{"id":69299,"date":"2021-03-07T10:49:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-07T15:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69299"},"modified":"2021-03-07T10:49:33","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T15:49:33","slug":"interview-with-issa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-issa\/","title":{"rendered":"ISSA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Most of us like to reminisce about their early days and there\u2019s something irresistibly charming about the moment one\u2019s just starting out and taking their first steps forward. However, whatever art or craft we choose, there\u2019s nothing more valuable than experience and more aware decisions that come from having already earned our chops in our respective fields. Also from the perspective of music fans, there\u2019s immense satisfaction coming from discovering a young, up-and-coming artist and then spending years watching them grow into veterans of the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while a decade of career doesn\u2019t necessarily make you a veteran, a lot of things have happened in a Norwegian singer Issa\u2019s life since her debut album Sign Of Angels<\/em> was released back in 2010. With her sixthalbum Queen Of Broken Hearts <\/em>out on March the 12th<\/sup>, 2021 on Frontiers Music SRL, Issa checked in with Hardrock Haven to chat about it as well as the value of experience, her influences and collaborations, juggling different life responsibilities and being a female in the male-dominated Melodic Rock scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo credits: Steven Christie<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: One album after another, reviewers praise your growth as an artist. Do you also feel each album shows your artistic evolution and are you happy with the direction of your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yes, over the years and with all albums I have done, each had a little bit of a different style every time, I think. This time, I seem to have landed more on what my first album [Sign Of Angels<\/em>, 2010] was sounding like. It\u2019s a little bit harder, it\u2019s a little bit more Symphonic and I\u2019m super happy with the direction I\u2019m going. I feel like I\u2019ve come a sort of a full circle and I feel where I am at the moment is just exactly where I want to be. The music is much more fitting to me, I think, than some of the music I\u2019ve done in the past. I mean, like it\u2019s a like a little bit of a journey. You\u2019re trying out things every time you do an album and you try a little bit of something new. So yeah, I\u2019m very, very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In spite of this similarity between your upcoming album Queen Of Broken Hearts<\/em> and your first one, there\u2019s been over a decade between them. So if you were to travel back in time now with all your experience as a solo artist, would you change anything in the way Sign Of Angels<\/em> was written, recorded or produced?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: There\u2019s always [something] as you\u2019ve learnt so much on your way… And I remember when I did Sign Of Angels<\/em>, I used to be in a cover band at the time and I had absolutely no expectations towards that record when I was making it. I remember doing gigs and then travelling in the night all the way to Sweden to record my parts and make the album… But I don\u2019t have any sort of regrets when it comes to how we did things. If I could have gone back [in time], I probably would\u2019ve said to myself, \u201cTry to take it easy.\u201d It was a lot of working all the time, doing gigs, working and doing the record and travelling and all this… But you know, all that experience that I have now is coming out in the music I guess. You pick up things all the time, you learn things about your voice and about what you can do and can\u2019t do… You also change over the years and your voice changes as well. So all the experience is just great to have now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: What was the process of making the new album Queen Of Broken Hearts <\/em>like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Well, it was quite different this time obviously because of COVID and all the restrictions. So this time, when we worked on the songs, it was Alessandro [Del Vecchio] sending me some songs over and me writing some and sending them back… and we sort of worked that way. And I know that\u2019s very, very normal these days. Recording vocals as well it was just me here in York \u2013 there was no travelling or meeting up with anybody. So, the whole process was pretty easy. The guys in the band \u2013 Marco [Di Salvia, Hardline], Andrea [ToWer Torricini, Vision Divine] and Simone [Mularoni, DGM] \u2013 they worked so great with the last record and the sound was just perfect, so we\u2019ve just decided to go with the same bunch and just to make this album and do the best that we could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Exactly. Speaking of this line-up, Simone and Andrea are associated with a different musical background than ISSA, and it was the same with musicians who contributed to your past albums. What do you think having Progressive or Power Metal musicians on board adds to ISSA\u2019s arsenal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yeah, I think it\u2019s great. I\u2019ve been working with lots of people associated with Metal music indeed, also in the past, and they\u2019re all very talented. You know, I think being a female with an obviously female voice fits really nicely with musicians coming from more Metal background, making it all a little bit edgier. It\u2019s like sweet and sour I guess (laughs). So that\u2019s getting a bit of both and matching the opposites, which I think is great. I mean, even on Sign Of Angels <\/em>all the guys that were there, all of them were playing much more Progressive music… And like I said, they\u2019re just all very, very talented and it\u2019s a nice mix if put together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve mentioned that you renewed your longtime collaboration with Alessandro Del Vecchio for the new album and also, that your collaboration on songs is more based on the exchange of ideas rather than the material being pre-written by Alessandro…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: What we do is Alessandro would come to me with some songs and we definitely pick some. But he might send me ten songs and we find five that we think will be really, really great for the record, and then we\u2019ll write the other five or something along the lines of that, depending on how it goes. I think it\u2019s important that I don\u2019t just do songs that were sort of given to me \u2013 you know, that I have a little input and a little bit of me. We have to do that or the record just won\u2019t feel like something that comes from me. So I always like to be part of it, with each album, and as much as my time kind of allows to be a part of some of the writing as well… But yeah, Alessandro and me have got a great relationship, we\u2019ve known each other for years and years and we\u2019ve done so many albums. He\u2019s cool \u2013 he\u2019ll send me a song and go, \u201cWhat do you think about this one? Should we put this on the album?