9+1 Q&A with Isadora Eden

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

Bio from my website: “Isadora Eden is an independent singer-songwriter with honest lyrically focused songs and a melancholy sound. She started playing live at open mics in Brooklyn, and continued to play open mics and small shows in New Orleans. In September she moved to Denver, where she plans to focus on music and play as many shows as possible. Her last single, Simple, was recorded in a studio in Brooklyn with one microphone and no production. On her new EP, “Quick To Burn,” she worked with producer Thomas Thoreau to maintain a stripped-back sound while adding a little more to it. She also released her first music video, directed by Brett Sullivan, for her single “Quick To Burn.” The 4-track EP was released October 5.”

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

My latest release, Quick To Burn, is an EP that was recorded in New Orleans with producer Thomas Thoreau. I don’t love to go to deep into explanations of what the songs mean to me because I think different people might relate in a different way than I do, and I don’t want to say that there’s one right way to hear it. Some of the blog write-ups, for example, have explained the songs/what they’re about in a totally different way than I would have, but I think one of the awesome things about music is that the same song can mean a hundred different things depending on who is listening. So in general, to me, the album is about how passing time changes things – love, heartbreak, depression, everything.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

It’s hard to name influences – some of my musical influences have similar sounds or genres, like Gillian Welch, Julien Baker and Adrianne Lenker. There are also a lot of bands or artists I love that sound nothing like me, but still inspire me. Some examples are These United States, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Jayhawks. Another way that I often get inspiration, outside of music, is through books. Often a book helps push a song along. One of my recent favorites is ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ by Carson McCullers. That book totally gutted me.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

I think my sound is pretty simplistic – not overproduced, mainly focused on acoustic guitar and voice. I think the stripped back sound helps make the lyrics stand out and the music feels more raw and honest to me.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Movies: Lord of The Rings, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fiddler on the Roof

Books: Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (I know this book has some problems, and so does the author, but I really love his writing (great short stories too), and if I’m on a desert island with 3 books it makes sense for one of them to be 1300 pages with tiny type, right?).

Albums: Mended With Gold (Rural Alberta Advantage), Once soundtrack (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova), Miracle Mule (The Subdudes).

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

As much as it still scares me to get up and play really personal songs on stage, I definitely prefer live. Studio sometimes feels like a lot of pressure – even though you can do a lot of takes, one of them is going to be the version of the song that will be heard the most and that is intimidating. I like live performance because there’s more room to mess around with the song as you play, and because I love watching people respond to the music in the moment.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

One time at a show in New Orleans I covered Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up” which has a line ‘screw all my friends, they’re all full of shit’…this was the first time I’d invited my friends to a show. Totally forgot about that part of the song until it was coming out of my mouth. Whoops.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

I’m not sure this one is still up on Bandcamp, but it once was. It’s called Glad, and it’s one of the first songs I recorded in Brooklyn. It’s also the first song I ever played in front of anyone. I was still kind of finding my sound, deciding if I wanted to aim for a sound more like Sara Watkins (I play the violin) or Julien Baker. The song is kind of weird, but definitely unique. Sometimes I’ll listen back and feel really embarrassed, sometimes I listen to it and think it’s so cool.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

I just moved to Denver, I have some upcoming shows booked in Denver & Fort Collins, and I’m hoping to continue to book shows and record more music! I more or less have my next album written, just saving up to get it recorded and ready.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

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Photos credits: Brett Sullivan (main), David Segovia (2nd photo)

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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