1. Thoughit's onlya little after12 a.m.,IzzyMartin is alreadyshowingherartisticgiftsasshe beginsto
playher brightblue electricguitar.She’sseatedonthe terrace atthe SohoSky Terrace Tableau ona
typical coldrainyLondonwinter-morning. Whenthe serverarrives,Martinrequestsanoff the -
menueggwhite omelette-- thencasuallyadds,"Youknow what?These frieslooksogood,Imight
justget them.”I'mwatchingas she eats andshe kindlysays“Do youwant a bite?”somehow I’m
alreadyintriguedtolearnabouthercarrier.IzzyHarper Martin has lefthernotebookonthe chair
she was sittingon;lookingthroughitmade me understandhow talentedandartisticshe isas a
personandas an artist.Assoonas she walksbackto her seatfromtakinga small breakshe portrays
that kindof presence thatblowseveryoneaway,herwayof walking,hersmile andmostof all her
personality.Meetingandgettingtoknow someone reallymakesadifference;we talkforhoursand
hours,drinkafterdrink.She’spure,genuineandfun!Lateron thatafternoonwe headback to the
studio,Istand aroundfor hourslooking atherphoto-shootandpictures;she requestssongsfrom
the 80s and 90s, some R&B,dance andher personal favourite,the incredible 1975 inorder toloosen
up and pose forthe biggest photo-shootof hercarrier.IzzyMartin,19, wasonlyan ordinarygirl
fromWest Londonwho regularly attended smallgigsaroundherhometownandinsome barsin
central Londonwhichmade herbecome the greatartist she isnow.
Martin introduced“FOLLOWERS" – her talentedlivebandincludingbassistHomer,percussionist
LeilaandPianistAnnaGoose -- inAugust,whentheyperformedatthe Music Summertime Festival
it’swhentheyrealizedthattheycouldbecome somethinggreat.
Thisis howour interviewstarts….
Dis you expect to have the success thatyou’ve had in the pastyear?
HonestlyIdidn’texpectatall,Iknowit soundscliché,butit’strue.Istartedplayingthe guitarwhenI
was 9 and lateron I beganto write some lyrics,it’sshockinghow Iwentfromsinginginmysmall
room to performinginfrontof thousandsandmillionsof people all aroundthe world.Iamgrateful
for everythingthatmyfamilyandfansdidfor me in the past years.If I have to answer yourquestion
withall honestyInever,everinamillionyearsexpectedtoinfluence the livesof somany people,;
I’msayingthisbecause as an artistI’mdifferent,andnotmanypeople like different,that’swhymy
fame wasa massive surprise tome.
How didyoustart your carrierand whowouldyousay helpedyoutofindthe rightpeople totrustin
the industry?
Well that’sa goodquestion;asa personI’ve alwaysbeenquite assertiveandcareful,I’ve never
trustedpeople straightawayandIstill don’tnow at days.I startedperforminginmylocal area in
differentpubs,clubsandthenInoticedthatpeople startedtolike mymusic, somy luckbrought me
to meetmycurrent manager;I wasperforminginasmall clubin Soho,andafter myperformance
thistall muscularman approachesme andtellsme “ I want to signyoua contract”, at firstobviously
I saidno, I didn’tevenknowthe guy,butaftera few monthshe followedme aroundthe different
clubsand pubsand broughtotherpeople alongwithhim, like “Matthew Healy”fromthe 1975 and
that wasone of the bestmomentsof my life,he’ssuchaninspirationtome andmymusic.As time
passedmyteam grewwithpeople andIbeganto trustthemmore and more and here I am, andit’s
all thanksto them,so I wouldsaythat I’mverylucky.
You’re only19 and a worldwide superstar,how doyoucope withthat?
2. I’mnot goingto lie,itisveryhard, stressful andsometimesImightfeeldepressed,butmyfamilyis
alwayshere tocomfort me and supportme throughthe hard times.Itry to separate mycarrier from
my private life,andmake time formyfamilyandfriendsaswell formusic,butit’snotthateasy.My
goal was nevertobe famousor a superstarbutto make musicand influencepeople of myage and
helpthemgetthroughhard times.Musicalsohelpsme a lotto relax andfocus andmost importantly
my fanslove me,soI knowthat I can count on themas well.
Wouldyousay that yourmusicis influencedbydifferentartistsaswell asthe people youmeetand
placesyou have visited?
Definitely,Ibelieve thateveryartistassome point hasbeeninfluencedby the musicof others, it’s
perfectlynormal.The biggestinfluencesthatIhad whenwritingmymusicwere the 1975, Disclosure
and Drake.I knowtheyare all verydifferentanddistinctive artists,butit’strue,Ilistentoa lotof
music,differentgenresandstyles,andtheyare myfavourite artists.The biggestthingthat
influencesmymusiciswhenItravel andmeetnew people andthe experiencesImake and
remember;Ilove towrite musicwhenIgo to LA, SantaBarbara andMalibu;the atmosphere,the
people,the smell,the weather,the seaeverythinginspiresme andinfluencesthe style andsound of
my music.
Are you planningtocollaborate withanyartist?
Yes,I’m currentlyworkingwithRudimental andthe single will come outjustbefore Christmas!
I’mveryexcited,it’ssomethingcompletelydifferent,the songhasmanydifferentsoundsandfeels,
and it’sone of those tracks that makesyouforgetof the worldaroundyou.The song it’sgoingto be
called“Delusional”;itmakesme sohappyto workwithsuch greatartists,it makesme feel grateful.
Summer2017 will be verybusyasI will collaborate withJustinBieberandSkrillex,butI’mnot going
to give toomuch away.
