Isabel Dumaa is a pop princess. No, we’re serious, she could be from a live-action adaptation of a Disney animation! And in her new EP, Reverie, Isabel is at the chapter where she must distinguish her Prince Charming from the frogs. (Spoiler: unfortunately, there are frogs. 🐸)
Leading up to Reverie’s release, we got the chance to ask her about signing with Lucille Records/Republic Records, her time in the studio during the EP’s production, and ‘James Dean.’
Hello, Isabel, and welcome back to The Honey POP! Last time we spoke, we were celebrating the success of ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ and opening for Smallpools at The Roxy. Now we’re anticipating a new EP—Reverie—and a round of performances in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Let us ask: How are you feeling?
Hiii!! Happy to be back 🙂 It’s kind of crazy how long ago all of that feels. Lately, I feel like I’ve been experiencing damn near every emotion under the sun. I’m so unbelievably excited to release all the new music I’ve spent the last two years working on, but of course, with that comes a little bit of fear and uneasiness. There’s something scary about taking something that is so personal and has been just mine, and putting it out into the world for other people to hear, digest, and have opinions about.
I’m also eager for the upcoming Lost in Reverie shows, but again, that excitement goes hand in hand with a little anxiety. I just want to make them the best shows I possibly can! Overall, though, I’m feeling incredibly grateful that I get to do what I love and call it a career.
You also signed with Lucille Records/Republic Records since our first interview together. Congratulations! How did this happen? How did you know it was the right next move for you?
Honestly, it was something that kind of appeared out of nowhere. In my head, I had always imagined signing to a label eventually, but I wanted to stay independent for a while so I could keep that autonomy while I was still developing as an artist. I had some early meetings with a few labels, mostly just getting to know people and understanding what their world looked like, but I had no intentions to sign anything.
Then, somehow, my music came across the desk of the team at Lucille, which was a new imprint at Republic headed by Dave Cobb. I always knew that so much of signing with a label came down to the team around you, and this just felt like the right move because of the people involved. They really seemed to understand the music I was making, the music I wanted to make, and the kind of artist I wanted to become. More than anything, they felt genuinely excited about the music, which meant a lot to me. Dave has been such a champion of mine since day one, and he actually ended up producing a song on the record! I feel really lucky to have found myself where I am.
Reverie is an exploration of the universal experiences of adolescent romance: the highs and the lows. Was it challenging to write about such vulnerable moments? Or was it cathartic to release them out into the world as songs?
I was in a session one day, pretty early on in the process of writing Reverie, with a writer I’d never worked with before. I was telling him about everything that had been happening in my life and playing him some of the songs I’d written about it. At one point, he stopped me and said, “Can I make a blunt observation? I feel like you’re minimizing everything that happened to you.”
I was immediately taken aback because he was completely right. I think I had been minimizing things partly to protect myself, but also to protect the people in my life, even the ones who hurt me. So, all that to say, once I really let myself process everything, there were definitely a lot of tears in the room while writing these songs. It’s always challenging to fully let yourself feel and work through difficult emotions, but I always, ALWAYS, feel so much better after getting it all out onto paper. There was definitely a lot of catharsis in writing these songs, and even more now in getting to play them live.
As someone who grew up listening to a range of music, was there a particular artist, album, or genre that influenced the creation of Reverie?
Oh my gosh, where to even start. Lana Del Rey is someone who came up throughout the process, particularly her Born To Die record! I am the biggest fan of hers and she has such a diverse discography, I always found myself finding influence from her work.
Some others who served as an influence, whether in writing or the sonic world of the project, were Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Bonnie Raitt, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Father John Misty…The list goes on, but let’s stop there, haha.
You’ve released ‘All American,’ ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ and now ‘James Dean’ from the Reverie EP. How has the reception been?
It’s been so amazing to see everyone’s response to the songs!!! I am so, so happy my fans are liking the new music, and it is soooo amazing to see new people discover me through these songs. I don’t think I will ever get used to the fact that there are people I have never met who listen to my music.
From ‘Always Leaving You’ to ‘James Dean,’ has there been a change in approach to performing and songwriting? If so, what?
At its core, my writing process is always the same: there is something in me that I feel needs to be said, and then I try my best to capture it. I do think there are variations in the songwriting process, from song to song, but as long as I am writing music for myself, I don’t think the heart of my process will ever change.
‘James Dean’ is a beautiful song about a romance that cannot be without compromising the characters of James Dean or Marilyn Monroe. How did the iconic actor’s and actress’ names find themselves in this release? What was the creative process behind ‘James Dean’ like?
I’ve always had a bit of an infatuation with Hollywood’s Golden Age. My mom showed me Gentlemen Prefer Blondes when I was in elementary school, and the rest was history.
Going into the session with Josh and Sarah, I already had the concept of wanting to write about falling in love with someone’s potential because that was something I had recently experienced myself. Pretty early on in the day, our conversation got sidetracked to the 1950s, and the James Dean–Marilyn Monroe line just came out naturally in conversation. We all immediately knew it was meant to be the crux of the song.
Sarah Troy (Bella Poarch, LISA) and Joshua Murty (Jonas Brothers, Maggie Lindemann) contributed songwriting and production credits to ‘James Dean.’ What was that collaboration like?
So amazing! I had worked with Sarah before, so we already had an established rapport, which I think is always so important when you’re making music together. But the day we wrote ‘James Dean’ was actually the first day I had ever met Josh!
It can always be a little daunting working with someone for the first time because, essentially, I’m walking into the room being like, “Hi, so nice to meet you. Now let me tell you all these vulnerable things about myself, and then let’s collaborate on turning them into a piece of work.” As scary as that can be, sometimes you strike gold!
You’ve established a fan base through powerful vocals and resonant lyricism. Is there a line from ‘James Dean’ that remained unchanged from the moment it was written down?
I am someone who always goes back and tweaks lyrics. I like to take my time with songs and allow myself to be able to step away and come back with fresh ears and perspective, which 98% of the time leads to a lyric or two being changed. But ‘James Dean’ is one of the few songs that didn’t change from the day we wrote it!
If you had to associate a fragrance with ‘James Dean,’ what would it be? Floral? Fresh? Woody?
Omg, love this question!! I think I have to say CHANEL N°5, but that might just be because that was Marilyn Monroe’s signature scent! I definitely think that soft floral smell, with some powdery and woody undertones, is what the scent of ‘James Dean’ would be!
Now that Reverie is out, what’s your favorite song on the EP? Let us know in the comments and over on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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