Taking into account her young age, Izzy Pingrey’s musical prowess is mightily impressive. A nuanced and eclectic explorer of modern pop, the American songstress reflects on teenage angsts and coming-of-age hardship, doing so with catchy melodies and evocative, elegant vocals.
‘roots’ is Pingrey’s latest effort, a record that’s a joy to listen to; light, mellow and relatable, the single showcases once again why she’s one of New York’s brightest musical promises. It also functions as a warm-up for an upcoming EP.
Working in tandem with her father – composer and producer Arthur Pingrey – Izzy is building a career that we cannot wait to see blooming into international success. Intrigued by the project, we caught up with Pingrey to find out more about her artistry and future plans… interview below!
Hey Izzy, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
I would just say that I’m a super autobiographical artist. All of the inspiration for my songs and everything in them comes from something in my own life, whether they’re my experience or someone else’s.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
My dad is my producer, so music has always been a really big part of my life; it’s always been super important to me. Honestly, I don’t remember a time when music came into my life. I’ve just always had it.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
I would really want to work with Lana Del Rey. I love her. I think she could teach me how to make really cool, melancholy music that’s more artistic. I want to get more artistic with my lyricism but sometimes it’s difficult. I think working with her would be like a masterclass. I doubt that would happen though.
You recently released an evocative and nuanced pop gem, ‘roots’. We appreciate the nostalgic and poignant flair in it, what was your main inspiration when writing it?
On my 17th birthday, I got this automated “letter-to-yourself” thing that I wrote when I was 12. It just really made me very emotional to read, it was almost like a time machine. I’ve always felt really connected to all of the different versions of myself, so it really inspired me to write.
You have been doing music for a while now, slowly evolving from youth to adulthood into a fierce young woman. Is your songwriting evolving with you? Is your music changing with you?
I would say that my songwriting so far has been similar but my process has really changed. I’ve only been doing this for about a year and a half, so I’m not sure how much time there has been for me to really dramatically evolve. But I think I’ve definitely become less of a perfectionist. I’m less harsh on myself now and I think I’m more understanding about the fact that what’s important is the heart and the feeling that’s put into the music.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
Definitely alone. Just because if anything is really bad nobody has to know.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Honestly, like I kind of said earlier, perfectionism is really difficult. I’m not at all a perfectionist in any other part of my life, but in this one I’m just determined to get things right. Also, I really hate the knowledge that the subjects of the bad songs hear the songs. I’d rather they just kind of disappeared.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
There’s definitely some more music coming! I would say that as I’ve written more I’ve opened up a lot more.
