Editor's Note from Sally 💌
I first discovered Elly through her mantra music. Her voice struck something deep in me—so much so that she’s still my most-played artist on Spotify, month after month. I meditate to her tracks, walk with them, teach with them—they’ve become a soundtrack to some of the most meaningful moments I’ve shared with myself and with others.
It wasn’t until after I've completed and returned from my yoga teacher training that we started crossing paths more—through shared teachers, friend’s shows, meditation circles, and yoga. Elly is a powerful presence and a beloved force in every space she moves through.
What an honor it is to share her with our Whaleness Club 🐳.
📸 Katelyn White
Intro & Interview by Rich Awn
It was mid-December in Manhattan, and the sky cracked open into a torrential downpour—auspiciously marking my first encounter with Elly Kace. Inside the intimate Chelsea theater where she and her troupe performed, we checked our soaked coats, umbrellas, and shoes at the door. The scent of incense greeted us as we joined a slow, ceremonial procession to the floor, settling into a wonderland of crystal bowls, amplifiers, microphones, and a baby grand piano.
It felt less like a performance, more like a rite of passage.
That night, I met sound that defied genre—woven from early music, Appalachian hymns, Indian classical ragas, and Bobby McFerrin-style improvisation.
December 11, 2024 Elly Kace Show in Chelsea 📸 Sally Choi
Greetings, all ye’ seekers of wisdom and sound! 🧙🏻 Welcome to this soul-stirring conversation with Elly Kace—an artist whose life and work are steeped in emotion, devotion, and vibrational alchemy. For Elly, music isn't just entertainment; it's a sacred technology for processing grief, a means to transcend the temporal confines of our existence.
In this interview, we peel back the layers: from tender childhood dreams of singing to the fierce self-trust and authenticity shaping her creative voice today. Let this conversation meet you and carry you somewhere deeper.
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Richie: With all the meditation, mindfulness, and grounding in your life, I want to know—what’s the origin of you? My theory is that when you turn seven, you become an adult. At that age, you’re able to determine who you want to be. So.. what were you like as a seven-year-old?
Elly: Oh my gosh. As a seven-year-old? Wow. I have to really place it. What grade is that?
Richie: Second or third grade. It’s sometimes tricky to go back that far; sometimes it’s just a feeling of what you can remember.
Elly: I’ve always been very sensitive and emotional in ways that didn't make sense to others. I was definitely shy—not on stage, because I’ve always been a performer and was encouraged to be on stage—but shy in the sense that I kept to myself more personally. I liked to play pretend alone. I got made fun of a lot... but that's kids.
I know for sure I’ve always wanted to be a singer. In second grade, I was very loving and sensitive... and I had a bunch of pet hamsters. I was obsessed with them. They were so soft and sweet; I loved taking care of them. When one of them died—my favorite one—I was devastated, but still had to go to school. Everyone made fun of me for being so upset about this hamster. It was a huge deal to me. I loved that hamster.
Richie: Three nodes appear when you talk about your childhood: grief, your dreams as a singer, and shyness. How do those connect for you now as an adult? How do you deal with grief in your artwork? How do you overcome shyness to become a performer?
Elly: That's a really cool pattern to point out. Music became my tool to move grief—my way of staying in relationship with the things I long for. The collapse of time, space, and sound all work together—vibrating into a space as a message and a connection. I see music-making as a way to bridge those gaps. There’s a deep catharsis in singing about what you feel around grief.
As for shyness, meditation helped a lot. That shyness was my way of staying close to myself because I felt very different from everyone around me. I just felt kind of... weird. The shyness was a kind of discernment—listening to my impulses.
Everything that happened in my younger years is such a gift. You learn so much when you’re bullied or the outcast. It’s painful, but now I have a healthy contempt for what others think when it comes to my art.
Richie: At what point in your development did you become interested in singing as a healing mechanism?
Elly: Looking back, I've always known that sound was medicine. I've always known my singing was an offering—to whoever was around, even if it was just me and a pet. It was always meant to be of service.
I've gotten swept in many directions, and that expression became more self-oriented—especially during my opera career. There’s a clear right and wrong way in classical training. But even then, my goal was offering some sort of catharsis to the audience.
I started doing yoga when I was about 13 and got really serious at 19. I had my first mystical experience when I was about eight or nine, while singing in a concert. I lost my vision and could only see lights. I wasn't afraid. I carried on singing. My face felt all tingly. It wasn’t until now that I look back and realize it was a mini awakening moment.
When I started yoga at 19, I practiced every day for a few years. The mystical experiences became more present. It wasn’t until I went to yoga teacher training with Jared McCann at Lighthouse Yoga School that I learned about the deeper workings of meditation practice. He taught me how to cultivate this within myself. That’s when I started feeling how the music was healing me as I was making it.
During lockdown, I meditated a lot—all day, every day. And my voice started doing things on its own. Before 2018, if someone asked me to improvise singing anything, I would decline. I felt I had to practice something for at least six months before I let anyone hear it. I would never let my voice just do what it wanted.
Through meditation, it started flowing on its own. I'd say in the last five years, I've really divorced myself from the idea that there's a right and a wrong way to make sound. Sound is not meant to be put in a capitalistic, commercialized framework of what's sellable and not. Sound is meant for healing and shifting spaces.
