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We’ve been waiting on Isabel Dumaa's newest album to break like dawn over the hills, and like that startling daily splash of visual poetry, “Just My Nature,” hits in a way that feels like poetry as aerosol, a deep breath of beauty. Unwilling to try and condense the project into a cipher of shortened platitudes, we reached out to the Bay Area-born-now-LA-based artist to get all the deep details of this amazing release:

OnesToWatch: So the first question I always ask – because I think being an artist is one of the hardest professions – why are you an artist? 

Isabel: Simple answer is because I want to be. And the flip side of that is, I have to be. Genuinely there is nothing else in my body, in my soul that I could possibly do. It's funny because it is a challenging business to be in, but I'm always like, I would rather be so miserable doing this than doing literally anything else. I feel so unbelievably lucky that I get to sing and write songs and make music and make art and call it a career.

So selfishly, that is why I do music. Also just think it's the most powerful and beautiful thing in the world. I want to be able to put some of that back out into the world as well. 

OTW: I love that. And I totally agree. Yeah, I couldn't imagine a world without music. I don't know what the world would be like. 

Isabel: Yeah, I don’t care to imagine a world without music. 

OTW: It doesn't seem right. Immediately meeting you, you seem very expressive. You clearly seem to have a voice. Was this always true? Did you always just have this inner part of you that wanted to sing, celebrate, create that kind of thing? Or was it something you found over time? 

Isabel: I really just feel like from day one, before I could even talk, l was humming and the second I could talk, I asked to be put into singing lessons. So, since before I even have memory, I feel like it's just always been a part of my life. I’ve done a lot of different things over the years, but music has always been what I want to do, what I knew that I was going to be doing. 

OTW: Did anything else compete for that though? Like, were you wanting to be an actress or a graphic designer or was it always like music?

Isabel: Other things would sometimes get in the way, but nothing ever came close to competing. I played soccer a lot growing up and then it was, you choose between soccer and music. And I was like, I'm choosing music. Or, I love art in general and I took a lot of fine art classes in high school and you know, there's other stuff that I can find joy in, but nothing ever, ever, I don't think ever will come close to competing with pursuing music. 

OTW: And how about your family? Were they supportive? Did they allow it?

Isabel: I feel unbelievably grateful that I lucked out with the parents that I did because they have been so supportive since day one. I was very adamant of wanting to do singing lessons. I want to do this. I want to go to this camp. I want to compete in this competition. And they just kind of were like, great, let's do it. Which meant my mom driving me to singing lessons and flying with me across the country to go to writing camps. So, they have just unbelievably supportive. I did move down to LA after high school and didn't go to college, and that took a little bit of convincing, just because it's not a traditional path. 

OTW: I would save your money. 

Isabel: That was how I presented it! But if you ask them now, they'd be like, that was a no brainer. So it was just adjusting to my career, but they've been unbelievably supportive and I feel so, so, so grateful for them. 

OTW: Well, I always tell my mom, she wanted me to be a lawyer and I'm like, I would have been replaced by AI by now. So, you know, look at me. Stupid failed punk rock musician. Now pseudo journalist, you know, what are you going to do? 

Isabel: Yeah. Take that mom.

OTW: I love that, and it is amazing to have parental support. I think that is a great separator between people and how they go about life. So I'm very happy for you. That's awesome. 

Isabel: Thank you. I feel really grateful. 

OTW: So, you're still very new in the sort of writing process, but clearly this was an intent from very long time ago. How do you go about writing?

I'm always surprised when I ask this question. Some people are like strangely specific on needing colors and patterns, or other people just sit in front of a piano and you know, the chords come. And other people are like, it changes every time. So what category are you? 

Isabel: I feel like I'd probably fall a little bit into that latter one. And I think part of that is just like, writing can hit whenever. So it’s adapting to wherever I am. If I'm in my house and I've got all my stuff with me, great. I'll set it up exactly how I want. I'll have my guitar. I'll have my phone. I'll have my notes. I'll have my paper. I'll have everything set the way I want, but it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes you are in a room with other people, and sometimes you're out and about and inspiration will hit and you just kind of got to run with it. So I think I try to just kind of adapt to the environment that I'm in and just run with the inspiration whatever that looks like.

OTW: Of those many methodologies, and I understand that they don't all come together you know, on demand, right? That's the genius and also the crux and crucible of creativity is it is something, it's hard to conjure up, right? It's a bit of a magic. But does something work best for you? If you could choose, if you could summon up the magic of creativity on demand, is there something that you prefer? Or do you like the kind of spontaneity and craziness of it all?

Isabel: I feel my most authentic songs come when I'm just sitting – and it can be with me or with a producer, with a writer or with another person – but just sitting with the guitar or with the piano and just letting the words and melody come. It just feels those are the most authentic songs and those the ones where you can let the creative juices flowing take you. 

