FEATURE:
Spotlight
Ella Isaacson
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I am going to bring in….
a few interviews with the amazing Ella Isaacson. This is an artist that everyone needs to keep a close watch out for next year. Someone who is going to make huge steps. I am going to start off with some biography about an artist that you should know about and follow:
“Her solo project has garnered over 26 Million streams on Spotify and 40 million across platforms as well as a songwriter that has amassed over half a Billion streams now and a Billboard #1. Discovered upon a chance meeting abroad, Ella was taken under the wing of Norwegian Hitmakers Stargate, who played a pivotal role in developing her as an artist and honing her songwriting skills. Ella is a regular feature on Spotify's SALT Playlist and Apple Music's BREAKING POP. Ella has seen a bunch of viral tiktok success over various singles on her Artist project in the last few years including her latest "FMLYLM" with over 6 Million views on the platform.
In 2022, Ella's single Armageddon was a "Popular" Tiktok sound trending over 30 Million streams across UGC, while her 2023 release, "RUDE," has been played on 50+ US radio stations, earning support from notable radio figures like Ted Stryker at Alt 98.7, Jojo Wright from Kiis FM, and Maxwell on z100. Ella has collaborated on releases with artists like Illenium, Blasterjaxx, Zed's Ded, R3hab, Gallant, Deep Chills and BKAYE and has penned songs for Bryce Vine, Aespa, Xiumin from EXO and more”.
I am quite new to Ella Isaacson. She is an artist that I have just connected with and am loving her music. I am interested to see where she heads next year. With such a distinct sound and a clear talent, I am excited to see where she heads.
I want to start out with a 2021 interview from FLAUNT. Around the time Ella Isaacson released the incredible single, Out of My Head, it is interesting learning more about the New York-raised artist. I will move on to some 2024 interviews in a minute:
“Growing up, Ella fell in love with poetry first before discovering her own voice as a singer. In combining the two, suddenly she found solace in songwriting and recording songs… inspired by a wide range of influences from Avril Lavigne to Green Day to Billy Joel. First releasing music under another moniker, Ella spent some time overseas where she came to the realization of what it meant to be 100% authentically herself.
Ella describes her character in one word: time. “She’s a time traveler essentially, she's era driven,” she explains. “There’s a lot of inspiration both in the world she lives in and the music she writes, that’s all driven by time. Whether it’s on a thematic level of running out of time and the anxieties that come with life, then a visual level inspired by moves through time and different eras. Pull-on different things that way.”
What part of New York are you from?
A bit of a mixed batch, I grew up in Long Island and Manhattan.
What was a young Ella like growing up there?
For my younger life, I was very much in the suburbs. I was a kid who does what kids do when they’re bored in the suburbs. [laughs] They have too many things to overthink about and they write. I wrote poetry as a kid, I’d curl up in my room or find the backyard or grass. I’d write poetry, I was that kid.
At what point did poetry turn into music?
I was doing music for a while. I did classical training, I was singing as a kid. When I was 13, I realized “Wow, I should put these two things together.” I’d been writing poetry for a lot of years, I started really young. I was one of those strange kids who fell into that at 8 years old. I started to put it together. I had a cousin who was much older than me, who was a producer. I called him and said “Hey, I just wrote a song. Could you record it for me?” That day, my poetry went into full-on recording and I fell in love with it.
Who made you want to do music?
I was the child of much, much older siblings. I was 12+ years plus to my youngest sibling. You became a sponge at that point, my sister started singing. Because she sang, I’ve always had music around my house. My parents were music lovers. There’s tons of videos of me at the piano or grabbing a hairbrush to sing. It was in my world, I just took it and made it my own.
How would you describe your sound now?
[sighs] It’s grown a lot. The EP is definitely an acoustic pop driven sound. It’s called Chapters, I don’t know why it took us so long. We wanted to encapsulate a lot of things in the title. We’ve been releasing Chapters along with the singles as they come out. I literally had a eureka moment the other day: “that is the most perfect name for the EP!” [laughs] Last second when we got there, because I couldn’t settle. I needed it to be exactly right. It really fits in with so many things. From a literary perspective, there’s a lot of influences on the project. Just the fact it talked about stages in your life. A lot of us are always growing but this new generation in your 20’s, you’re growing up in a different way than ever before. The opportunities and choices, it’s moving so fast that things are changing so much for every generation.