I'm writing a book that shares the tools that helped awaken me, so others can find it within themselves. Every sound resonates into every other sound. We’re constantly shifting each other based on the vibration we’re emitting.
Richie: Is there a certain method, sound, or mantra you use in your practice?
Elly: I’m writing a section in my book on silence and integration, focusing on unstruck sound—sometimes called “the music of the spheres.” In ancient times, music was math—all about ratios. The planets have sounds, and ancient Greeks studied how those sounds vibrated our physical systems. The scientific definition of sound is simply: two molecules in space colliding. A sound is a vibration, like light. Literally everything has a vibration, which means everything has sound. The fact that we get to manipulate sound is incredible.
Having a specific mantra and structure for meditation is beautiful for me. I thrive under that structure. I have leaned more into general mysticism and divine feminine culture lately. I've been learning to read the Akashic Records, which are more unstructured. You sit and enter the Akashic field, and whatever happens... happens. If you want to move, you move. If you want to make sound, you make sound. You can be in the Akashic field and talk to other people as you go about your day.
That's been powerful for me. I also try to sit at an instrument and just let sound come out—without thinking about theory or how it will land. I allow whatever needs to move through me, to move.
Richie: How has your practice shaped you?
Elly: My practice has put me in a very strong place of trust. I trust that the right people will be there. If my intuition says someone’s not ready, I know I won’t be of service by trying to persuade them. We don’t get to meddle with anyone. We just show up and facilitate.
What we often need is permission. The permission of seeing someone else do it. It can feel bad because, in a capitalist system, that looks like failure. I’ve had obsessions with numbers. I went through years of suffering until I found new ways to connect with my higher self.
Richie: You share deeply personal experiences on stage. What is that like for you?
Elly: Thank you for seeing that. Honoring myself is the most healing for me and it has been a challenging, slow process to do that publicly with my music. I want to be myself in my original music, not create a persona, which is the opposite of what I’ve learned in my training.
I’ve processed my painful life experiences so completely that I feel safe to share about them now. I’ve sung through them, and meditated with them so they do not trigger me. The idea is—if I can honor myself enough to trust it’s safe to share how I feel, then that becomes an offering. It creates space for others to feel safe in their feelings too, so we can truly be in it together.
Music is meant to help us return to regulation. We feel catharsis through authentic expression—by allowing feelings to move. The biggest disservice we do to ourselves is attaching to emotions without processing them.. That cuts us off from each other. Once you realize emotions guide you back to regulation, they become less personal.
There are two ways to consider this: from your higher-self perspective (deeply detached from personal identity)—and from your physical, bodily self that’s here to feel all the feelings. Both are vital.
I'm releasing a new album starting in June, with music leaning into self-love. My last record was about pain and grief. This one is about self-care. I'm excited for people to start singing these songs—and curious to see what the in-person experience will feel like.
Richie: It’s really inspiring to listen to you. You’ve found such an authentic way to express yourself. How do you define yourself in the end?
Elly: That’s a great question—and another tricky one to answer. I’m not sure that I have a defined identity. We are called to listen to our higher self, and that part of us exists beyond identity.
I do know I have a particular purpose, and a role to play. My instincts lead me to make sound, to make music, and to be of service. I want to delight in all of it without judgment or criticism—and without attaching to any one way of being.
Richie: Thank you so much. When can we expect your book and album?
Elly: The book is a big question mark. The structure has been laid out—I’m working to include all the teachings I can remember, along with exercises people can try on their own. I usually don’t set hard deadlines until I’m closer to the finish line… so, TBD! ☺️
The first single of the album comes out June 11, 2025, and each song will be released with either a new or full moon for the next nine lunar cycles. The full record drops March 3, 2026. I’ll be hosting community meditation events leading up to it, and touring with my band as well. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited about what you’re building.
Richie: Thank you, Elly. I appreciate you.
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Outro by Sally Choi
Elly tours across the country, so you can catch her wherever she’s traveling. When she’s home (around the Brooklyn/NYC area), I highly recommend checking out her weekly group yoga classes and monthly sound baths at Yogatribe—in addition to her powerful musical performances. She also offers private healing sessions and group meditations.
As a teacher, Elly holds impeccable, compassionate, and disciplined space—where real transformation becomes possible, for any level. Her yoga classes are next level 😍. She’s one of the most attuned teachers I’ve ever practiced with—able to reveal blind spots I miss (even as a teacher myself) and help me move through fears and edges for real breakthroughs. She supports all of her students in cultivating true resilience and building from a strong, grounded center. Her teaching is compassionate yet sharp, and deeply expansive.
In every context I’ve experienced Elly—through yoga, performance, meditation, sound healing, or simply as a dear friend—her authenticity shines. What she offers the world is a true gift.
And as a friend, she’s someone I deeply admire and trust. There’s so much tenderness and truth in how she moves through life. I always leave our interactions feeling deeply connected and touched by her radiance.
She leaves a lasting imprint and reminds us that within the rawness of emotion lies the seed of connection and healing.
Follow her at ellykace.com and @ellykace on Instagram for updates on music, meditations, classes, and her upcoming book.
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Rich Awn
Outro & Edits by Sally Choi