OTW: I think it's immediately appreciated just looking at all your art direction that you seem to have a very purposeful brand, a very cohesive brand. That’s, I think, one of hardest things as an artist to do – to engage your marketing proxy self. How did that come about? There's something about the way you project yourself that feels so confident that I was a little taken aback by how well done it was. 

Isabel: Wow. Well, first, thank you so much. I think that's been something that we've had on front of mind so I really appreciate you saying that. But especially with this project coming out, I've always wanted to create a world that when people come and listen to my music, they can just immediately be a part of it. I think that visuals are a big part of that. I think the music is a big part of that. I think the feel and the essence is a really big part of that.

So honestly, it was just a lot of putting our heads against the wall and listening to the project top to bottom, over and over again, and being like, what does this feel like to me? What does this evoke personally? What do I want to present? What do I like? What do I feel like resonates with me? And then trying to execute that to the best that we can, which, I feel like we're doing a good job of.

When I was first becoming a serious artist and the conversations of like, what you want to be, for me, it’s always like: I’ll know it when I see it. It's a little difficult to find the words for it, but I'll know it when I hear it. I'll know it when I see it. I'll know it when I feel it. And I finally feel like we've found the place where that has happened. So I feel happy. 

OTW: Well, I'm also happy for you because that, I feel like that's a huge struggle for a lot of artists in the early stages of their careers. So, definitely nice to come across it early. 

Isabel: I mean, it's ever changing. But I feel great, at least for right now.

OTW: No, I love it. One thing that I think is super well-conveyed, in your online messaging, your socials and all that kind of stuff, is this sort of ethereal happiness, almost like a dream state to it. What's the origin of all that? 

Isabel: Selfishly it’s just a feeling that I like. I love old stuff. I love nostalgia. I love dreams. I love kind of this magical feeling. I think pairing this very raw and real and nostalgic and feminine aspects with a little bit more kind of dreamy aspects, almost unreal in that sense, that's what I like. That's how I decorate my room. That's how I decorate my spaces. Those are the things that I like to do and I think I also think that's a world that I'd like to be a part of. So making music and making a space that encapsulates that is a dream.

OTW: I’m glad you brought up the word femininity – again, I think it's very confidently spoken in your visuals and all that kind of stuff, you clearly are at ease with it, if not fully embracing it. I think that's definitely something I see lot of artists struggle with, right? How to place their femininity, how to be a woman, how to be yourself? The internet is so harsh, right? How do you go about that? Clearly you do it so well – even on the latest single, your art direction is crazy, it’s like you know out of like 70s Italian Vogue or something. So what gives you this confidence to project femininity in your music, in your visuals, et cetera? 

Isabel: I wanna say two years ago, I had this kind of coming to appreciation of femininity. And I remember reading an article about women relearning to love the color pink. And that struck me so deep to my core because A, I just was a little bit of a tomboy growing up. And I think, growing up in a world that a lot of times hates on femininity, I tried to diminish those parts of myself a lot and like be a “cool girl” and not be girly. Just a couple years ago, I think moving out on my own and spending a lot more time alone, I’ve had more space, and now I really have this love for being a woman. I have so much love and appreciation for that, and letting myself love the things that I love, and express myself in the ways that I want to express myself and even you know that of like relearning to love the color pink. Like I remember putting something pink in my room – which I never would have done in high school ever – and I was like “Wow. this feels so grounding and healing.” And I know that it's a very gender stereotypical thing, but because of the connotations around projecting as girly or feminine, I had shied away from that so much. I’ve come back to it and reconnected with it and found so much peace and happiness. 

OTW: One thing I always love about when artists sort of compile projects, even when it's in an EP – I know it's tougher in an album – but, how do you go about that? Do you need the songs to be of a time and place that sort of match thematically? Is it just like picking songs that you feel have a theme that is cohesive regardless of when they were written, and even if they sort of encapsulate different moments and different times? You've already mentioned co-writers and producers, is it someone you work with closely and that sort of comes in? How do you put together a project? I mean, it's definitely not an easy thing to do. 

Isabel: So this is the first project that I have ever put out. It's been years in the works and it's been so much fun learning what works, learning what doesn't work, learning who I am as an artist, learning who I don't want to be as an artist.

And for this one specifically, I feel like it was very much based around a theme of my nature as a person and the way that I encounter the world. Releasing a project that sonically and thematically captures that acts as my introduction as a musician and as an artist. I feel like with upcoming projects, I might be a little bit more cohesive, maybe just in the storytelling, but also I hope to be making music for the rest of my life. So who knows, maybe I get to go hunker down in the woods for a month and make an album about some breakup. I hope to continue to get to play around with it and try different things, but for this project specifically, it felt very much so just like this is a culmination of the past couple years sonically, personally, and this is just kind of our jumping off point into rest of everything. 

