Effie Isobel On Worship, Online Dating, And Transcending The Body
“I think this song in particular feels like I'm becoming somebody else. I want it to be a song of worship. That's not a space I sit in everyday, but sometimes it's nice to step into that.”
effie isobel (Supplied)
‘Ethereal’ is the word that immediately comes to mind when one interacts with a work of art by effie isobel.
The singer-songwriter, born and raised on Kaurna Land, creates mesmerising dream pop with grungy undertones. Her music is mystical, witchy, and she’s got the romantic aesthetics to match. Having performed at WOMADelaide and having shared the stage with the likes of Teenage Joans, aleksiah, and The Empty Threats, she has definitely marked herself as a local musician to watch.
Music has always been a defining factor of effie isobel’s life.
“It’s kind of just felt like a part of me that I haven’t really questioned. I grew up just surrounded by music, and my dad is a bass player.” In fact, a fun piece of trivia is that isobel’s father used to play in a band with The Empty Threats bassist Lenny Regione’s father. “He played in kind of contemporary music bands, like rock bands. And I just was like, oh, cool, I'll do that. Just a no brainer. And it just feels easy. It feels fun. I'm just somebody who really prioritises fun in my life.”
She sips at her almond chai latte. “It just fits in my world. And I’ve just gravitated toward the people that I’m supposed to have in my life.”
Her latest single, ‘Moon Made,’ came out on May 16th. The dreamy, borderline spiritual number was recorded at Pretty Good Studio with engineers Bethan Maddison and Michael Carver, and centres on uncontainable longing and desire. It was first written after a run of extremely unremarkable Hinge dates.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
“Online dating is truly the Wild West,” isobel sighs. “It is so predictably disappointing. It's so hard to find your people from such a superficial sort of view of them. Hinge profiles are kind of like trading cards. It's like, oh, this is my favourite thing. And here's a photo of me where I look my absolute best. And it's just like, there's no nuance to that. And, I guess, as a result of that, you end up in these really strange situations with these people that are just really not aligned. And it doesn't mean that they're bad people. It just means that they're not your people.
“In all honesty, I've made some really beautiful connections from dating apps. I've made friends. I've had really beautiful experiences. I’ve fallen in love from somebody I met on a dating app. It can be everything, but there is something a bit monotonous about it. It can get it a bit dry.”
isobel details her pre-date routine.
“I like to spend so much time just re-centreing into myself before I go on a date. I'm such a chronic people pleaser. And so if I'm not feeling really settled into my own body, I feel like I could get really lost in dates, and kind of end up feeling a little bit unsteady. So I spend a lot of time in ritual at home, which means being in my space, lighting candles, putting essential oils in my diffuser, and just being really intentional while I’m getting ready…Just taking a moment to be really present, and also to get excited, because it's really fun and beautiful to meet new people.”
She considers what her best dating advice would be, and she settles on, “Just tapping into you and the way that you feel, and what feels right for you right now, and what it is that you're actually looking for, and being really honest with that. Like, am I looking for a friendship? Am I looking for a hook-up? Am I looking for romance? Being candid within yourself is really important. I've gotten swept up on 48 hour dates before, because I just went into it not knowing what I wanted.”
‘Moon Made’ is being accompanied by isobel’s first ever music video, set to release on Friday, May 30th.
“It was a big project. I did not know everything that had to happen for a music video at all before this process. Shout out to people who are slinging music videos right and left, because it's a big process.”
She shouts out the “incredible” team that she worked with. “I started this process speaking with Mayah Salter. I adore her. We just kind of got chatting about the process, and she ended up finding the most incredible team and most wonderful director, Gracie Stewart. And it just ended up being really, really fun. Also working alongside Zoe Taylor was amazing.”
The music video is deeply sapphic, imbued with magic and pulsing desire. effie isobel and Zoe Taylor star, and the two have crackling chemistry.
isobel, who had never done any acting prior to this experience, says she had “a great time, and that was so much because of Zoe's expertise and care and consideration. She reached out to me prior and was asking me about the relationship that these two women have prior to the music video. And those are just things that I just would never think of. Like, how do these people know each other? What is the nuance of their relationship? How do they feel in each other's company? And having those sorts of thoughts come up made me feel much more present and connected to both Zoe and the story when we were filming.”
Is it scary to have a project out there that is so explicitly sapphic, or is it just exciting?
“I am incredibly privileged to be in a place where I am really comfortable with my sexuality. I just feel like that's who I am, and I am in a place where I feel very resilient in this moment. I understand that's not the case for so many people, and so it is just such an incredible privilege. But it feels really empowering. I think, to be honest, if I were to face any sort of criticism for that, I'd just be like, well, it's not for you!” she laughs.
Aesthetically, the music video also appears to showcase elements of her Greek heritage, with especial emphasis placed on the pomegranate, a fruit associated with Aphrodite, the Ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty.
“It’s been an interesting conversation to have,” isobel says. “I guess my Greekness is something that I feel in all aspects of my life. It wasn't something that I intentionally incorporated into this song, but I did want to tap into those themes of worship. And it ended up being quite Grecian in that way - these themes of being like a statue, or like a goddess, or, you know, being at a temple.” She mentions the lyrical references to Turkish Delights and pomegranates. “Those are things that are like offerings you would bring to deities, I suppose.”
In general, she is quite an aesthetically-minded artist.
“I feel like my expression, and mainly my gender expression, is really fluid from day to day. I just end up kind of feeling like a different person. And it's so important to me that I feel well-represented when I'm on stage. If I feel like I'm forcing an identity on myself, I just don't feel right. So I really like to just take the time to check in and feel whether I'm feeling a bit more masc or a bit more femme, but it always feels like a costume in a beautiful way. It’s so intentional. But it is like drag, it is like a costume.”
Has the local Adelaide arts scene shaped her gender identity in any particular way?
“I mean, I have found myself in just the most beautiful group of people, mainly the most beautiful group of women…I just really naturally gravitated towards the most warm, loving group of people that I just feel so safe in, and I think they've just given me so much space to just be, and express myself in my music and express my queerness through my music and through everything else, in the most natural way. So I just feel really, really grateful.”
She feels that queer artists are currently thriving in Adelaide.
“I'm loving seeing so many queer and GNC artists platformed. I just feel like so inspired by people like The Empty Threats, for example. And I am just loving seeing bands like that so front and centre. I do feel like I've ended up in this really beautiful almost bubble of queer and gender non conforming people. And sometimes I'm like, ‘Well, maybe that yuckiness isn't so pervasive anymore.’ But I know that it is happening outside of the safety of this little beautiful nest that we've all created, all of these queer artists.”
The launch for ‘Moon Made’ is talking place at Jive on Friday, June 6th, with special guests TUSHAR and Perfect 50.
The single seems to mark an exciting new era for isobel.
“I think this song in particular feels like I'm becoming somebody else. I want it to be a song of worship. And I love that. I find that really empowering. That's not a space I sit in everyday, but sometimes it's nice to step into that.
Music allows her to transcend her body and ground herself within it at the same time. The body - a thing she refers to as “mine, but also borrowed.”
She says, “I can become a bit, like, above my body sometimes. And I think it's so important to me to step back into my body. And music is such a grounding thing. It really is. And I think when I'm performing live, I'm not even thinking about my body, I'm not even thinking at all, I'm just feeling, and that's so beautiful. I've just got the most wonderful band supporting me that I just feel so held by, and I just feel so safe, and so that is just such a beautiful opportunity.”
The ‘Moon Made’ music video will be out on Friday, May 30th.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
More From Our Network
