24 March, 2023 – Malaysia-born singer-songwriter liesl-mae continues to sonically illustrate her mental health journey as a 20-something-year-old through the latest addition and last single of her debut EP, “welcome to my mind”, with “life as I know it”. This song is the last installment of her EP, a concluding anthem towards a tireless journey of reflection, personal growth, and the emotions in between.

Tying her real-life experiences into her resplendent songwriting, liesl-mae pens down her journey as a vessel in understanding the emotional human condition. liesl-mae is no stranger to advocating for mental health awareness with her songwriter-cum-mental-health-therapist background and is setting the tone for how healing and transformative music can be, evident in her latest single, “life as I know it”.

The track starts off with a deeply personal confrontation of her past in the form of unearthing keepsakes in her room. The unassuming, bright production of the song contrasts against the introspective but almost nonchalant nature of her lyrics. It’s as if she’s travelled through hell and back, presenting anecdotes that don’t reveal too many details, but is executed with enough conviction to assure listeners that what she’s singing about rings true – “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”. 

With the obvious divergence of sound for “life as I know it” compared to the rest of her EP, liesl-mae states that this choice was one that did not come without its fair share of roadblocks.

“The biggest challenge I think was finding a balance between adding more elements to the song, and deciding when we’d added enough. It is my first upbeat and more joyful song (compared to the rest) and so I really wanted to have a lot of fun elements & sounds in the song that I’d never used before, (also making sure) that it wasn’t ‘too much’. Thankfully my producer Jose helped out a lot on that front”.

Her debut EP “welcome to my mind” in her own words is about “documenting my growth as a person & the struggles and triumphs that came with it. It is one of sadness, anger, frustration, but also one of reflection, togetherness, and personal growth”.

“life as I know it” paints a picture of me reflecting on my youth, and looking back at how far I’ve come since then. I talk about the struggles that I went through, but highlight the fact that I survived all of them & have become a better version of myself for it”.

When asked about the inspiration behind the song, liesl-mae shares her experience of losing a loved one. 

“This song was completed in 2022 just a month after I lost my dad on Christmas Eve. I’m so thankful he got to hear the song first and that he enjoyed it, and now it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me as I listen to the lyrics as well.

“Now that he’s no longer with us, I feel like this song is a reminder from past me to present me, to keep going no matter how tough it gets”, she shares. 

The accompanying visual to this song saturates the intimacy and personal meaning of her relationship with love and loss. Sending a tribute to her late father, the music video sees her in his beloved truck with her younger brother, Liam Yew; a valuable trinket to her life as it has been with her throughout her growing pains as a young adult. It “acts as a symbol for him, his life, his energy”, she expresses.

liesl-mae hopes “others can resonate with the song, that despite everything you’ve been through, you’ve made it to today. You are the person you are now because of the life you’ve lived up to this point. I would like the song to encourage reflection, to inspire people to look back on who they were and see how far they’ve come. And if they’re not satisfied, there are always opportunities for growth, it’s what they make of the cards they’ve been dealt that allows them the power to continue to grow”, she concludes.

liesl-mae’s debut EP “welcome to my mind” is available now, along with its music video “life as I know it”, watch it here.