London-based alt/indie-pop rising star Izzy S.O just released her sophomore EP, Silly Me. Silly Me is a coming of age record where Izzy grows as a person and artist. Within the days leading up to this stellar release, Izzy took the time to answer a few questions for LOUD WOMEN! Check out the interview below and check out new singles 'Growing Pains' and ‘Do I Make You Feel Alive Yet’.
Share the inspiration behind Silly Me:
It’s about growing up and figuring out who you are. It’s about not being perfect and that being ok, forgiving yourself for the times you’ve got lost or got things wrong. It’s about human connection and the moments of calm with people amidst the chaos of life.
Finally with ‘Growing Pains’ it’s about sitting with yourself, being still for long enough to heal – I’ve had a tendency to live my life at a hundred miles an hour, this year I finally slowed down enough to feel a lot of things I’d been running away from and the relief that came with that was immense.
Describe your writing process/routine:
A lot of my songs start off as poems, normally when I’m just walking around doing life something will pop into my head and I’ll either sing it as a voice note on my phone or write it down. Then I’ll go into a writing session with this as a place to start with. Or alternatively I’ll go into a writing session and not pre plan and let someone play something, wait for it to affect me emotionally and then start randomly writing things down and see what comes out. I like things to feel natural and I mainly like to write with just one other person so I have the freedom to see where my brain takes me writing wise – if the room is too busy I can start to feel a bit locked in creatively.
What’s your favourite track on Silly Me and why?
That’s a hard question cause I like different songs for different reasons but I’d say for live – ‘Silly Me’, I played it at my headline show last week and the energy in the crowd was amazing for this, people screaming the middle eight back at me, was one of my favourite music moments so far.
Lyrically, it would probably be ‘Growing Pains’ as it was the most vulnerable writing experience I’ve had so far and it really helped me figure out how I was feeling in a full way whilst also having the cathartic luxury to get those feelings out of me and turn them into a song.
What artist inspires you?
Alanis Morissette is a huge inspiration for me. I remember listening to Jagged Little Pill as a child and being obsessed with her energy.
Imagine…you’re on tour with your dream lineup. Who is on the poster with you?
I wrote so many answers down for this and my response got a bit chaotic so I’m starting again with Paramore – I think that would be soooo fun, I’ve never seen them live but apparently Hayley Williams is an incredible performer. I would ideally like an audience where you can do the fun pop stuff but also lean into the rock side of things and let things get a bit more chaotic.
Wolf Alice would be amazing to tour with too. In a different vein I love Gracie Abrams, girl in red … Taylor Swift has a special place in my heart. I cried watching Maisie Peters live at Glastonbury – anyone like this who inspires me creatively.
What’s next for Izzy S.O.?
Me and my producer Dustin are already working on the next EP with an aim to release the first single early next year. I’m really excited about this next lot of songs, I feel like with every EP we’re figuring out the sound even more and the live show is starting to grow in line with that too. So yeah releasing more music and hopefully a lot more gigs and shows.
[Steam Silly Me on Spotify]
Find Izzy S.O on:
Instagram
Facebook
Tiktok
Spotify