King Isis Sheds Their Old Self in New EP, 'shed'
Photo by Gianni Gallant
[UNPUBLISHED:] Hi King Isis! How’re you doing?
[KING ISIS:] Hey hey! I’m currently on my first tour all over the US with mehro, and it’s been so much fun. I’ve always wanted to roadtrip across the country, so I’ve been really grateful for this experience while also getting to share my music with new people. I’m also a huge coffee fan so I love getting to try out a bunch of cute new coffee spots.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Your new EP, shed recently came out. Can you tell me a little bit about the new project?
[KING ISIS:] shed is scales’ grittier counterpart – where scales was the introduction, shed is fully stepping into the shadows and accepting parts that you’ve repressed and processing shame.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I listened to the new EP and I love the shift in sound - what inspired this darker and grungier sound?
[KING ISIS:] Thank you! I’ve always been drawn to more minor, melodic sounds in all types of music – from rachmaninoff to sevdaliza – it’s honestly probably my favorite music to listen to and play. I also just wanted to showcase the different ways I express myself with this grungier sound.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What would you say are the main differences between your previous EP scales and this one?
[KING ISIS:] To me, the two EP’s represent a sort of dichotomy within this world of King Isis I’m building out. They both deal with a lot of the same topics and themes, but sonically scales brings more of a lighter, spacious sound while shed explores a moodier, distorted realm. With everything from the visuals to the cover art, I really tried to hone in on the juxtaposition between the light and dark of both projects. I also think shed shows some growth in my production – I was experimenting more with turning sounds I hear in my head into tangible ones.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s the inspiration behind the name?
[KING ISIS:] I decided to call the project shed because a lot of the songs deal with the release of societal expectations and pressures (aka shedding). I’m also into snakes and the symbolism around them so both shed and scales tie in with that.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have a favorite song off of the project?
[KING ISIS:] Lyrically it’s "333" but "NVR RLLY" for playing live.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was your process like for creating this EP?
[KING ISIS:] I write all the songs by myself in my room, with just me, my journal and my guitar. This EP, I experimented with some rough production on Logic that I brought to my close friend and collaborator Jaden. From there, we flesh out the song, re-recording guitar, bass, vocals, and live drums with Martin.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What can fans expect from this project? How do you want them to react to it?
[KING ISIS:] I feel like I'm opening up a bit more on this project. There’s more clear vulnerability within the lyrics. Writing this project was also a form of release for me – I think you can hear the rage and the resistance in both the lyrics and the instrumentation. So I hope that fans can release some shit too when they sing these songs. I want people to scream and let go with me.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us something about yourself that not many people know
[KING ISIS:] My obsession with mermaids led to me getting a scarification tattoo of mermaid scales on my hip…
[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there anything else you’d like to share or excited about that is coming up?
[KING ISIS:] More shows/festivals this summer! Working on the next project and I've been writing this short film, so maybe you’ll hear more about that soon!
Photo by Gianni Gallant