ChitChat - With Isla Noon
INTERVIEW BY: BEN LAMB
Photo credit: Mareea Vegas
You’ve got your new single out which is exciting, , how have you felt about all the buzz surrounding it? There's been a lot of good stuff in New Zealand and here. I'm sure it's exciting to hear so much good praise about something you've put out.
Yeah, it's been really unexpected to be honest. I put a little single out last year really quietly and then put this one out. I mean, we didn't push it like crazy. And yeah, their response is just amazing. Like so much more than what I thought so, yeah, I'm really happy.
In the past, you’ve mentioned that some of your biggest influences for this track and overall are Carly Rae Jepsen, and Maggie Rogers, are there any like more New Zealand specific artists that influenced you?
it's sort of like I, a lot of the New Zealand artists I listen to like my mix. I sort of I guess I absorbed from that crowd of people without even realizing it. But a lot of people that I listened to over here, for example, is like Chelsea Jade, she's amazing. And I think I've definitely like, lived off her at different times. Can't go past Lorde’s past albums, like, you know, that sort of just goes without saying. There are a few bands around Auckland at the moment that just I'm finding so inspiring. My friend is in a band called lips. And they're pretty like punky, which I love. So yeah, definitely, I definitely am absorbing that. But I think it's also because we're such a small community.
Did you get to work with anyone from this tight-knit community for ‘Talk About Us’?
Kinda, I mean, some of them are personal friends, but a lot of them are not. They're just sort of people that I'm swimming in and out of circles with. But definitely someone that I made the song with was, her name is Maude Minnie Morris. And we sort of produced it together. And then she mixed it. And we kind of became friends because we were in the same studio and we kind of got put together a few times. And now we pretty much make everything together the two of us. So yeah, she's become like such a huge part of my process. I'm yet to involve a lot of other mates. But I am putting my band together, which is really exciting. So yeah, there's a bit of that going on. But I'm pretty, like insular and I write a lot on my own. It's kind of anti-social at times.
I guess early on, it makes sense for you to kind of keep it true to yourself and not call on other people, especially for this song, which seems like it's important to you. And it's a bit like your lyrical prowess is evident throughout it. If you can kind of dive into your writing process for it, did it start with the lyrics and you build the music around it? Or vice versa? How do you usually go about getting a song out there?
Yeah, it usually starts very much on my own. So for this particular song, it was actually quite a good template for how I usually write. So I'll often be just messing around with different sounds on Logic, or have my little MIDI keyboard and I'll just be playing random chords. And I'll find sort of a bit of a chord progression that I like, or some kind of mood with the sound and the chords, something will start hitting me and then I'm, like, you know, record that and really quickly, really badly, and start just humming stuff over it. I know a lot of people have kind of talked about this. So hopefully, it's not too strange of a concept, but just like jibberish, like saying whatever comes to your mind and just like, coming up with a little melody. And once I feel like I have a bit of a vibe of what this is going to be then I'll go and sort of free write lyrics. So I'll just pull up like a Word document or whatever. And I'll just free write whatever's coming to my mind with the mood of what I'm creating. And from there, I refined that. So it's a bit of a like mess to begin with. And then somehow I'm like piecing it together and oh, usually get to a point where I have a good verse chorus type of idea, if it's that kind of song and a good idea of what I'm feeling like the production is going to be like, and at that point, I tend to take it into a studio and work with the likes of Maude to produce like a bed under it. And then write the rest of the lyrics and the melody on top. So there's a bit of a like, Higgledy Piggledy thing. But yeah, I like to have that idea. resonate with me to begin with. So I know that it's true. And it is vibing with me before I take it into work with other people. Just so I don't waste people's time or my time as well. I know Yeah, I know, it's going to be something that I am going to be excited about putting out or feels like it's the right thing for me. So yeah. And then we we worked on it off and on for like, the whole of last year, because we've been working on so many different tracks. Yeah. So it was such a weird year as well. And then, yeah, we were sort of like, Oh, yeah, we think this is done. And you know, we've worked on a number of other tracks during that period and came back to it. And we were like, yeah, this is steel slabs. Like, this is great. So, yeah, we finished it up and yeah, finally put it out.
