Originally from Perth, Izzy Hollingdale writes her heartfelt songs primarily on piano, and with the help of local Bunbury producer James Newhouse, she has created an original and organically personal sound reminiscent of Birdy, Missy Higgins and Adele. From social critique to classic first love and heartbreak songs, Izzy uses her music and deep powerful voice to articulate her opinion.
Aged 20, Izzy has been in multiple bands but currently performs solo on piano. She played at the Nannup music festival in 2019 and will be gigging around Melbourne after she finishes her history undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne. (Eased lockdown restrictions pending!)
My favourite song (of mine) would probably be Change Your Mind, partly because it’s my newest single but mostly because it accurately reflects how I sound when I write songs. It’s also a really personal song that lots of lovely people have come up to me and said they relate to, which is so amazing to hear.
I like the relative simplicity of it and the candid way my lyrics portray exactly how I’m feeling or make a complicated situation sound simple.
I wouldn’t be able to write without my piano, so I think finding a musical instrument in addition to your voice is really helpful. Although there are many artists who can’t play an instrument, I personally find it helps immeasurably in creating melodies and finding the flow of a song.
I typically come up with an idea for a song – perhaps just the line, then I’ll create a chord progression, and then, from there, the lyrics, melody and chords very much come together. I have written to tracks before which was really fun – mixing my ideas with someone else’s beat – but my most common practice is writing at the piano.
As told to Ian Coyukiat
