Interview – Isabelle Gitlin

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In the vibrant landscape of today’s music scene, Isabelle Gitlin stands out as a promising new voice, blending heartfelt storytelling with captivating melodies. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, this singer-songwriter has always found solace and joy in the transformative power of music. From early childhood days spent at the piano to her current journey as an artist, Isabelle’s passion for self-expression shines through every note and lyric.

Her debut single, ‘For Tonight’ marked the start of a deeply personal and resonant musical journey. With a mix of raw emotion and polished artistry, Isabelle invites listeners into her world, sharing experiences of love, loss, and personal growth. As she continues to craft her unique sound, her latest release, ‘Long & Gone’, showcases her ability to blend pop, country, and soft rock into a track that’s both vulnerable and powerful.

In this exclusive interview, Isabelle opens up about her inspirations, creative process, and aspirations as an independent artist. From the influence of family and her Boston upbringing to her admiration for artists like SZA and Mariah Carey, Isabelle reflects on the moments that shaped her path. Read on as she shares the stories behind her music and what’s next in her exciting journey.

What inspired you to start making music, and how did your journey as a singer-songwriter begin?

I was inspired to start making music because it was a way for me to express myself. I’m very shy and tend to keep to myself, but writing and singing allowed me to let people into my world.

Your debut single, ‘For Tonight,’ received a lot of praise. How did that success shape your approach to ‘Long & Gone’?

Thank you! I actually had started working on “Long & Gone” whilst working on “For Tonight” so there was definitely some overlap but going through the recording process and finally releasing “For Tonight” gave me the confidence and motivation to continue working on existing projects I had like “Long & Gone.” I felt more comfortable in the studio environment, with communicating my ideas, and being assertive with my vision.

Can you walk us through your creative process when writing songs, especially with ‘Long & Gone’?

My creative process typically starts on the piano. I’ll always play out melodies on the piano first because I’m a very visual person and seeing the way each note interacts with the chords underneath is helpful to me when building the structure of the song. After writing the melody, I’ll bring it to the producer I work with, and for “Long & Gone,” I already had a specific idea of how I wanted the track to sound. I knew that because the lyrics were going to be vulnerable and unrestrained, I wanted raw instrumentation and a very grounded sound. I felt that a strong guitar would be the perfect backbone of the track, and from there the producer did a beautiful job building the entirety of the sonic landscape. I also knew for this song, I wanted intense, prominent background vocals. I think they can add so much texture and character to a song and as a listener I love hearing them. I spent a lot of time crafting where they should be in relation to the main vocal, how many stacks there should be on the main harmonies, what vowel the background stacks should be, when they should cut out, etc. and the producer I work with helped a great deal in determining many of those details with me. After everything is recorded I listen back to the song many times and will adjust sections that need improvement.

How did collaborating with Talitha influence the final outcome of ‘Long & Gone’?

Talitha helped me immensely in writing this song. I remember showing her the melody I already had composed with some rough lyrics, and was just unsure of where I should go with it story-wise. She listened to it and the next day sent over two lines that I ended up keeping in the final draft of the song. What she wrote inspired me to revise the rest of my lyrics and build the song around what she had added. I think that without her I wouldn’t have taken the direction I did lyrically and it wouldn’t have been as authentic to me.

The lyrics of ‘Long & Gone’ are very raw and relatable. Was there a specific moment or experience that inspired the song’s theme?

There wasn’t a specific moment really, it was just an amalgamation of situations where I felt like I was losing somebody that wasn’t really mine to lose, that I had made attachments to people without really knowing them. It was very difficult for me to sit with that just because there’s nobody to be upset with or to blame and I found that I had a lot of pent up energy. I just directed that energy towards my piano and began writing.

You mention starting with the piano to create melodies. What is it about that instrument that resonates with you so deeply?

Piano was very important in my family, my grandmother was a music teacher back in Belarus and played piano, my mother played piano, and I naturally was put into piano and I just think that it’s such a beautiful instrument with so much depth and resonance. I fell in love with its versatility and as a visual person I like being able to see the music I write or enjoy playing, it helps me understand it.

You’ve cited artists like SZA, Mariah Carey, and Miley Cyrus as influences. How have they shaped your sound and artistic vision?

They have shaped my artistry greatly, I mean Mariah is such an icon. I listened to her whole discography growing up, and her way of utilising her instrument to communicate the meaning and emotions of a song is unmatched. I’ve always been inspired by the power in her voice and the arrangements of her music. SZA’s songwriting, lyricism, and melodies heavily inspire and continue to inspire a lot of the writing I do. I just love how honest she is in her work, how she’s not afraid to branch out into different genres, and how amazing each individual body of work that she puts out is. Miley’s voice and fearlessness are incredibly inspiring to me, she is a powerhouse in the industry, and I was greatly influenced by her Plastic Hearts album in particular with my own songwriting.

The song blends pop, country, and soft rock. Why did you choose to mix these genres, and how did that affect the overall feel of the track?

I really love genreless artists and I’m very inspired by artists that don’t feel confined to one particular sound, that enjoy exploring, and playing around to find the most authentic production for their music. For this song, I found that those three genres were the ones that stuck out to me when I thought of some of my favorite ballads. I love sad, almost-crying like guitar sounds found in country songs and the melodies, harmonies, and drums found in soft rock. I think those elements add so much feeling, which to me, elevated the song and supported the lyrics.

Can you describe the emotional journey you went through while recording ‘Long & Gone’?

When I recorded the main vocal, I remember I came in and I’d already been having a rough day. It was actually helpful to me at the time because it gave me this raw energy to draw from. There was this legitimate frustration and sadness already there, in addition to just immersing myself in the story I created and the situations that inspired this work. I found the recording process to be very cathartic, it gave me a place to put all this energy I had.

What do you hope listeners take away from ‘Long & Gone’ when they hear it?

I just hope that listeners feel less alone in anything they may be experiencing. Sadness, anger, and pain are all inevitable but I’ve always found solace in music and I hope people can listen to “Long & Gone” and find some healing through it.

Do you have any favourite lines or verses from the song that hold particular significance to you?

I’d say that “It beats at me til there’s nothing left at all” is one of my favorite lines. It really emphasizes this pain that manifests when experiencing loss and unreciprocated love, and how it can’t be escaped no matter how hard you try to suppress it.

What’s the most challenging part of being an independent artist, and how do you overcome those challenges?

I’d say that the most challenging parts in all honesty are funding, lack of resources, and also just maintaining confidence. It can be very difficult trying to know where to start, who to collaborate with especially when there’s really no handbook on how to be an independent artist. I’d say that some of it isn’t necessarily something I overcome but something I work to balance and continue doing research on especially with finding resources and support. The confidence aspect is something that comes with time and just believing in yourself and knowing that your work is meaningful.

How has your background in Boston influenced your music and creative approach?

I think that being from Boston (and the Northeast in general), it’s a very fast paced culture, I work quite fast in my head and don’t necessarily like to waste time, sometimes it can feel like rushing so it’s important to slow down and take a step back. But there’s a great emphasis, especially in my household growing up, of work ethic and of finding different solutions if something isn’t working, that’s something I always carry with me in my creative approach.

What’s next for you? Can fans expect more singles or a full project in the near future?

One of my goals is to put out a larger project. I’ll definitely be continuing with singles but I’m a huge fan of albums and bodies of work. I just love listening to a project from start to finish and being immersed in it so I’d absolutely want to put one out in the near future. I’m always writing and working on new material, but I also want to make sure everything I create feels authentic to myself and where I’m at as an artist.

Who are some artists you’d love to collaborate with one day, and why?

I’d love to, in a dream world, collaborate with Beyonce. I think she is a beast of a vocalist and has the best technique in the industry. I think because she’s a commercial artist she’s severely underrated and overlooked as a singer, she just has exquisite control over her instrument. Her attention to detail is unmatched, the way she’s able to piece together pieces of work that most people wouldn’t find significant and create masterpieces is incredible. I’d love to just learn from her and watch her work. Another artist I’d want to collaborate with is Janelle Monae, I just love their work and how experimental and conceptual each project is. I also just love Janelle as a full on artist, she’s an incredible actor, writer, and inspires me to not feel confined to one artistic medium.

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Danielle Holian

Danielle Holian is an Irish writer and photographer, specialising in multimedia journalism and publicity, born in the west of Ireland.

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