Elle returns after six years with something a little different

ELLE Tisane ( pictured) is someone you will see every now and then, but when she comes out to play, you know something big is about to happen.

“I have been doing a lot of corporate work in public relations for the past few years and recording happened in the pipeline for a while,” said the songstress.

After six years of silence, the singer and actress has heeded the call to return to music and quench the thirst of her fans.

“I had my second child and he’s 18 months now so I think this is the perfect time from God for me to get back into music. As much as I am a mother and a wife, I still have my passions and dreams. I really want my purpose to be fulfilled. So I thought this is actually the right time to come out and do this,” she said.

While that is great news for all of her fans, there was also a need for Elle to keep up with the times as the music scene has changed while she was away.

“I last released in 2009 and that’s a while back so change is the constant. The sound of gospel music has grown and a lot of people have added so much to the genre that it is so different from what it was when I last recorded. So I know I can’t release a sound that I released a long time ago,” she said. So what is she going to sound like? “I took my environments into my sound. I was introduced to Venda in Muvhango and ended up marrying a Venda-speaking man so having been exposed to that environment, I included that on the album because I am around it. I have fallen in love with the language. It is hard, but once you catch it you will understand it a lot,” she explained.

“About 80 percent of of the album is contemporary and original, unlike what I did in 2009. Back then I was afraid to tap into music so I had to take a familiar route. Now I am more confident. I’ve had a lot of help from a lot of writers, too. The music I am making is a lot about love. It is almost like I am singing love songs for people in relationships, but it is actually about the love of God. We do some R&B-sounding songs that also encourage faith. I am sharing God’s love for me and for others.”

Unlike some gospel artists who will not speak ill of their faith, Elle spoke about some of the things that she has struggled with on her Christian path.

“I started out in the secular industry and you have to have a thick skin to make it. I then got into the gospel music scene and expected it to be more accepting and tolerant of others, but that’s not the case. As much as we are told not to judge, Christians can be very judgemental, so it is hard. On this project I address that on a track with HHP and Colbert Mukwevho so that I can send a message that these people are also God’s people, even if they do not sing gospel. They probably have better relationships with God than what we the socalled Christians do,” she said

On Saturday, the singer will be at the Atterbury Theatre in Tshwane to shoot her first live DVD recording concert.