Isla-Maria is a 15-year-old songstress who is building herself a strong repertoire of original songs that bring her voice to its full potential. From a young age, she has been writing and recording songs centered on stories of life, love, and personal interests, aiming to be a powerful voice for the younger generation.
She has released her brand-new single 'No Doubt' which is an R&B and pop offering that has chill and dark undertones, alongside her honest lyricism that is emotive and will easily hook listeners in with her storytelling.
“I wrote ‘No Doubt’ during an on-again-off-again relationship where I realised he had all the power and wore me down to nothing. This song is about wanting to feel like you are your partner's number one, taking your power back, and standing up for yourself in a relationship,” - Isla Maria comments on the track.
We sat down with Isla-Maria to discuss her music and much more. Here's what she had to say:
Hey Isla-Maria, welcome to FLEX! How are you?
Hi!!!! I’m great, thank you for asking.
Congratulations on your new single ‘No Doubt’ - what inspired this particular track?
I wrote No Doubt with my Singing Coach Alyhia. We wrote the song shortly after one of my long-term, on-again-off-again relationships ended. During our relationship, it seemed like this boy had all the power in the relationship, and this just wore me down. I never felt like I was his priority and when I realised this, I was really sad. This song is about wanting to feel like you are your partner’s number one, taking your power back, and standing up for yourself in a relationship.
And do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
Whenever I’m writing, my style really depends on the day, so if I’m happy I usually will write more upbeat music, and when I’m feeling down, I feel like I get a lot more inspiration and I will write for hours on end.
How was the recording and writing process?
Last summer I wrote my first song with my producer Myles Erlick. He is such a talented person, he acts, sings, dances, and is an amazing producer. He taught me so much and really piqued my interest in songwriting. To start the process for No Doubt, Myles and I started texting back and forth about creating different beats. I described to him what I generally had in mind for the feel of it and then he would send me a bunch that he thought would work. It only took a week or two before we had something that I loved. Aliyah and I were able to write the lyrics so quickly because we work so well together. We work together very naturally and respect each other, so it makes it easier to produce songs that we are both stoked about. We started off with just a track, then we worked together to make it all happen. I live in a small town two hours north of where Myles lives, so we drove down to his studio to record a few songs. It’s always such a fun experience working with him. Myles is so positive and the sweetest person ever.
For viewers that don’t know Isla-Maria, how would you describe your sound?
I would hope listeners would describe my sound as relatable, ambitious, and memorable.
And what are some of those activities that you engage yourself in when you aren't writing or recording in the studio?
When I’m not doing my music, I often have dance classes, I will see my friends and do my homework. I have been doing dance since I was three years old and have been doing competitive dance for seven years now. At my age, I feel it’s important that I have activities to do out of school, even if it’s just hanging out with my friends. My friends are very supportive of my music and are always there to help me work through things that are going on in life! I also get to have a good social time at school. Often musicians will do homeschool or online learning, but I love seeing my friends every day and getting up in the morning to get out of the house and be moving around all day!