my old blog, where I totally raved about my new musical discovery, which was you. It was an amazing feeling! Along with LVDS, you released two more great tracks – ‘Meet Me At Sunrise’ and ‘Tremble’. Apart from the fact that you sang these songs phenomenally, you also wrote the lyrics to them. Please tell us how your collaboration with this brilliant music producer went? How do you recall working on these songs?

Sonia Elisheva: That’s lovely to read, thank you! Yeah, it’s always a pleasure working with Laurens (LVDS) and I think his swing hop style combined with my jazzy/London style vocals just blend really well together. I remember when we finished our second track together, ‘Meet Me At Sunrise’, we both had the feeling we’d created something unique. We were both living in the Netherlands at the time, so we were able to meet in person and shoot a music video for it which was really fun. I have very fond memories of working with Laurens.

04. LadyDot: In 2021 you released the ‘hummingbird’ EP, a totally magical, jazzy, incredibly emotional EP. You released it independently, completely on your own. Tell us please, what was the most challenging thing for you when you had to take care of every detail involved in releasing this EP yourself? Maybe you have some good advice for artists who want to release their music independently?

Sonia Elisheva: I’d say that, mentally, it’s a very challenging process releasing a project by yourself. It requires a thick skin and a lot of resilience. I had just started my career at this time, and I didn’t have a team, so I literally did everything by myself. The most challenging thing is just to keep going when it feels like nobody’s listening. I released my Hummingbird EP four years ago, and it still has far fewer streams than most of my other tracks. But to this day, people still bring it up and tell me it helped them through something, that it meant something to them. As an indie artist it’s hard not to judge your worth on numbers, but your artistry is about so much more than that. So I’d just say keep going – you honestly never know who you’re helping by releasing your art.

05. LadyDot: You teamed up with Freshly Squeezed in 2024 and I’m guessing that was a huge turning point in your music career. When you released your first single ‘Dark Eyes’, I felt it was the start of something big, that you were starting to work on a really big project. How did it all start? Was ‘Black Sea’ originally going to be an EP, but in the process of working on releasing singles, you and Nick came to the conclusion that it would be a full-length album after all? Did you have a clear concept for this project from the beginning, or did it form spontaneously?

Sonia Elisheva: Yes, Black Sea was actually the first song I wrote for the album, back in 2022. At that point, I had no idea it would turn into a full-length project. The vision for an album came about a year later, when I started imagining a body of work that would honour both my British and Eastern European roots, while still being full of Electro Swing dance bops.

I brought the idea to Nick at Freshly Squeezed, and he was on board. It would’ve been really difficult to bring this project to life without the support of the label. Nick guided me through so much of the process, but what I really appreciated was the creative freedom he gave me to make the album exactly as I envisioned it.

06. LadyDot: On the 11th of April you released your first full-length album, ‘Black Sea’. I had the opportunity to pre-listen to it, for which I thank you very much! It contains both tranquil ballads (the enchanting ‘Black Sea’, for example) and strong, energetic songs that definitely dominate the album (including ‘London Energy’, ‘But I Do!’ and my firm favourite ‘Sweet Escape’). Can you tell us who was responsible for the musical setting of this album and who helped you prepare the album as you released it? Who besides you (because I think you wrote all the lyrics and of course sang each of the songs) was involved in composing the music?

Sonia Elisheva: I co-wrote each song with Joe Rodwell (producer for Elle & the Pocket Belles, Mista Trick) and Roman Andor (producer for The Soulmate Project, Masha Ray), who were the two main producers on this record. They are both incredibly talented and understood my vision straight away.

Other collaborators who featured on the album that EST readers might recognise: Riff Kitten (London Energy & Intro), Swingsonix (No Talking).

07. LadyDot: I would also like to ask you about the emotional layer of the ‘Black Sea’ album. Already after the first listen I had clear associations not only with Electro Swing, but also with Eastern European music. I have the impression that your album is a bit of a journey from East to West, which I like incredibly much!

I was very captivated by ‘papa’s interlude’, in which, I guess, you talk to your dad. That’s just wonderful! I also find it incredibly interesting that you titled one of your pieces ‘Waldemar Haffkine’ in honour of the Russian vaccine inventor who emigrated to France. Does this song have any hidden meaning? Which song are you most proud of, not only as an artist, but also as simply Sonia Elisheva?

