Elles de Graaf

Elles de Graaf, born on 20 September 1974 in Alkmaar, is a Dutch singer and a major voice in the trance scene.

Trained at the prestigious Stichting Amsterdamse Balletacademie, she developed dance skills (show, jazz, streetdance, ballet, acrobatics), which led to work as a dancer and model for various events, concerts, and commercials. She also founded and ran her own dance agency, “Concert Building,” for seven years.

Her music career began as a backing vocalist for several artists. Her breakthrough came in 2001 when producers Raz Nitzan and Adrian Broekhuyse introduced her to Armin Van Buuren, who was looking for a voice for an instrumental track. This collaboration resulted in The Sound Of Goodbye, released under the alias Perpetuous Dreamer. The single achieved international success, reaching the UK top 30 and the Dutch top 40. A second track, Dust.Wav, was released in 2002 and became a club hit.

German producers Blank & Jones, who had already remixed “The Sound Of Goodbye,” then worked with her on the track Flaming June for their album “Relax.” In late 2003, her solo project began with the single Circles Of Why (Without You), strongly supported by DJs such as Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, and Armin Van Buuren. In spring 2004, another collaboration with Blank & Jones led to the single Mind Of The Wonderful, which entered the German charts.

Alongside this, Elles de Graaf gained other musical experience. She is the cousin of singer Marco Borsato and appeared as a dancer in the 1994 video for his hit “Dromen Zijn Bedrog.” In the late 1990s, she was a member of the Dutch house project The Sunclub for six months. She was also part of the covers group De Foetsie’s, which found success in the Netherlands in 1996 with a parody of the Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly.” She also appeared in music videos for Roy Gates and Danny Nicolay.