Yeah. And I know New Zealand was kind of good for the lockdowns and stuff. But did you find that staying home gave you more time to focus on certain elements of get it to a point you might have not gotten to in any other year? Or was it kind of always going to be what ended up being?
I think it was always going to be what it ended up being the challenge for me was making sure that stayed on track, I think. And to be honest, locked down. I know so many friends who found it a really productive time for them creatively. For me, it was like, really difficult. Like I found writing so hard during those times, even though we I mean, we comparatively we had it so easy. But yeah, in the in the grips of lockdown, I was not really thinking that much about writing. Which was quite a surprise to me. So yeah, you never really know.
And then you mentioned it in terms of your writing before. So some people you get start in like more English and love the imagery with lyrics and stuff like that. And other people did music growing up, and then that's where they start from. So with your early stages, did you come from like a musical household and studied a lot in school? Or was it more just something you picked up later in life?
Oh, such a good question. Um, I did not come really from much of a musical household. My parents were music fans. But they came from South Africa and a lot of what was popular around the world and their time was sensitive over there. So there was like this whole censorship of music, which they just didn't get exposed to a lot of stuff. So for example, like The Beatles were banned. Yeah, so there was a lot of music that I didn't even really hear around the house because it was what my parents listened to. And they didn't have that either. So yeah, quite interesting. But my dad was definitely into like a lot of, you know, these folky poetic songwriters, and I think that's where I picked up on a lot of that. You know, people like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, you know, the classic Simon and Garfunkel very poetry heavy stuff. And then from my mom was just like this crazy, joyous pop disco, like unashamed euro pop stuff. So it's quite easy to see how that may be bled into my writing. Yeah, so it's like a good mix of those two. And I only really realized that when people started asking me this question, I was like, Oh, yeah. And then, yeah, I mean, school wise, I was definitely like a academic kind of girl like English was my thing. And I did love just writing in general. music was my passion from a young age. But school wise, it was so much of a like, classical focus in class that I didn't always vibe so much with my music classes. So yeah, I think it was more a storytelling element. And then I was kind of discovering the musical side of it on my own outside of school. Like learning guitar and stuff like that. So yeah, a bit of a mix.
So then, did it come to a point where then you were exposed to all this music that you didn't get to grow up with and what was that like? Or did you get onto that kind of stuff?
Well, I did a bit and I actively tried to seek that out as I got older, like I forced myself to listen so much stuff had like a week where I was like, You must listen to Pink Floyd. And just by the end of the week, I was like, I can't do this anymore. I need to take a break. But when I went to uni, I studied music here in Auckland. And towards the end, we did like a couple music history papers just sort of peppered into the course. And one of them wasn't very Beatles heavy. And I've never really got much into the Beatles. Like I kind of vaguely knew the songs. But again, it's not something I grew up with. And, man, I got so obsessed through doing that course, like I just did a deep dive. And I tried to educate myself as much as possible because I had to be turning in assignments about it. And I just lost my mind with the Beatles when I was like, I don't know 20 I was like, so late to the game. It was like 2015. And then, two years later, I saw Paul McCartney, here in Auckland, and oh, my God, I lost it. I lost it. It's like I had Beatlemania. But like 60s to late 70s. So yeah, I feel like it's still going on. Same thing happened with Prince. There, just a few bands like that. Were just, yeah, I've had to really actively seek it out myself. Which has been strange. But yeah.
So then, for this new single, you think of something like Prince’s Purple Rain, a massive, massive arena song, then conversely, you think of something like Lorde’s new Solar Power, and you think of like a laid back, summer afternoon?
How do you kind of picture Talk about us? A big summer anthem, or laid back, listening to it on an afternoon with a beer? Have you kind of thought about that type of stuff? And where do you kind of hope to see it fit into people's listening?
