Inspired by her father’s records, Susana dreamt of becoming a singer from a
very young age. It was her tryst with Electronic Dance Music which catapulted her
to the league of chart-topping trance vocalists. By Anand Holla
In the bedroom of her home in a town just outside Amsterdam is where Susana Lise’s voice found wings. As a little girl, the Dutch trance vocalist spent hours on end there, daydreaming, singing along to her father’s records, and teaching herself to sing by mimicking the singers.
Recalling those years, she says, “The ones I remember most vividly are Susanne Vega, Chris de Burgh, and Phil Collins tracks. I have special memories of Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh because back then, I often wore red leggings with a red sweater. So my dad would call me Lady in Red.”
Even at that tender age, Susana believed in her vocal abilities and dreamt of becoming a singer. The dream came true in the multi-dimensional hues of Electronic Dance Music (EDM), propelling her into the league of chart-topping trance vocalists and a life replete with endless international tours. Tomorrow night, Qatar, for the first time, will experience her live at Crystal, W Doha Hotel.
Back in the late ’90s though, that dream had only begun gathering momentum. Susana’s teenage years were spent mostly listening to tonnes of music on full blast, participating in school plays, “lunch concerts” during lunch breaks, and belting out frothy pop-rock music with her band 010? (named after the classroom they would rehearse in).
It was through this early experience – as the lead singer and the songwriter – that the 15-year-old’s fascination for becoming a performing artiste peaked. She began taking professional singing lessons that equipped her with jazz and classical techniques, but EDM was nowhere in the picture.
“I always say it was trance music that found me, not the other way around,” says Susana, “It simply crossed my path a year after I finished high school, and I fell for its emotional energy soon after.” As luck would have it, when she was 19, a neighbour of her family saw her perform live, and was blown away. He introduced her to two popular EDM producers Raz Nitzan and Adrian Broekhuyse.
Next, they recorded her vocals for Ernesto vs Bastian’s Dark Side of the Moon, which was released in 2005 to tremendous success. Susana credits that break for opening up “a whole new musical world” for her. Soon, Susana developed a mad passion for EDM music, and trance and progressive in particular, especially for its “emotional energy” that affected her.
That deluge of appreciation also caught the attention of top Dutch DJ and producer Armin van Buuren. That year, Susana sang Shivers – her first single for van Buuren and one of his biggest hits to date – and she instantly knew her career was about to shoot into the EDM stratosphere. Eventually, she would become the first trance vocalist to get signed to Armada Music (van Buuren’s label) as a solo artist.
“Working with Armin was a huge turning point. Not immediately though,” says the 30-year-old, “What really pushed my career was touring with him around the world on his two consecutive Armin Only tours – the first of which started in 2008, three years after our first hit single Shivers was released. Touring with him gave me the opportunity to profile myself as not just a singer or a voice for hire, but a live performer and artiste as well.”
Blessed with a unique, full-bodied, almost-hypnotic voice that she has tempered for trance through single-minded dedication, Susana refutes the popular notion that trance music doesn’t require great vocal skills. “To say that trance is less demanding of vocal prowess doesn’t ring true to me at all. Many different voices can be heard on trance records and they all bring something unique to the table,” she says.
Susana sounds convincing when she explains that the genre lets the vocalist experiment a lot. “As a singer I obviously listen to a lot of vocal trance. I also host my radio show, which is dedicated to vocal tracks. So I know how diverse these sounds can get. Trance has a lot of sub genres and different voices to go with each of them. Uplifting, dark, moody, emotional, over the top, intricate, intimate, soft, loud, simple lyrics, universal messages – all of these shades can be found in vocal trance,” she says.
Encapsulating that concept was her smash-hit debut album Closer (2010), each of the 15 tracks of which was collaboration with the biggest names in the business.
In fact, wouldn’t her several successful collaborations with star DJs and producers over the years – Desiderium 207, Shivers, and If You Should Go (with van Buuren), Stranger in Paradise (with Ernesto vs Bastian), Closer (with Omnia & The Blizzard) (Closer), and Nothing at all (with Rex Mundi), to name a few – have significantly improved her craft? Susana agrees wholeheartedly: “Yeah, in so many ways!”
“And not just musically,” she continues, “I look up to some of my peers and they really inspire me to be better, to find out who I am as an artiste and to stand up for that, to develop myself as a songwriter, to not compromise on what I believe in, to find and develop my own voice. I admire artistes who manage to stay authentic and genuine. I believe the best music is the music that’s most authentic.”
As a vocal trance superstar, Susana says she always strives to achieve that. “The songs I sing and write; they come from within me. I pour a lot of emotion in to them,” she says. To get an idea, sample these lines from her dance floor-burning, club favourite track Closer:
When I’m in here, I feel I’m closer… Nothing left but bliss inside my heart… All I ever was, all I’ll ever be… When you’re near, I feel I’m closer.
Susana says, “When people relate to those songs, it’s almost as if a connection is established between me and them; the listeners, the crowd. For me, that’s the magical part of my life, and also the reason why music is my preferred outlet and a daily stimulus.”
That she gets to fly across the world to relive the magical part of her life, week in, week out, makes her success story almost complete. In fact, there was another dream little Susana nurtured – to travel and explore the world. Touring helps bring both her passions – music and travelling – together and how.
“Touring encompasses many different emotions,” Susana shares, “You know, the excitement to go on the road and visit new places, meet new people, not knowing what to expect. Feeling a sense of adventure, and also the anxiety over how everything will turn out. The nerves before a show, the anticipation of meeting the crowd, concerns over whether I will be able to hear myself well during the performance, the rush of adrenaline, the high of the performance, the crowd singing along to my songs; it’s amazing.”
Performing to crowds, sometimes upwards of 20,000, has taken her around the planet – Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Australia, the US, Russia, Malta, Taiwan, Argentina, Romania … you name it.
“I have had many memorable gigs, but I will never forget the energy I felt while performing Closer during the Armin Only show in Poland,” Susana reminisces, “Even before I hit the stage, I could sense the energy radiating from the crowd. When I did walk onto the stage, I just couldn’t help but smile. The energy was so strong! It’s really hard to put it into words.”
And as we know, where words fail, music speaks.
