Ottawa, ON-based electronic rock musician ISØBEL captivates audiences with her energetic and assertive stage presence, slowly upping the ante as she delves into topics of self-doubt and egotism, relationships, and womanhood, leaving her audience wanting more.
ISØBEL is set to play Ottawa’s Ice Dragon Boat Festival on February 8 at The Rainbow Bistro at 8:00 pm.
Listen to “Hurt U” below and learn more about ISØBEL via our festival edition mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to the readers?
My name is ISØBEL. I’m an electronic rock musician from Ottawa, Ontario. I make gritty, angry pop songs with synths, guitar, and my drum machine.
Tell us a bit about your newest release.
My latest release “Hurt U” is an anti-love song. It’s about wanting to inflict (emotional) pain onto someone who has hurt you, but not being able to because you care for them too much. So in the song I’m wishing I could hurt them to the same degree that I love them. When I wrote it, I felt a bit like a monster, because admitting I wished I could hurt someone felt shameful. The song is meant to reflect how someone’s cruel actions can poison the receiver into becoming a spiteful, vindictive person themselves; like a cornered animal lashing out. I think people should acknowledge and accept these uglier, darker sides of ourselves.
Musically, “Hurt U” has a very gritty synth lead, sparse drums, and builds onto itself over the course of the track. I kind of wanted to create a thundering “wall of sound” by the end of it.
You’ll be playing Ottawa’s Ice Dragon Boat Festival in February. Is this your first time performing at the festival?
Yes it is! I’m excited, I’ve seen many great acts at the Dragon Boat Festival over the years.
What can people expect from your live performance?
You can expect to see me run around, playing multiple parts at once! When I perform live, I play two synths, electric guitar and sing. I’ll be performing all of my released music, as well as a few unreleased projects and some fun covers.
What other bands/artists are you looking forward to checking out at the festival?
Definitely Pony Girl and Stoby. I think Pony Girl are one of the greatest musical acts coming out of Ottawa right now. And I really enjoy Stoby’s brand of indie rock. I think their sound is unique and fun.
Do you have any upcoming shows or festivals you’d like to tell us about?
I’m playing at LIVE! On Elgin with Stoby and Teenage Fiction on June 9th! It’s going to be right before the Distortion 90s Rock Dance Party, so it’s definitely going to be a fun night!