Watch salem ilese make a song with an assortment of mystery sounds

“I go into a flow state when I do harmonies—I feel like I could do this for hours,” salem ilese says.

The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and artist is known for her internet presence and confessional lyrics that explore topics like modern life, mental health, and relationships. Some of her viral hits like “Mad at Disney” and “PS5” have amassed hundreds of millions of streams and lead to collaborations with the likes of TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Alan Walker.

For our second Mystery Box challenge, we invited salem ilese to the Splice YouTube channel to see if she could make a song out of nothing but the objects and prompts within our box. Watch along above as she builds a nostalgic-sounding demo with everything from a kalimba to samples she found via the Splice x Ableton integration. After arranging an instrumental bed, she wraps up the session by tracking some soothing vocal harmonies.

For more similar sessions, be sure to also check out our inaugural Mystery Box episode featuring KSHMR:

And there you have it! What was your favorite part of salem ilese’s track? Who else would you like to see us feature next? Let us know in the comments section of the video, and subscribe for more artist-led tips, tutorials, and challenges.

Browse, preview, and license Splice samples directly inside Ableton Live with our new in-DAW integration:

April 6, 2026

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Harrison Shimazu

Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who’s passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.