\u201d So I\u2019m not pressured and sometimes for one song that just isn\u2019t good enough we might write three that are great, so it just depends. We do what\u2019s best for the record I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And what do you think is so universal about Alessandro\u2019s songwriting that makes it easy for you and many other artists he writes for to sound convincing and adapt emotionally to the songs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: It comes down to the style I guess, and what sort of style you do, but I also think Alessandro is great in the way that he can adapt to the people that he works with. He also writes together with other songwriters and he\u2019s always doing something. And I think sometimes even for him to cooperate with other songwriters is giving him a diversity in songwriting and songs that sound different from each other. So when I get a song, it\u2019s important that I kind of feel connected with it and that I feel like it\u2019s something for me. You know that straight away \u2013 you know if you feel a song or you don\u2019t. Rarely do I go into the studio and sing a song I don\u2019t like and come out liking it… (laughs) It does happen though! I do a lot of demo singing as obviously my husband [James Martin, VEGA] is a songwriter, so I do a lot of demo singing for him and I carve out a lot of projects, so I do a lot of songs. You have to put everything into each song then, even if it isn\u2019t exactly what you like. But with my own records, I like to feel each song that I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. There were also some memorable duets on your previous albums, including one with Steve Overland (FM) or Deen Castronovo (Revolution Saints). With none on Queen Of Broken Hearts<\/em>, who would you like to sing a duet with in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Oh my gosh, there\u2019s so many great acts out there! You know, for the new album there just wasn\u2019t any songs that I\u2019d hear and go, \u201cOh, I wanna do a duet on this one.\u201d And I don\u2019t want to do a duet every time I release an album… But going forward, definitely. And you know what, it would actually be amazing to do a duet with a female singer!… That would\u2019ve been great, and there\u2019s so many great singers out there… I mean, if I could have a wish in the whole wide world, it would be someone like Ann Wilson or something like that! But I don\u2019t know really, it just depends on what sort of opportunity comes my way I guess. When I did the song with Steve Overland, that was amazing… I really wanted to do a duet with him, so I was quite nervous asking him (laughs). And I was very happy when he liked the song and wanted to do it. So again, going forward, I think maybe next time it\u2019d be cool if I asked a female singer. That would be something different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: We\u2019ve already discussed your musical partnership with Alessandro Del Vecchio, and last year you also took part in recording his song \u201cPush Through\u201d for Frontiers All Stars initiative. Was it an important thing to do for you, especially considering the circumstances and the message behind the song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yes, it\u2019s always good to be a part of such a thing and it\u2019s really cool to be asked. These are hard times at the moment, you know, for a lot of people and I think that\u2019s just amazing to bring out music and give people at least something that they maybe could listen to so that it has some sort of positive impact on them. And I think Alessandro put a lot of work and a lot of effort [in it] \u2013 there was a lot of people, so obviously to put it all together is great work and I was just honored to be asked. And as the song goes, sometimes we just have to push through I guess \u2013 and hopefully, the world will be better next year and we can get back to normality. The music industry has suffered massively because of COVID and everything else, so we\u2019ll see what happens. But back to Frontiers All Stars, I was very, very happy to be a part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019re primarily known to the fans as the \u201cNorwegian melodic rock queen\u201d, and while no one is to argue with that, is Melodic Rock the genre you always wanted to be a part of and the one you\u2019re into as a listener as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Not really! The thing is, I was born in the \u201880s and I grew up in the \u201890s, so \u201890s music was what I was listening to (laughs). I was a young girl then. But I think when I turned seventeen or eighteen, I started to travel a lot doing cover music, and I was in the band with two other girls and I just found what I like to do. We used to do all sorts of songs, but it was more so with the Rock songs for me \u2013 the high notes and the powerhouse that I like to perform. And that was what got me into it. But I did have a lot of friends that were doing Progressive music or Metal music and I used to be in that environment with a lot of different influences. And I got to sort of learn a lot from them, taking part in projects they were a part of, and things like that. But the music I listen to is all sorts of music \u2013 I\u2019m really diverse in what I\u2019m listening to. And to be honest (laughs), I have two small children, so they dictate what goes on in my house and I rarely get to play what I like (laughs). So it\u2019s \u201cBaby Shark\u201d and whatever is on, all the time. Maybe lately I didn\u2019t have a chance to keep track of what\u2019s new and what\u2019s coming out and who\u2019s doing what \u2013 I\u2019ve been housebound with the kids obviously, so it\u2019s just been a hundred percent focus on them. But I enjoy all sorts of music and I love all music as well \u2013 today we\u2019ve been playing Roxette, Heart, Blondie, Def Leppard, all these bands that I like… I could say I like melodic music, I think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: As we talked your artistic growth, do you still add new vocal