Um, yeah, that's such an interesting question. I feel like it almost falls somewhere in between, but definitely more. on the expansive side, I think I'd like for it to be a big experience when people listen to it. But that's sort of my, my own lean towards dramatic experiences. And I know that the stuff that's going to come after this definitely leans more into that, as well. So yeah, I hope one day I can play it on a stage. That's, that's pretty hefty and big. And, you know, like, feel the presence level.
I'd love to dive into the video for now. What was it like working with the director? Was it a kind of a collaborative process? Or does she come to you with a vision and you kind of just went along with it? Or did you go to her with this is what I want to do?
It was pretty collaborative. we sort of had a vague idea. I mean, a few people had thrown around ideas. And we just sat down and mapped out what we wanted. She was definitely really keen on the different lighting and stuff that we had going on. So that was definitely her influence. And for me, I was had quite a strong vision of like the styling of it. So what I was wearing, and you know, different really weird makeup and stuff. So yeah, it all just kind of came together the two of us, but we'd worked together on my previous music video. So we had a pretty good relationship in that way. So yeah, it was actually just such a creative, like joyous experience. Luckily, it wasn't too stressful.
Yeah, and then something for like, music videos always been an important part of music in general. But do you reckon in this kind of day and age where people don't really listen to full albums anymore, it's usually just songs, single songs, and they consume it in a much smaller way. They kind of reckon that music videos, more important than ever, because of that reason, and that kind of play into your decision and to have such an interesting and kind of intriguing video.
Yeah, definitely did. I mean, that's sort of what people are saying, I guess that music videos are really important now in terms of grabbing your audience, and having something extra with that single so you're right, if people were just listening one song at a time, you kind of want to give them as much as you can with that as a package. So it was definitely a big, a big factor. I think also as a new artist, that people will see your face, you know, beyond just static images, for people to get a sense of your personality and how you feel about the song and yeah, all that stuff's really important, I think, especially as a new artist, because if someone loves what you're doing, then to be able to go, you know, on YouTube or whatever and find something else about you can be really fun. And feel like they're getting to know you a lot better. Whereas if you do a Google search, and there's nothing out there, it's sort of like, okay, you know, I have no idea who this person is. So, by extension, it's kind of Yeah, it's kind of like a, an add on to your social media and all that stuff that's trying to personalize you and build that brand. So yeah, definitely super important. But I also think, man, I would love for people to get really into listen to full albums and stuff again, that would just be fantastic.
So do you feel like that this video sort of acts as an introduction to you and your music?
Yeah, definitely, that's kind of what we tried to get across. So there's sort of two looks in the video one is quite, sort of over the top, and I've got this big black top on and really dramatic. And then the other one is kind of just how I am day to day. And in many ways, that sort of two sides of Island there. And the two things that I'm bringing together all the time with music, so it's sort of like that personal inspiration. And then, you know, blowing it up into this really expensive soundscape, which is that other look that I have, where I know, I can kind of go between so yeah, it was a way for me to introduce that to people to be like, hey, look, this is, you know, this is the range of this artist almost. And I'm kind of taking the piss out of myself. But also, you know, it's important to take your emotion seriously. And yeah, it was a way for me to get a lot more of that information out there without having to put out you know, many songs at once.
Yeah, absolutely. And that's my time kinda wraps up with you. I love to get an idea of what what's next you mentioned that there's some things in the worst, anything you can share, plans to get on the road, any releases any anything exciting?
Yeah, this is not a hell of a lot that I can say much about. (laughs) However, there will definitely be more music coming to definitely by the end of the year, gosh, and my band and I are currently practicing up and getting ready. Because obviously, it's been a weird time planning live shows. I think we're finally at a point where we're confident that that's going to be a thing again, so yeah, getting ready for that. nothing to announce yet. But the best place to find that kind of information is on my website, which is just Island and calm or any of my social medias.
