I started out playing piano and percussion in school, but was originally very focused on classical Western-Art music. I went on to study a Bachelor of Music majoring in Percussion and Composition and while I was studying I started messing around on Ableton in my free time (completely unrelated to my studies, which was focused on scoring). I found this really interesting cross-over between my training in classic percussion and composition and electronic music and ever since, that has become my niche. Me and my best friend Rosie Taylor started playing as an electronic percussion duo called Feels, and we went on to tour extensively, including: SXSW (US), Ableton Loop, (Berlin), Australian Festivals like Listen Out, Falls Festivaal, GTM, Laneway etc. We supported artists like G Flip, Kimbra, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and just generally had a great time writing and performing. When we started playing live in 2016, the gender imbalance in our music industry became very apparent to me. I was also getting much more into music production and studio work and so in 2017, Women of Music Production (WOMP) was founded as a response to addressing gender inequality in music technology and production. It was very grassroots to start, just me and Rosie and a few friends that we invited to our studio. Now we are a not-for-profit registered charity with a community of over 700 women music producers across Australia and we have amazing community events and an annual songwriting camp. It is a real inspiration to me and my work as a producer too.

I am a founding-director of WOMP and a music producer/songwriter/composer as eliseRS and electronic duo Feels. For the past 12 months, under my artist name eliseRS, I have been working on a concept album about Matrescence: the psychological, physical and social changes experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and new motherhood. In 2023 I became a mother and I went through a huge identity shift—the sort where you don’t recognise your previous self and there is no going back. I felt compelled to express this life transition through music and hear from other women in WA. All of my work is based on community and making the music industry more inclusive, and this project is the perfect example of this. I have had funding from Minderoo Foundation and Department of Creative Industries to make this work and my current day-to-day is rolling out this album and creating social discourse around how society values women, mothers, parents and young children—because there really is so much change needed! Alongside this, I am raising my 2 year old daughter, currently pregnant, planning our WOMP 2026-27 events, doing my usual freelance music production work and also lecturing at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)—life is very busy and that’s the way I like it.

AI music and AI in general definitely concerns me in how this will affect not only my music career as a producer and composer, but it is influencing gender equity and sexism. There is a really honest and terrifying book: the New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates that discusses this. In terms of AI-created music, I worry that it is taking the artistry out of music making and also taking away employment opportunities.

A living wage for artists would be incredible—especially as a new parent and current pregnant person. It is challenging to support my family and continue to create new work without ongoing funding. These past 12 months have been amazing for my practice, because I have had the funding to make new work and get better at my practice. Not every year is the same and many artists have to supplement with other work just to survive, so a living wage would mean a lot to many artists. 

I have a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and I don’t think it is necessary to have higher education in the music industry. I studied because I wanted to broaden my knowledge in music-making and theory and it has been useful to me in terms of connection, and ongoing work in academics outside of the music industry. This aside, my actual niche: electronic music production and training others in this area—I am completely self-taught. I think if you want to have a career in the music industry you just need to be very driven, and organisation also helps. I just spent a lot of time messing around on Ableton by myself and got really good at it because I enjoyed it. I never watched a single tutorial, I just had fun learning by myself. The other work I do as an advocate for gender equity (through WOMP), I do because I am passionate about making change in this area. So being driven and passionate is probably going to be more important than any degree.

My Mum has always said to me I should ask for things I want, so I suppose “don’t ask, don’t get.” I live by this. I always ask for what I want—the worst people can say is no. I would say some of my best career highlights and opportunities have come from asking for what I want, they rarely fall into my hands. So this could be applying for funding, asking for studio residency, asking someone if they want to collaborate.

My proudest achievement is my daughter, Banksia! My proudest career achievement is definitely my 20-track double album about Matrescence: Life We’ve Known (releasing March 6, 2026 as eliseRS). This body of work is definitely the hardest I have worked on anything and it has been really special, modelling to my daughter that a music producer is a woman. She has been watching me make this album over the past 12 months and if we are playing the piano together, she will say “let’s record it Mummy”— it is one of the first things she thinks to do. So alongside the album’s message and social discussion, I like that I am modelling the change I want to see for her generation. She has got some backing vocals and sampling on the album, which I had her record herself and I think that is pretty special. 

The music landscape in Perth is incredible and inspiring. I am lucky to be surrounded by so many generous and talented musicians. I like that in Perth, if someone can’t take on an opportunity, they are always making sure their friends and peers can take it if they can’t. To me, Perth has always been a help-each-other community, rather than competitive or gate-keeping focused. I like that Perth has a lot of diversity in terms of genre as well and that there are so many little collectives of these niches. I think because we are so geographically isolated, we are quite innovative as a music scene, because we have to be.

I am a surfer and a runner and those are my two favourite unwinding activities. I like both because there is no music or noise, and I just get to focus on breathing or the sounds of the environment around me. At the moment I am in my last trimester of pregnancy and I have just stopped both, so I am giving swimming a go until I can get back into both activities!

At the moment it would be Forever Drunk by Peach PRC—it is my toddler’s favourite song and it is often on repeat for her, so we sing that a lot together.