What do you do if you're havinga bad day ontour?
I alwaystry to finddifferentwaystokeepmyself togetherandbusy.The worstthingisto go on
stage feelingsadorangry.It happensoftenandI think everyartistisaffectedbyit,it’snormal,we’re
humansat the endof the day! My favourite thingistoface time my family andmybestfriends, they
alwayscheerme up andfindwaysto make me laugh,theyare all so supportive;orIwouldjustlisten
to music,watcha movie andordersome of my favourite Wagamamas….
Izzy,yourbreakupwith rapperChildish Gambino, isitabigpart of your new album'snarrative?
I can’t denythat,it definitelyis,we’ve beenthroughalotof things together,goodandbadones,so
it didinfluence my writing. “Childish”that’show Iusedtocall him, soundsa bit cliché,because he is
literallythe definitionof achild,I’ve beenreallyinfluencedbyhismusicandstyle,soyou mighthear
some of hissoundsin mysongs;there’snohatredbetweenus, onthe contrarywe’re inreallygood
termsso I have a deeprespectforhimas a personand an artist. That’s notonlyit , mysongs have
alsobeen influencedbythingsthatIhave experienced ,placesI’ve visitedandbythe new people
I’ve metalongthe way.
3. Didyou feel pushedbyadultsinyourlife?
Notreally, I’ve alwaysmade decisionsonmyownandI’ve neverletanyone dictate whatIshouldor
shouldn’thave done inmycarrier.The onlyadults whichI have listenedtoare my parentsandmy
manager,thisisbecause theycare about me and my musicand I know theywouldonlywantthe
bestfor me,soI trust them.My manageris the bestpersonyoucouldwork with,Ilove havinghim
by myside as he givesme hisopinionsandhelpsme todecide what soundsthe best.
Do youfeel more confidentnowthanwhenyoustarted?
I usedto be verynervous,especially whenIbeganperformingatbigeventsandfestivals.It’susually
justnerveswhen you’re scaredof soundingbad.People whobecome famousforsigningare usually
goodat -singing.Ithinkbeingknownhelpsthe nerves.Now,whenIstepoutat the MTV Music
Awardsor on SaturdayNightLive,Ihave fans. Now people wanttosee me and buyticketsjustto
enjoyandexperience mymusicforhalf anhour or less.Ihear themscreammy name, try to jumpon
stage, risktheirlife andare not scaredto face the police.Ilove myfansbecause theywantme to do
well andhave alwaysbeenhere forme. Theyare the seasonI am where Iam, theyhave improved,
changedand givenself-confidence toIzzyMartin andI respectthemfor thisgift.
Whendidyou figure outhowto become betterandchange?
I knewaftermyfirstCoachella thissummerlookedatthe tape andsaid,“I have to do better.Thisis
my life.”Iwasnot satisfied andIknewIwascapable of muchbetter.It wasmy firstU.S. gig,playing
the secondmainstage at dusk.That wasa big move andmomentforme.This thingsdon’tmake me
sad,insteadtheymake me happybecause Ican finddifferentwaystoimprove andbecome abetter
artists;thisis notonlyaboutme,I needto thinkaboutmy fansas well,Ineedtomake sure that they
are satisfiedbymymusicandina wayI owe it to thembecause theyare the reasonthat I’mable to
experience suchthingsinmylife.
How are you goingto presentthe albumontour?
Nowadays,withlive music,you’re goingagainstDJsandrapperssingingovertwotracksthat are just
amazing.Sowhenyoucome outas a band,youhave to know your sound,youneedtobring
somethingdifferentto the musicindustrysothatyou can standout, andmake yousure your track is
good.Environment isveryimportanttome.SometimesIhave toperformduringthe day for
festivals,andmymusicdoesnotworkinthe daytime.Itis night-timemusic.Whenyoucome tomy
show,I wantit to feel likeanimmersiveexperience, memorable and mind-blowing.The darknessis
-importantforme it enablesme toplaymusicina unique wayand give out a feelingwhichwouldn’t
be the same if performingduringthe day.Mytour will beginthissummer,andI’mgoingtopresent
my newalbumin April justbefore the startof summer,sothat my fanscan get to know mymusic
before experiencingitlive.
Who are some songwritersyoulookupto?
For me, MatthewHealyand Amy Winehouse have tobe atleastthe top five amongsongwriters. The
1975’s album[I like itwhenyousleep,foryouare sobeautiful yetsounaware of it] this albumis
4. evenbetterthanthe -studioones.It’sall passion,strongbeliefsandoriginalimmersive music -- they
were a huge inspirationfor the creationof mynew album.Amy Winehousehasalways hada strong
influenceinmywriting,herlyricsgive outsomuchpassionina way whichI can’teven describe, and
she was andstill isan absolute diva.
How manyartistswill youfeature?
It will probablybe 14 amazingworksof art. I wantedto keepitto artiststhat I collectmyself orI’m
friendswithorart frommy owncollection.Originallyitwas justgoingto be aboutmyself andmy
viewsof life,butnowit’salsoexperiences,soI’mtryingtomake themas interestingaspossible.For
instance,one is inspiredbywhenIwenttoCuba,where Imetone of my bestfriends. Anotheris
abouta boattrip withmyfamilyinMalibu,andanotherisstayingat Kehlani’shouse foraweek.
Differentartistsare goingtofeature inmyalbum, like PartyNextDoor,Kehlani,JustinBieberandJ
Cole;Ibelieve thattheybringaunique soundtomymusicand theydefinitelybringaninteresting
soundto my albumwhichIknowwill definitelystandoutandbe recognizedbyothers