OTW: You kind of answered it, but I'm always curious. Some artists, I feel very deliberate in that their work is sequential, right? There's this idea that I'm building towards something or evolving or taking a pivot left or right turn. You mentioned that kind of like this is a starting point, a jumping point or that kind of thing. Do you already have the next project in mind or are you just waiting for this terrible breakup so you can go to the woods or…?

Isabel: Both. I mean, I'm constantly writing. And so the second that we kind of wrapped up this one, I immediately jumped into, okay, great, let's start thinking about the next one. Thinking about what we want that one to look like, and how we want to build it, and what worked with this last project? What would we do differently? So yes, the other one has already been in the works a little bit. And… you know, as a writer, like every song that I write, I'm like, this is my best song. Every single new one I write. So I think I'm just getting more more excited with all of the music that we've been working on. Every single time. 

OTW: If everything goes well, where does this project take you? Like what will make you feel like it's done its job of sort of like positioning you or launching you?

Isabel: I honestly just hope that this reaches people and can connect with people in the way that it was for me. You know, it's a very personal project.

I've experienced how powerful music can be and crying in my bed to songs and how much a song can affect and change your life. I think the most incredible thing has been having people reach out and be like, thank you so much for writing this or like this little verse. There's no feeling like that. It's just the most incredible thing. And so just continuing to grow outreach and hope that my music can reach more people. Just like growing the people that are a part of my musical journey, hopefully getting to play some shows, just continuing to grow more and more and more. Reaching more people reaching more places 

OTW: What inspires you? If you feel like your well's a little dry, you don't have great context for creativity or what have you, what do you do to give yourself some space, heal, whatever? 

Isabel: I've got a few different answers to that. Honestly, with writers, if you know, I think there's periods of writer's block. But one is really just like getting back out and experiencing life. It's a really weird paradox, being an artist where it's like you need to hunker down in work mode doing nothing. And then I'll try and go and write and I'm like, I've been doing nothing in my life except working, like I have nothing that's jumping out of each right about so part of that is just like being present and experiencing life and gaining life experiences to write about. It’s part of it. 

The other is I think just consuming as much as you possibly can. I found that like when I am stuck really just going and consuming other people's work, whether that's reading, whether that's going to a museum and looking at art, whether it's reading poetry or watching movies, I think just like consuming the work that other people have done. Stuff just kind of ignites left and you don't even know it can be a two word combination that makes you think of something that someone else said, you don't even know where it's gonna come from. So I'm just trying to, yeah, give yourself the opportunity to light that spark. Which for me a lot of times is reading books and watching movies. And you know, even if I don't have life experience, I can go write about the relationship that this person's having in this TV show. 

OTW: Okay, well, I'm also an avid reader, so give me a book recommendation.

Isabel: I’m just getting back into reading. I was a reading hater for all of my life. And then two years ago, I was like, maybe we should revisit this. So I feel like I'm going and reading all of the books that I should have read. So I'm just trying to like hit off all the classics. So I'm reading Just Kids by Patti Smith right now.. That one has been lots of underlining in that book for sure. 

OTW: What about movies? What do you dig on film? 

Isabel: Same situation. I did not watch a lot of movies. I feel like we're growing up like it would just I would get so emotionally invested like it would wreck me for a week. So I'm like, I never wanted to watch movies because I know if I watch a sad movie, it's going to ruin my day. So once again, now I'm trying to get back in and rewatch all of the movies that I've missed and I have my ever growing movie list.

I watched Priscilla recently. I loved that movie. Yet again, a very, I think, beautiful representation of femininity. Which Sofia Coppola just does in the best way ever. Yeah. 

OTW: I love that. That's great. Okay. Last question. And look at me, I'm trying to get you in a half hour. I'm on schedule for once. You know, OnesToWatch is all about artists putting us on other artists. Everyone's like, how do you guys find stuff and choose stuff? And I'm like, we just talk to other artists because I feel like you guys are the best A&Rs and always tip us on the good stuff. Are there any artists you think haven't got enough attention, press, flowers, shine, and you've been loving of late?

Isabel: I mean, even just like immediate, like some of my friends in music who I just think are so talented. Maggie Anton, country singer. She's fucking insane. Yeah. Sorry. Did you just apologize for swearing to me? Lindsay Lomis. Just the most talented person ever. I love Maggie as well. She's super badass. She's awesome. I love her.

OTW: Amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. I'm so excited. 

Isabel: I love OnesToWatch! Appreciate you.