Sonia Elisheva: I’m really happy my Dad features on the album. I love the idea that his voice and his thoughts are forever immortalised in my album for future generations. My Dad inspired so much of the record, it was important for me to have him on it.

Waldemar Haffkine is about a biologist who was from Odessa (next to the Black Sea). He created the vaccinations for cholera and the plague, but due to anti-semitisim (which was rife at the time) a lot of his work was discredited, and he never received the acclaim he deserved. Unfortunately, my family also suffered a lot due to the anti-semitism which was incredibly common in the USSR. The song is about Waldemar’s story, but it’s also about what he represents. It questions how many other people have done something amazing in their life but we don’t know about them simply because people discriminate or are prejudiced against them.

I think the song I’m most proud of is Elisheva, the final track on the album. This is a song dedicated to my Grandma who was called Elisheva. She changed her name from Elisheva to something less Jewish sounding to protect herself in the USSR. When I became an artist, I changed my last name to Elisheva to reclaim her identity and pay tribute to the life she never got to live, because she was Jewish and lived through such a dark period of history.

08. LadyDot: You are a huge fan of travelling and I know you would like to visit every country in Europe (that’s my goal too, haha!). Which countries have you visited that have impressed and captivated you the most? Do you usually focus on capital cities or other cities? When visiting, do you also try to discover the music of the country, or do you focus more on other things, like nature, monuments, culture or delicious food? :)

Sonia Elisheva: I know you love travelling too! There are so many countries and cities that I adore. A few years ago I went to Tbilisi in Georgia and then took an overnight train to Yerevan in Armenia which was amazing. They actually gave everyone a free mini bottle of wine in the airport when we entered Georgia, which I thought was the best welcome ever hahaha. I also like to see and do a bit of everything when I travel. Checking out music is obviously a must, but I’m a foodie so I love trying different cuisines and learning about the culture and history of wherever I am.

09. LadyDot: In the Electro Swing Podcast you recently talked about how important it is for you to release albums, that you love working on projects and that it is through releasing an album that you can best express yourself and present yourself as an artist in the best way. You also mentioned that many albums by different artists have changed your life and become the soundtrack of your life. Which albums were you thinking of when you mentioned this? I also know that, like me, you’re a huge Wham! fan, so would they also feature in this list of your favourite albums (or songs)?

Sonia Elisheva: Yeah, I adore George Michael, he’s such an important cultural icon for me. I think I fell a bit in love with him after watching the Wham documentary on Netflix haha. Make It Big by Wham would definitely be on my list. There are literally too many to name, but here are some other albums that made an impact on me:
Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor by Caro Emerald, Alright Still by Lily Allen, Frank by Amy Winehouse, Sin Miedo by Kali Uchis, Acoustic Soul by India Arie, Chronologic by Caravan Palace.

Brat by Charli xcx is probably the most recent example of an album I’m obsessed with. It makes me wanna hit the club and I was listening to it a lot while writing Black Sea.

10. LadyDot: Finally, my favourite question. Now, you can try to exert your witchy intuition that you talked about in the Electro Swing Podcast, haha. What are your plans for the future? What would you most like to achieve? You recently released your first full-length album, so are you currently going to take a short break to gather inspiration, or are you already planning some bigger ventures, such as performing live? What are your dreams, not just music-related ones?

Sonia Elisheva: My witchy intuition is telling me to prep the live show because we may have a few exciting opportunities coming up!

I always say I’m going to take a break but I never do. I enjoy working too much! I’ve been quietly writing new material over the past few months, and when the moment feels right, I’ll release it into the world.

In terms of the future, well I would love to achieve touring Europe and beyond. I’ve spent a lot of my life in different European countries (studying in The Netherlands, visiting my family in Estonia), and it would be a dream to perform in places that feel like home. Most of all, I’d just like to visit the people who support my music and share the Black Sea world with audiences I know will connect deeply with its message.

Thank you to your readers & the electro swing community for everything, love you guys! x

Interview by LadyDot; Date: 2025-04-28