and music influences to your arsenal at this stage of your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yes, I mean \u2013 you still get inspired, don\u2019t you? And I feel like every album you do, you just learn something new about yourself… You turn into more of a perfectionist, you always try to better yourself and make something better. This time I had a lot more time to do record the album obviously, because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a good and a bad thing \u2013 because you just sit there and pick on everything you do and you\u2019re never happy (laughs). So you\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019ll leave out this,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ll record that part again\u201d… Still, I think you always get inspired and you pick up different things as you go but there\u2019s always something inside you that sort of dictates where you\u2019re going, definitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: If hypothetically you were going to do a side project one day and explore a different genre than usual, what do you think it could be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Oh, that\u2019s a difficult one! I quite like Synthwave, so I could do a side project like that \u2013 a little bit more Rock-oriented, maybe. It would be something totally different and that would be quite cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Melodic Rock seems to be perfect for female vocals, and yet, historically there hasn\u2019t been that many female artists in genre. Do you think it\u2019s changing now and do you think it\u2019s easier for women now than when you started out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yeah, over these ten years I\u2019ve been with Frontiers [Music SRL], I\u2019ve seen a huge change. It used to be me and maybe some other girl that would come every now and then and do an album. I think nowadays the Internet has definitely brought more females to the market. I just keep an eye on Facebook and I constantly see new female-fronted acts. I think it\u2019s just growing massively and it\u2019s really great to see females also doing this sort of music. I think it\u2019s been a huge, positive change and it\u2019s really cool to see [that], and I think it\u2019s just the Internet in general that\u2019s brought that forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. And speaking of that, in the \u201880s and even the early \u201890s Melodic Rock scene was largely about image especially in the case of female performers, who had to struggle to have their talent favored over their looks. Do you think it\u2019s changing too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Yes, especially in the kind of genre that we are [in], it\u2019s still sort of sexiness of women doing this kind of music [emphasized]. I can\u2019t describe it, but that\u2019s what I think. And definitely back in the day there was a much bigger pressure on these things. Nowadays, you don\u2019t need a record label to tell you how to dress \u2013 even if they don\u2019t necessarily do that, I mean, Frontiers had never told me what to wear! (laughs) So I\u2019ve never felt that pressure myself, but I think people accept other people much more for what they are these days. The industry has changed. Back in the day, you would sell millions of records but nowadays there\u2019s so many acts and so many bands and you\u2019ve got the Internet to listen to music there all the time… Things have just changed so much. So, for the females obviously this side of things is much more relaxed, definitely, but for the girls doing this sort of music it doesn\u2019t do them any favors if they look good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. Posting a trailer for new Frontiers Music SRL releases for 2021, you described the year as \u201cexciting\u201d in terms of music. So even though as you\u2019ve mentioned with the kids you probably don\u2019t have as much time to listen to music \u2013 are there any albums you look forward to, not necessarily on Frontiers of course?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: There\u2019s many, but I\u2019m quite interested in listening to Chez Kane\u2019s album. She\u2019s a female singer, so it\u2019s always really cool to check out and see what other girls are doing. So that\u2019s an album I\u2019m interested in, and I\u2019m sure there are plenty of others as well, but to be honest, I haven\u2019t really had the chance to sit down and remember which bands are coming out this year. But like always, Frontiers have got plenty of great bands and acts coming out, so I\u2019m just excited to hear what\u2019s coming [out] this moment and I\u2019ll keep an eye on it, definitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: What are your plans once the album is out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: Going forward! I\u2019ve spent the last five years having kids and having that part of my life \u2013 starting a family \u2013 but once things settle down a little bit more, I will get more of a chance to go out there and maybe put a tour together or something like that. You know, at the moment I keep everything open \u2018cause it\u2019s like you can\u2019t plan anything right now. But maybe I\u2019ll do an online concert \u2013 that would be quite cool to do when I get the chance to do it, and that is when the house is a bit quieter (laughs). Then I could put something together. So I\u2019m just taking it as it comes. It\u2019s just difficult times really for anything, I think. We\u2019ll just have to wait and see, and take one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. Is there anything you\u2019d like to add in the end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa: I\u2019d just say thanks so much for everything and I\u2019m just really, really grateful and happy that I can do this music and hopefully this COVID will disappear soon so that we can go back to normal, back to watching gigs and going out and having some fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit ISSA online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014 Most of us like to reminisce about their early days and there\u2019s something irresistibly charming about the moment one\u2019s just starting out and taking their first steps forward. However, […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":69301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12866,203,10919,15346,2901],"class_list":{"0":"post-69299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews-recent","8":"tag-frontiers-music-srl","9":"tag-interview","10":"tag-issa","11":"tag-issa-oversveen","12":"tag-melodic-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}