For me, that’s really where I felt so much of my growth has happened. I wanted to mark that and Chapters is the perfect representation on a lot of different levels. It’s been really amazing because we’re about time. Of course, things have always been organic. For the new project, in the last month we’ve almost made an album worth of material. Sometimes, inspiration hits. You finish one thing and already have the bulk of another. [laughs] That’s been really fun. The EP was a culmination of things I worked on before and during Covid. While the new project is really where I’m at right now. So much inspiration, so many things that happened and my personal evolution with the project as well. I’m really excited. When we speak of eras, we’re really inspired by main collaborators like Billy Joel, Elton John, Queen. Everything from time signatures to the way the guitars are played and arpeggiation. Really getting specific about the time period and bringing you something fresh and new with it. It’s been really exciting to experiment with that sound because I grew up on that being a New Yorker.
How does it feel to release “Out Of My Head”?
I’m feeling really good about it. One of my big places of inspiration has been Sweden. That song was literally made the first day when I worked in Sweden for the first time.
Have you always been vulnerable with your music?
It took a while, I’ll be honest. We all have vulnerability as children, then that goes away. When I wrote music at the start I struggled with that honesty for whatever reason, I don’t know if it’s being shy or the feeling of being watched, or if you grow to be less vulnerable because of life experiences, but it took a long time. The birth of the project this time was where I said “wow, I’m really writing about my life. Things I’m really experiencing on a day to day basis, everything’s rooted from me.” It changed my life and my art, it’s all growing pains.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?
Oh god, I don’t know. I don’t think I have any other plans. [laughs] I’m so focused on music. If I wasn’t in music, because I’m so inspired by poetry and film, it’d definitely have to be something in those landscapes. I’m doing that now, it’s been really exciting to try out my hands in different things. I really love that process, it’s something I see myself doing.
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not recording?
I like fun experiences with friends or people I love. A great view, a great class, a great dinner. Something where I get to share that experience, see something really beautiful and have fun doing it.
One thing you want people to get from the Chapters EP?
I want them to see that everybody goes through these growing pains. We can really feel alone in that process, in our frustration. I really go there without shame in talking about it, I throw myself under the bus sometimes. [laughs] I really want fans to hear that and feel not alone. That’s why we listen to music, so we feel less alone”.
This year has seen Ella Isaacson release incredible singles like Cocaine Kisses and Penny Lane. Perhaps her finest music to date, it bodes well for next year. What will come from this sensational artist. I will love on to a recent interview from Lock Mag. I was especially interested reading Isaacson’s response to the question as how, as a female musician, she tackles obstacles:
“How do you express your personal experiences and identity through your music?
Earlier on I learned from songwriters who gave me a shot at the start, that a great songwriter is a great storyteller. Whether that’s telling stories from your experiences and those close to you, an aspirational story of the version of ourselves we wish we could be, or bringing the listener on a journey of a world we’re tapping into in that moment. I’ve touched on all these different approaches in my process. I think identity is something that happens over time and writing many songs and creating your world brick by brick.
Have you faced any challenges or obstacles as a female musician, and if so, how have you overcome them?
I have and as a really young girl when I started, I wasn’t as vocal as I should’ve been. I think I attempted to handle those challenges with grace and just walk away from where situations where I didn’t feel respected and really pay attention to my spidey senses when things felt off. I tried to dim my feminine side in ways and be extra professional, so as not to warrant any unwanted attention, which sucked that it was all on me to try to manage that rather than people knowing right from wrong or knowing that certain things are just simply “not okay” to say to a young, female artist.
I can’t say there weren’t moments and interactions that didn’t shock me or make me feel really hurt and at odds with the way people choose to operate.
Now, my approach is much more vocal and I think the industry has gotten much more aware of appropriate conduct. I think female musicians do get a lot more criticism and meanness directed at them than men from the business side, but I really hope we are in a growth spurt of change and I believe it truly is getting better.
