Changemakers: How Singer Alisun Is Using Her Voice for Animals

You developed your performing talents at a very young age—you learned to play piano at the age of four and began writing songs as a teenager. Have you always wanted to be a singer?

As a kid, I wanted to be a vet or an animal rescuer in Africa—things that would protect life on Earth and other species. I wanted to be an inventor, a scientist—so many things that had that same line of helping the world in some way. It wasn’t until high school that I decided that songwriting was for me. When I started writing my own songs, I liked what I would hear, and I thought, Maybe this is my path. And then being on tour with Camila for two years—a Latin American pop rock band—really confirmed that I love this career path.

What is your process for making music?

For me, the music always has to tell a story. I always write the music first, and sometimes I don’t write the lyrics until everything is complete. Sometimes I write it section by section, depending on what I hear in my mind. The song is the messenger! I feel like I work more in terms of frequency rather than structure—I just let it flow. I think it’s really important to listen to the message of the sounds more than the message of the mind, because our minds can be sort of limiting. When the music tells the story, you’re more in your heart and you're feeling what it wants to say instead of trying to force it. So, nothing forceful. Always writing the music first and then allowing it to tell the story. And then my lyrics come.

How do you use your music to speak up for nature, animals, and the planet?

My EP coming out is called Mundieo. The focus track is also called “Mundieo,” so I named the whole EP after it because it’s the most impactful song to me. It's a song I wrote when I was around the ages of 17 to 19. I wrote it in a moment of despair and frustration that so many people can’t feel the lives of the beings that they’re affecting. “Mundieo” is a song that talks all about that. It talks about the planet, it talks about how humans are changing the world into the anti-world in a way—the nightmare, rather than the dream.

I always push that message of environmentalism, whether or not my songs have to do with it, because to me it's one of the most important things. Nothing else matters if we don’t have a place to live. It's really important for us all to gain more awareness, because we’re really able to make the world we want through our actions. They don't have to be huge actions, but any action will go either this way or that way, so any one step this way—even if it takes two steps back—is still moving slightly forward.

So I like to have that perspective—instead of perfect environmentalism or perfect zero-waste or perfect diet standards. I'm vegan, and I hold myself to that accountability and that integrity of knowing the impact all of my choices have. But I don’t hold everyone to that same standard. If everyone does a little, we’ll all do a lot.

Have you always been an animal lover? What drives your love for the natural world?

I've definitely always been an animal lover. Even from a young age, I think your soul either recognizes that you are the animals or not. And that's how I see it. I feel like a part of me has known that I am everything, and so I always treat everything delicately. I don’t ever want to put out harsh energy or harsh physical acts to anything. At the end of the day, we're all connected; it's all still us.

So when I would eat meat, I would still say that I'm an animal lover, but I can’t say except for them—except for anything—it's all or nothing for me.

Why do you think that music is such a powerful medium for making change?

I think that music is a universal language. I think that even if people don't understand what they're listening to when there is a drum—which is the first thing that we receive in the womb, the heart beat, the first drum—I think that we all can connect to something. Anything that brings you closer to connecting with your own heart—with your own essence—is a very powerful force to create change. We turn into what we tune into, so I think the more we choose to put out positive things that we can tune into, the more that we can create change.

What is your "why?"

My “why” is to bring more connection, to remind people of who they are, to connect them with themselves, to connect them with their hearts, to connect them with a higher consciousness, and to eventually create a new world with love instead of fear.

This year, you premiered “Around the World.” Can you describe the meaning behind the song? What was the inspiration behind it?

“Around the World” is a song that I wrote talking to my inner child as well as children around the world. It was my response to Greta Thunberg’s speech to the U.N., when she says, "You have let our generations down and we will never forgive you." I remember watching that speech. Seeing such a young girl have the bravery to be straightforward to so many world leaders, I had to write this song as a response. I wanted to bring encouragement and let her know that even though we aren’t as visible, there are many of us who care, and there are many of us who are acting on the fact that we care. And it’s growing more and more.

So on my end, I’m not going to let Greta down; I’m not going to let the next generations down. I’m not going to let my inner child down—and that’s why I hold myself up to such a high standard, because I’m doing this for them. I know the impact of shaping young minds to be stronger, to be more empathetic, to be more full of love and light, and to know that they can make a difference even if it’s just one person.

What impact do you hope that singing about the earth and its inhabitants will have?

Specifically, I hope that more and more people consume less animal products. I hope that more and more people choose sustainability, and if they’re unable to choose sustainability, that people who have power to create things can create more affordable, sustainable things.

I hope that empathy grows in the world. I hope that we have more compassion for one another. I hope that we can see everyone through the eyes of love and remember more of who we are, which is love, at the end of the day. I hope to create a more peaceful world, to stop conflicts, and to encourage people to stand up for themselves.

How are you working to spread compassion online through your new social media campaign—#SpreadTheLove challenge?

The #SpreadTheLove challenge is about doing nice acts whenever you can. It can be visiting a family member who you haven’t visited in a long time who might feel alone. It could be paying for someone’s groceries. It could be doing things for an orphanage, cleaning up the beaches—just nice things that we can do in the world.

There’s no right or wrong to the challenge, there’s no structure or anything. It's just however you're able to spread the love. It doesn’t need to be anything physical—it can be energetic, it can be emotional—whatever you're able to give is perfect.

What gives you hope for the future of the planet?

The fact that I see more and more vegan places popping up in the world gives me lots of hope. Seeing certain styles of consciousness in the new generations is very uplifting to see, because I can see they're very connected, and I know that they’re very aware of what they’re creating and how they’re treating each other. It starts there, because people who can’t treat humans better can’t treat the world better, can’t treat other beings in the world better, and so younger generations are what gives me the most hope.

People like me give me hope. Honestly, I give myself hope. Indigenous people give me a lot of hope because they’re so strong and they’re standing strong in a lineage of truth—not just facts. And that is so important to differentiate, because there are so many facts but the truth is in the heart. And they live only through the heart, and being able to interact with certain communities who just live that way and share that way and speak that way and connect that way gives me a lot of hope.

That’s part of my mission with music: when more people connect to their hearts, the world will change.

To listen to Alisun’s music, including her new EP Mundieo, visit Spotify or Apple Music. You can also stay connected with her on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.

And for inspiration and tips on switching to a plant-based diet, check out our Plant-Based Starter Guide.