A Chat With: Isador
There are songs that grow on you over time, and then there are songs that immediately hook you, instantly finding their way to the top of your recently played list on Spotify. Take "Falling" for example, the debut single of 300 Entertainment signee Isador (real name Warren Heller). The song, which dropped in early October, features a building and stacked arrangement, a haunting melody, and relatable message. Along with the song, which has already been getting tons of recognition, Isador dropped a music video, which he co-directed with his brother. While this is only the start for the 22 year old singer songwriter, 2018 will inevitably be a huge year for Isador. Before he takes off, get to know more about his songwriting process, his favorite albums of the year, how he deals with anxiety, and what he hopes to accomplish by sharing his music. Find out all that and more in our chat with Isador!
Photo Credit: Yael Malka
ANCHR Magazine: When did you first get into playing and writing your own music?
Isador: I really started writing my own music when I was 13, after I'd gotten a copy of Ableton from my brother. After that I spent all my time after school on the computer totally transfixed.
AM: What were some of the first bands or artists that inspired you, and what are some current inspirations?
Isador: My parents always kept music on around the house and in the car, so really early on I remember loving Stax stuff, like Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, also The Beatles are very deeply ingrained in my subconscious...
I was really lucky to live near an amazing record store growing up in New Jersey, when I was bored I'd go over and kind of just get lost in the place... thats when I started listening to Grizzly Bear and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and bands of that ilk. DJ Shadow, Just Blaze, Nujabes, Hans Zimmer, Q-tip, Jamie XX, Radiohead, Grimes, Portishead all have huge influences on me to name a few. Understanding sample based production totally changed my life.
I think my favorite music kind of takes me to the breaking point emotionally. I'm listening to Frank Ocean's Blonde a ton... it KILLS me. It makes me feel a giant range of emotion, from anger to total depression to absolute bliss. So good!
AM: Do you also look to non musical influences when writing (like books, films, stories from friends, etc..)? What's an example of a time you've pulled inspiration from something like that?
Isador: Yes definitely, I think an idea can really be expressed in any medium. Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint exactly what or where inspiration is coming from, I'll write a song and not really understand what it means until much later in the process. When I was 17 I tried this songwriting exercise for a while where I'd pick my favorite images or stills from movies and make a songs out of each of them. Some really weird stuff came out of that, the best came out of this really great still of Sigourney Weaver in the last third of Alien.
AM: Your debut single “Falling” has been getting a lot of great reception from fans. What have been some of your favorite responses?
Isador: Yes, its been really amazing. Someone said the song "Makes my heart eager to sing loudly and never stop dancing again." So great!
AM: The song is your response to dealing with anxiety and self doubt. What advice would you give to fellow young artists or your fans also struggling with anxiety?
Isador: Believe in yourself and trust your gut. You and your work have value and it shouldn't feel like you need to be validated by anyone else. I was living on the validation of others for so long and I think it's really dangerous.
“I think my favorite music kind of takes me to the breaking point emotionally.”
AM: I love the video for “Falling,” too, which you directed, right? How did you come up with the concept and was this your first time directing?
Isador: Thank you! I did direct it, with my brother. For the concept we took the themes of the song (powerlessness and fear) and turned them into narrative. The video comes out of my upbringing where I felt a ton of pressure to follow a path already set for me and my life.
When we were kids I made tons videos with my brother, we dragged our friends all over town and had them act. We got support from some local film festivals and it was always a great experience. "Falling" was the first time we made something like that in a long time. Directing this video which was an extension of something I felt so strongly was pretty intense emotionally and physically. We had rigged up this crazy padding so I could be dragged without rocks cutting me up. I would have to watch takes on the ground covered in mud and figure out direction because we didn’t really have enough time for me to get up and reset.
AM: Is there an EP or full length in the works as well?
Isador: An EP is done and the LP is in the works. The next song thats coming out I'm very excited for, I worked on it with my friend Andrew Maury, also theres a video for that song we are working on thats maybe the craziest thing I've ever done.
AM: Do you have any songwriting rituals or process that you tend to follow when writing?
Isador: Hmm, my space and where I am effect what I write so much. I generally go back home to my parents' house to work on music, something about being removed from everything in my life while still living in the memory of so much formative experience makes for very intense and true expression of myself. What I write in New York is so much different, I think pressures of New York make can make it really hard to write anything great, at least thats how I'm feeling right now.
AM: Do you have any plans to tour soon?
Isador: TBA ;)
AM: What are some of your favorite albums of 2017?
Isador: In no particular order...
Big Thief- Capacity
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins
Kendrick Lamar - Damn.
Aldous Harding - Party
Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy
Young Thug - Beautiful Thugger Girls
Perfume Genius - No Shape
Sampha - Process
AM: Since we’re nearing the end of the year, what are some of your goals for 2018?
Isador: I want to make and release way more music and videos, I feel like I have a lot in me that needs to come out. I also want to be of service to others I want people going through what I'm going and have gone through to be able to listen to my music and have it help them feel like they are not alone.