Are there any particular themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?
My songs cover various themes, but ultimately, I want people to walk away feeling confident, seen, empowered, sexy, and ready to grab life by the horns while embracing their true selves.
Can you talk about your creative process and how you go about writing and producing your music?
I like to start from scratch usually, with a great guitar lick or a sound or reference of some sort. My favorite is when I have a lyric idea I’ve been mulling over and bring it into the studio and then marry that with the production idea we create. I want both the lyrical content and the sonic world to hit both separately and together. I have worked all different ways and continue to challenge myself but a bulk of the music I make lately has started this way!
How do you hope your music will resonate with your audience, especially with other aspiring female musicians?
My point of view is through a very female forward lens and I don’t sensor myself very much because I want other females to feel the freedom to say and do what they want in life and not be limited by archaic societal norms and expectations, which frankly need a real update. I want my music and world to be a place for all people to feel free to express themselves and feel confident, seen, sexy, and empowered”.
I am going to end with a great interview from The Indie Grid. They heralded an artist who is a stellar addition to today’s Rock Pop landscape. I would urge anyone unfamiliar with Ella Isaacson to check out her music. She is going to be one of the essential voices of next year:
“Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
It really varies, but I always love when I get a random burst of inspiration and start writing a bunch of poetry or even if I just have a line or phrase or a word or two, I’ll bring that into the studio and to my co-writers. I’ve also been in the lab just throwing ideas back-and-forth and the most amazing songs have also come out of that!
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
In all different ways, sometimes it’s life and just getting out of my head and going and living it. Sometimes it’s listening to a bunch of music. And sometimes it’s hearing a word or phrase out in the world or on the radio. Honestly, a bunch of my best ideas come when I’m half asleep or when I’m in the shower. Listening to music and listening to new music even if it’s in a totally different world than what I make can be so inspiring.
Also listening to full albums, I feel like just really diving headfirst into those artists’ worlds for a project like that really brings me inspiration.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
I would say my songs have all different themes, but at the end of the day I want people to walk away feeling confident, feeling seen, angsty if they need to be, sexy and ready just grab life by the horns and be their beautiful selves walking through it!
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
We could be here all day haha it’s complicated being an emerging artist but what I would say more than anything is that we’re in a period of so much opportunity and have so much power being put in our hands right now. Every industry has its challenges, but we can now reach more fans directly than ever, so I really focus on that more than the challenges. My fans and the people that are excited about the music I make keep me going and motivated.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
There have been many, I always wanted to do something of value and impact in the space. I think the experience of putting out “FMLYLM” was really a turning point for me. I had teased it once on Tiktok and right away it went viral that day. I just felt so connected to the fans on the platform, seeing their support and excitement in real time, it really moved the needle on that song and was such a different kind of experience than my other records.
We all come to the table with our own baggage and I have my fair share but to see all these people supporting me, really made me feel like, okay I’ve done something good. I’ve ticked a few things off my goals list songwriting for other artists, but on that song it just touched me in a different way.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
By doing the work on myself and paying attention to the person inside of me. The human who loves to embrace the spirit of change, but also needs to make time clear my mind and gain perspective. Often in the industry there are people around that will make you question your ideas, but your circle should have that “let’s make it happen” mentality. I make sure to place myself in environments and around my friends and creative crews, that help bring my crazy ideas to life with a spirit of positivity and excitement.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours? Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
I’m really excited about getting out there and playing for my fans. I want to connect with them on a deeper level and share this music that has a classic rock feel but with a modern twist. I’ve been working on these songs that capture the real essence of rock, both old and new. That’s what’s really inspiring me right now and I want to bring back that raw energy, boldness, and honesty that made classic rock so timeless, but put my own spin on it. We’ll be building this dream together, one song at a time, one show at a time”.
Such an accomplished artist, I am glad that I cam across Ella Isaacson’s music. She is going to have a really successful 2025. Make sure that you follow her and chart her progress. I can feel and see big things in her future. This is a sensational artist that you…
NEED to know about.
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