Interview
Interview
Isabel LaRosa: “You don’t always have to be aggressive or loud to get your point across”
The alt-pop supernova on debut album Raven, growing pains and her secret Bee Gees phase
Tackling jazz standards with her brother and father at open mics as a child; finding viral TikTok fame in her late teens; flitting between Lollapalooza and Europe’s festival stages this summer… At 21, singer-songwriter Isabel LaRosa has flown substantial musical miles. But the fledgling Raven, as she symbolically names a debut album inspired by this coal-black omen of a bird, has a clear sense of direction.
She grew up keeping her ears wide open as various family music obsessions exposed her to saxophones and hair metal, but she came into her own as she started writing songs with her brother Thomas, crafting dark alt-pop confessionals about the end of adolescence, desire and heartbreak wrapped in a cinematic haze lush with floating, yearning vocals.
We caught up with Isabel as she prepares for the European leg of her Psychopomp tour, landing in Bristol at the end of November and then London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham in December. Her 2022 online breakthrough with the dreamy ‘i’m yours’ catapulted her into adulthood. But it also put her in touch with a vastly supportive community that, as Raven spreads its wings, delves deeper into her honest lyrics, broadening sonic expressions and nods to her Cuban heritage. Non-album summer single ‘My Girl’ hints at more new music already in the works, arriving in a steady stream of widescreen melancholy – although, in person, she laughs a lot.
You cut your teeth playing music with your family. How does it feel now that you’re finding your voice as an artist, going from local jams to headlining gigs across continents?
It’s so crazy, so different from what I grew up doing. Ι grew up singing jazz standards with my dad and my brother, and I still work with my brother and everything, but it’s just so cool to me to be able to create my own world. Τhat’s been so important to me. I was obsessed with artists like Melanie Martinez and The Neighbourhood, and they all have such a world to them. It really is the only thing I wanna do.
It’s like you released a whole different beast.
Completely.
You’re now writing and producing songs with your brother. As you grow older and each more confident in your skills, how has your chemistry shifted during this time?
Thomas and I have always been so close. As we’ve gotten older, especially as of the last year or so, we’ve gotten so comfortable. At least, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable articulating what I like, and what I don’t like. We’ve gotten to work in a very good flow together.
We always have but I signed when I was 17. I was also a teenager growing up as we were doing all of this. So now I’m little bit more grounded. I’ve always been in control of the music, but now I’m able to go deeper, and have planned out what I wanna do. And I feel like maybe taking control of the visual end of things.
What sparks your fascination with a darker sound? From the music to the visuals, you’ve built a whole universe.
Visuals are something that I’ve always been obsessed with. I’ve grown up being obsessed with very visual-forward artists. I direct all my videos and write them. I don’t know, I grew up watching a ton of horror and thriller movies. Now I feel, honestly, I’m more of a baby. I can’t watch them as much, they make me nervous. The older I’ve gotten, I’m like, “I live alone, this is freaky!”
But, generally speaking, I really love dark, cinematic visuals. Obviously Euphoria and the early seasons of Stranger Things heavily inspired me when I was first starting. Visuals are even more so now the thing I just love doing. I was either going to be in music or I wanted to be in film. The fact that I get to do both is the best possible outcome.
You have such a strong online presence and connection with fans. Is there something they’d be surprised to know about you, personally or as an artist, on or off stage?
[Laughs], definitely! I share a lot with them but I feel like there’s so much that they don’t know. A lot of the times, at least on stage, I play a character almost. That’s the fun part about it.
In the past, there’s been such a distinct separation between who I am online and who I am in real life. People meet me and they’re like, “Oh you’re not at all what I expected you to be!”. Now I’m starting to feel more comfortable genuinely showing who I am for the people that support me, instead of always trying to put up, you know, “Oh, this is my persona and I’m cool” and whatever. That’s something that I’m learning.
‘Home’ is very high energy but also heartbreaking in how it chronicles that passage from adolescence to adulthood. How did you experience that, especially since you had to grow up so fast?
I feel like so much – especially in the last year – has changed for me. ‘Home’ is one of my favourites that we’ve done. It’s about having to let go of the place that you grew up, and even the people that helped shape your adolescence. Τhe second verse was about my sister and that was just one of the most special verses I’ve written.
You sing “And to my sister / Call me when you need some help / You know I’m with you / You’re beautiful just as yourself…” I actually interpreted that as in “sisterhood”, like, women in general!
