The brand new single from Isabel is a tasty slice of laid-back electro-pop that will have you swaying from it’s first beat.
Stay is only the second official single we’ve heard from the Brisbane artist and she seems to have already established a sophisticated understanding of how her voice can laconically create a melancholic atmosphere.
Cementing a new direction with minimal backing and a dreamy vocal performance, Stay from Isabel is an understated and otherworldly pop jam.
The piece shows off a series of subtle textural nuances that keep the listener immersed on each turn, with distant clanging percussion, warped vocal samples and innovative keyboard layers scattered throughout the song.
It also displays some thought-out experimentation with vocal reverb and instrumental textures. As a listener you can go from a mosh pit at one of her concerts to having her sing into your ear in the space of a few seconds (see the 1.40 mark, where it seems like a vacuum sucks everything but her voice away)
“Before we wake up to our senses lets just stay a while”
Drawing influence from the likes of Meg Mac, Chet Faker and The Internet, it’s not a wonder her music can conjure such expressive imagery. Before this year, Isabel was releasing an entirely different kind of music. Under the same stage name, she was making music as a folk artist and even released an EP last year titled Cinnamon.
It’s no easy task to undergo a career swing so profound, but if Isabel keeps up the top-tier quality of her music, the sky’s the limit. Earlier in 2016 the release of her first single, Fences, saw her taking her lyric-writing experiences and expressive vocal power into a new genre – a minimalist RnB sound showcased once again on Stay.
For this new jam and her previous single, Isabel teamed up with another Brisbane talent, Steve Thornely, who’s also produced tracks for the likes of Georgia Mae and Meredith. After nailing it with these last two tracks, Isabel is on the upward curve, and we look forward to any further releases from this Brisbane based, neo-soul songstress.
