Singer/songwriter Elsa Chapman has entertained crowds across 4 continents, performed in 3 languages and has sung live for thousands of people.  As an artist, she has opened for World Music legend Youssou N’Dour and has toured with him across Europe and in West Africa.  Her voice has been heard on national television commercials in the UK, her music is regularly played over the airwaves in her native Senegal and she has collaborated with multiple Grammy winners. Through Virgin Megastores, college campuses and national US magazine distribution, her music has reached an audience of over 60,000 people

This London-born soul singer is an artist who crosses many divides. A natural musician, she gravitated towards her parents’ piano almost as soon as she could walk. Throughout her teens, Elsa won several awards for her classical piano playing and at 18, uprooted to LA and took time to develop herself artistically, playing to crowds in LA venues, writing at every spare moment, and enrolling in music school. It was there that she realised how powerful her songs were:

“When I started to play my songs to people, I would notice their reaction and be somewhat taken aback. People would come up to me in the hallways and sing back a chorus to me or some of my lyrics and tell me how they related to the songs I wrote.  I always found it touching that a song that I had casually penned in my bedroom would get this kind of reaction.”  Gifted and ambitious, Elsa left the school receiving the “Outstanding Vocalist” award, as well as top honours in the song-writing and performance programs.

To classify Elsa’s music simply as ‘piano-lead soul’ would be an understatement.  Her soul-pop melange hints towards her classical upbringing, has reflections of a teenage addiction to RnB and a thick coating of badass pop. Melodically sophisticated, it combines playful rhythms with her innate soul sensitivities.  Her words are relatable, honest and lyrically mature, reflecting the type of artist she truly is.

Described by Music Connection magazine as “Poised, polished and personal…. Imaginative songwriting, inventive piano and soulful vocals all make this new L.A. resident a contender,” Elsa is already carving her way as an exciting new face for UK pop. She has graced the cover of Boulevard magazine as a fresh role model for crossover artists. Meanwhile, Saturday Night magazine hails her as “intriguing”, marvelling how “she turns the keys into her very own London Symphony Orchestra”.

Elsa’s talents have also attracted the support of top-rated musicians. She was personally invited by Grammy-winner Youssou N’Dour to open for him in concert and join him on tour across Europe, singing on his international hit ‘7 Seconds’.  Of the experience she says, “Getting to sing with Youssou night after night was a surreal honour.  Every person on that tour bus was exceptionally talented, so to be involved was a humbling endorsement.”

Many acclaimed producers have also opened their studio doors for her, including Rochad Holiday (Brandy, En Vogue), Sauce (Ne-Yo, Adina Howard), Phil Shenale (Janet Jackson, Tracy Chapman), Glenn Skinner (Madonna, Alex Parks), Paul McKenna (Tori Amos, Elton John) Larry Beaird (Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts) and Gavin Lurssen (Dru Hill, David Gray).  

Now Elsa is recording her debut release in London.  Living up to her role as an independent artist, she truly is just that: artistically independent.  She is the sole composer of every track and involved in all the musical arrangements. The result is a unique sound that draws from her broad range of influences, but is still distinctly English. Classifying her repertoire as a collection of moods seems to suit her just fine:  being defined as one thing has never suited this mixed-race, crossover artist.

“Of course I think that we are all the same.  Whatever experiences I have, however fussy the details, I know that my feelings, my thoughts are universal.  That is why I love to write.  For sure music has helped me get through the times when I’ve felt my loneliest or saddest, and has lifted me at my happiest.  Now, I feel like I am adding to the cycle.”

Now making her mark on the UK live scene, Elsa is set to further prove to the world that she is a talent to be reckoned with.  Gifted, ambitious, hard working and headstrong, Elsa Chapman is here and she’s ready.