ISØBEL

Cool sounds for hot Summers from Ottawa, Canada

Artist Bio

Masterfully combining growling synthesizers, pulsing drums, and distorted guitar, Electropop artist
ISØBEL delivers brooding Alternative Pop and Synthrock anthems to fans of similar artists such as Lorde,
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Metric.

This self-taught solo artist writes, records, and produces her tracks out of her home studio in Ottawa,
Canada. ISØBEL captivates audiences with her energetic and assertive stage presence, slowly
increasing the ante as she delves into topics of self-doubt, egotism, relationships, and womanhood,
leaving her audience wanting more.

What artists have influenced your music?

“I would say artists that I’ve listened to for large chunks of time at different points of my life (and pretty
much wanted to be) are Metric, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, AWOLNATION, and St. Vincent…so lots of indie Synthrock. I used to listen to a lot of Electro, too, like MSTRKRFT, Justice, and Ratatat in the mid-2000s. More recently, artists that I really enjoy are Billie Eilish and Noga Erez, and local Canadian bands Featurette and Ellevator. Again, pretty much all artists that incorporate synths into their music!”

“Hurt U” – A single (May, 2021)

A hard rocking Synthpop anthem, “Hurt U” is an anti-love song for jaded hearts. This teaser video of “Hurt U” features ISØBEL’s sultry smooth vocals, thought provoking lyrics, and a glimpse of her powerful, emotional stage performances which are magically accented with sequins and synths.

“Infinity Pools” – the single (April, 2020)

One of ISØBEL’s most popular songs—”Infinity Pools”—is a testament to her minimal yet effective approach to arrangement. Clean drums lead us to her pure vocals which together build energy thanks to the help of her deft synthesizer playing and smart usage of sampling. Enjoy the lyric video for the song and experience the feeling of “Infinity Pools”. *Please Note: This video contains flashing lights.*

You can also watch ISØBEL’s performance of “Infinity Pools” live on Encore Ottawa Season 3 Premiere.

What challenges have you faced as an Artist?

“Overall, my biggest challenge is just making music as someone who has a lot of anxiety. Every part of the
music-making process is a struggle for me; my anxiety makes me over-think every decision to the point
where I feel mentally paralyzed and can’t even begin something. I get overwhelmed by the endless
options in terms of hardware, plug-ins, effects, etc. when it comes to producing music. So this, in turn,
considerably slows down how quickly I release music, to the point where I consider it a problem. That’s
actually one of the themes in my latest track, “Shameless” – having anxiety and social anxiety as a
musician. I felt that very strongly last summer.”

What are your future goals with your music?

“I would love to eventually rework my current releases, have them professionally mixed and mastered and
release them on vinyl, just to have something physical, tangible.”

“Something I’ve also always wanted to do is make a professional quality music video. I filmed a few DIY
ones myself but never finished them. I’ve met a couple local videographers in the community now, so that
is feeling like a more realistic goal.”

“But to be honest, a real goal would be to become so comfortable performing live shows that I don’t get
super nervous for weeks beforehand! That would involve tweaking or switching out some of the gear I use
live to minimize any errors, changing up how I play some songs live, and continuing to practice singing.
Otherwise, I would just like to focus on doing covers and making music for fun again for a while.”

Tell us about your studio setup

“My favourite instrument right now is probably my drum machine, the Roland TR-8S. It’s a huge part of my
live shows. I manually sequenced all the drum parts that are heard when I play live, and imported some
samples and backing vocals onto it, too.”

“As an instrument on its own though, I also love it because the samples are such high quality, varied and
just conducive to making electronic music. The workflow of Roland drum machines also just make sense
to me, and I think that’s a big part of being creative and efficient—finding whatever medium makes
sense to you and is fun to play. The TR-8S is definitely fun to play and I keep learning more about what it
can do each time I turn it on. I’m trying to incorporate it a lot into the current track I’m working on.”

Do you have any upcoming projects, shows, etc?

“Right now, I’m working on a new single called “Shameless”. I’m hoping to release it by the end of June, 2022. The best way to catch it when it’s released would be to follow me on Spotify and Instagram. I’m also performing at the YGK Craft Beer Fest in Kingston, June 11th. If you’re in the Kingston, Ontario area, come by! It should be a fun time, on the beautiful waterfront at Fort Henry.”

How can your fans best help support you?

“My fans can best support me by following and listening on Spotify! I just entered my track “Infinity Pools” into a competition (CBC Music’s Toyota Searchlight), and the number of streams is considered by the panel of judges—so please go stream it! It’s my most popular song. It’s about toxic friendships. You can also follow me and say hello on Instagram. That’s the platform on which I’m the most active.”

Support ISØBEL

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