That’s so funny. No, that’s about my real sister.. I mean, also that! I have two younger siblings, there are four of us in total. My younger sister just turned 16 and she’s an athlete. She’s not really into music but she’s very supportive. Ι wrote it for her, about not being able to be there all the time. Again, even though I wrote it in one way, the fact that anyone can take it as what it means to them… I love that.
‘Favorite’ is a bilingual track, where you also get to experiment with reggaeton. Have you been exploring more styles since you put out the album? Is it important to you to push your limits?
‘Favorite’ was so interesting because Thomas and I had written it with a completely different melody, six-plus months before we even teased it; and at the last minute we were like, “We should just change the melody and see what happens”. I’m half-Cuban and I felt like, as the song was doing well, it would be fitting to have a Spanish verse on it.
I love kind of darker Latin music, and I grew up on so much Latin music in general that it didn’t really feel that far-fetched to me. It was a fun switch-up, I would be down to do more of that in the future. I’m very excited about all the different stuff I’m working on right now.
So you’re already working on new music, even though you’ve been on the road?
Always! I get nervous when I don’t. I just love writing music, it feels weird if I don’t do it. Thomas and I are always working on something. Even a couple of days after the album came out, we were writing and tracking new stuff. I just don’t like to slow down at all.
On ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ you put your own spin on Lesley Gore’s ‘You Don’t Own Me’ – there was a more recent cover of that as well. Was it the music that spoke to you or did it come from personal experience? It’s a timeless feminist anthem that takes on a whole new meaning in the 2020s.
Yeah, completely. First of all, I love the Lesley Gore song. In my opinion, it doesn’t really age. You can just keep redoing it and it doesn’t lose any appeal. But it also felt very fitting for a situation I was in at the time. It’s an expression of anger that I feel I haven’t really shown in my music a lot, and it felt like a very fitting form for that.
It’s funny you mention anger. The song is so atmospheric and low-key, more like a quiet force.
Exactly, which is what I like. You don’t always have to be aggressive or loud to get your point across. It’s not what you would imagine anger to be, but that is what makes it so powerful. It doesn’t have to be that to be so impactful.
This one’s from the ‘60s. You’ve also cited 2011 film Drive among your influences. Euphoria, Melanie Martinez… You hop between timelines and bring them into the future. There’s quite a range of styles there.
It’s so interesting. My mom raised me on Van Halen and ‘80s hair metal, Mötley Crüe and that kind of stuff. I don’t necessarily take as much inspiration, but I listened to it a ton. And recently I’ve been listening to a lot of the ‘90s, like Deftones, even early 2000s like early Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy. A few years ago, my brother and I were always listening to the ‘70s, like the Bee Gees. They’re good songs.
The polar opposite, disco glitter.
Truly! Now I’m in a Deftones phase but a few years ago I was only listening to the Bee Gees. I grew up on a lot of Tom Petty and Pink Floyd. Literally anything, but especially right now, I’m feeling the ‘90s grunge stuff. Even some Portishead, even though that’s not grunge. The Bee Gees I haven’t really used as inspiration yet! Maybe subconsciously..
The Psychopomp tour started from North America in spring. Are you planning on adding any new elements for your EU/UK tour?
Just the other day I was joking with my choreographer, like, “Wow, Europe is just gonna get everything!” I’m so sorry to the US! I’m literally working on so much stuff for the tour right now.
We’re filming a bunch of visuals and I’m in a lot of dance rehearsals. It’s honestly that I’ve had time to actually rehearse. Before the US tour I was in a month and a half of press. I had one rehearsal before we went on tour and that was it. I was very overwhelmed. So now I actually have time to sit and think: what exactly do I wanna do and how do I wanna show this? I’m very excited for that. I’ll come back to the US, we’ll run it back!
How does performing live influence your music, that direct interaction with the fans?
That’s such an interesting question. Performing live for me is the way that I can really see how it impacts somebody. Cause sometimes they react so strongly to things that maybe I didn’t think they would, or just seeing that a song holds any meaning to anybody in front of my face is the craziest thing. It definitely changes the way that I see the music. But it also teaches me that certain things react better online, and then certain things react better live. It’s very interesting to see the difference. I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to now do it for two years.
There was a time where I toured in Australia and I’m on the other side of the world. And there are, like, a 1000-plus people in this room. ‘Home’ was not released at the time and we would play it, and every single time they would sing it so loudly. I guess it showed how much they cared about it. Just to hear any song that’s unreleased, that was very special to me.
You were so far from home but they made you feel like home.
Literally. I’m not home but I guess, I am now!
