Meet Elsian Atienza

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elsian Atienza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elsian below.

Elsian, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose by realizing that music has always been at the core of who I am. After high school, I shifted my focus to college and put music on pause. But in 2022, during one of the lowest points in my life, I turned back to writing and recording as a way to process what I was going through. It wasn’t about chasing a career then, it was just me, my mic, and my laptop, trying to make sense of my emotions.

When I started sharing those songs online and saw how people connected with them, something clicked. Hearing someone say, “your music helped me” or “I really relate to this” made me realize that what I create can go far beyond myself. That’s when I knew my purpose was to keep making music that resonates, whether it reaches one person or thousands.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I go by the artist name LCN! and I’m a Filipino singer / songwriter based in Seattle. My music blends indie pop, R&B, and electronic influences, and it’s deeply inspired by my own story, from growing up in a small town, to love and heartbreak, to the process of self discovery. What excites me most about what I do is how music connects people. There’s nothing like hearing someone say my song helped them through something, or watching a crowd sing the lyrics back to me at a show.

Something that makes my journey unique is how personal and independent it’s been. My team is just me, my sister who manages me, my brother who’s my photographer, and a close friend who produces for me. We’ve been building everything from the ground up, and that has shaped not just my sound but my perspective as an artist.

I grew up in Oak Harbor, Washington, and for me, music was always more than just a hobby, it became the way I could process everything I was feeling. This past year has been huge. I released my debut EP, WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE, in August, and I’ve been performing nonstop, both in Seattle and out of state. I signed to 88rising last year, which still feels surreal, and I’m about to join Stolen Gin for their North American tour this fall. I’ll also be playing at a Filipino festival in Mississauga this month, which means a lot to me as an artist who wants to represent where I come from.

Right now, my focus is on performing even more and continuing to grow my audience while working on new music. Each show and release feels like another step forward, and it’s exciting to see everything building. At the end of the day, I realized my purpose is creating music that people can connect with, songs that make them feel understood, seen, or inspired. That connection is what drives me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, I think three things really shaped my journey — resilience, self belief, and connection.

Resilience because this path isn’t easy, there are setbacks, moments of doubt, and times when things don’t go as planned. Learning to keep going, even when it feels tough, has been everything.

Self belief because before anyone else can back you, you have to believe in your own voice and vision. Growing up in a small town, it sometimes felt like pursuing music on this scale wasn’t realistic, but trusting that what I had to say mattered helped me push forward.

Lastly, connection is very important, whether with people in the industry, other artists, or most importantly, with the audience. Every show in Seattle, every performance out of state, those opportunities came from building relationships and really showing up.

For anyone just starting out, I’d say, don’t rush the process. Work on your craft every day, but also work on knowing yourself. Surround yourself with people who get it, who want to see you grow, and remember that setbacks aren’t the end, they’re part of what sharpens you.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The people who’ve helped me most are the ones who believed in me even when I doubted myself. My older sister, Elica, who is also my manager, has especially been a big part of that. She’s always supported me, kept me focused, and reminded me why I started in the first place. Whether it was friends, mentors, or collaborators, having people around who reminded me to keep going made a huge difference. They pushed me to grow, to experiment, and to not be afraid of failing along the way.

I think the most helpful thing has been surrounding myself with people who understand what I’m aiming for and encourage me to stay consistent. It’s easy to get lost in self doubt, but having that circle of support really kept me grounded and motivated to keep building.

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Image Credits

Casiano Atienza

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