Lockdown has brought us a lot of headaches but also a lot of new music that wouldn’t have been born if musicians hadn’t been forced to stay in their houses. Many artists took advantage of the pandemic, or maybe just needed to find an escape from boredom, isolation, and the lack of live shows. Isabelle, aka IPT, is one of them.
Wanting to explore with the different sounds she had at hand, this classically trained multi-instrumentalist created her first-ever solo project, written, played, and produced by her almost in its entirety.
5 different tracks (almost, because one of them is an instrumental version) that carry fairytale atmospheres and sounds, almost like a little opera. Folk, jazz, and electronica converge together in the lush ambience created by the artist.
Starting with “Five, Six, and Spicy Two” this groove-filled track is leaded by the melodies of IPT’s guitars; given rhythm with the special performance of Andrew Scott on the drums; and added voice with the guitar solo of Maxi Curnow. The track speaks to you almost like a mantra, preparing us for what is next…
With this EP, IPT intended to portray the feeling of a long, hot summer’s day turning to nightfall, and the second track “Bird Music” is the perfect example of full daylight. With birds adding their melodies to the track, IPT softly plays shimmering guitars that cover the whole stereo field. Playful percussion skips here and there with offbeat delays, sounding almost like a wake-up alarm, and a background guitar finishes to add movement and excitement to the instrumentation.
“Having trained as a classical musician, playing violin, flute and piano from an early age, Isabelle brings an unusual perspective to bass and guitar composition, reflecting her eclectic musical influences.“
Track 3, “…And the Moon replied” brings up IPT’s piano and bass playing ability accompanied by a soft-spoken word written also by her, and recorded over a voice note. A soft lullaby that introduces the artist’s classical music upbringing.
“No Mud, No Lotus” presents a 7/4, 5/4 odd time signature that gives the track motion and grace. Bass, bright synths, and soft bells present an enchanting ambience later supported by IPT’s hypnotic vocals. It is on this track where we can imagine the sun coming down, birds going to sleep, and the temperature dropping.
“I have played music all my life, starting with classical music, but as I added jazz bass and my rather eclectic musical taste to the mix, I realized I had the opportunity to create a palate of sounds that I found personally exciting. I wrote this EP initially during a long winter lockdown in the UK, with each of the tracks imagining part of a long summer’s day and night outside in a garden. I experimented with electronic synth as well as acoustic sounds and aimed to create an atmosphere throughout the EP that was varied, but felt like part of the same sonic landscape.”
I think listeners should expect a sound that doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre, but creates a distinct atmosphere that has memorable themes in each track.” – IPT
Fifth and final track is an instrumental version of “… And The Moon Replied”, and it lets us listen to every tiny little detail of IPT’s playing, telling us “goodnight and farewell, thanks for listening”.
Bonus fact – ‘… and the moon replied’ bass line was actually improvised in a single take (barring one edit) and then I added piano and spoken word later on. It’s loosely based on the Bach Partitas for solo cello!
Aquarian mixtape was mixed by Jack Davenport at Owl Shed Studios and mastered by Maxi
Curnow at Horizon Mastering.
Don’t forget to support IPT and to follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify. You can also visit her official website. If you enjoy her music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp.
It also helps to stream and share her music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Alterindie State Of Mind, Chill – Folk – Acoustic, Debut Bands (Off The Radar), Sickest & Dopest, Track Of The Day, and Take It Easy.
Remember that you can always find me here Linktree MadZen for all my social media and own music!
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!
This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator