Isabella Lovestory on Movies and Making Music on Her Own Terms
Multi-genre spanning, hyper energy exuding Honduran born pop princess Isabella Lovestory is on the path to dominate pop music and shape the future of reggaeton. Originally a male dominated genre, Isabella is on a mission to change that. Her music is high tempo, high fashion and scratches the brain in the most satisfying way. Pure punchy ASMR you can dance to. Based in Montreal now, Isabella is continuing the city’s already legendary electronic music scene legacy and making her mark with her sexy club bangers.
Not only does Isabella Lovestory’s music pound against your eardrums and into your consciousness, her unique, reverential visuals are striking, (the tartan Miu Miu kitten heels getting a shower in the video for Kitten Heels stands out in my head) often self directed by Isabella herself, tongue in cheek and showcase her OTT personality to T.
Originally a one-off songwriter when she felt like her cat Gati needed a theme song, she’s progressed to having an impressive body of work with a number of unmistakable anthems to her name. She sat down with socials editor Eden to discuss films and her music making process.
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How are you? How are you feeling, what’s your plans for the week?
I'm great. I just came back from sunbathing on a nudist beach on an island in Greece. My plan is to finish editing my video for my upcoming song Fashion Freak so I'm drinking lots of coffee at 9pm trying to get that done.
The music video for Cherry Bomb is inspired by Tokyo Decadance by Ryu Murakami. His work is such a perfect blend of sex and violence, I love Audition so much. What other cinematic visuals inspire you?
Audition is a beautiful movie. The lyrics to my songs are always visual. It's like I’m visualizing the music video in my head as I write the song. Directors I can think of that inspire me visually are Catherine Breillat and Federico Fellini; they're both sexy, dark, magical and chaotic.
The music video for Vuelta and Mariposa have a very specific 00s feel and aesthetic- they’ve almost got an Indie Sleaze/MySpace/Tumblr feel to them, all about decadence and partying. Why are you so drawn to this early Internet aesthetic?
I’m never directly referencing any era, my taste is a combination of so many things. I never want to put myself in a box by saying I’m this or that. And while there were many cute, inspiring things happening in the 2000s, I’m always aiming to do something new and fresh.
Talking of Indie Sleaze, I loved your interview with Uffie. In the interview you ask her “So do you prefer recording in your bedroom or are you into studio vibes?” and I was wondering what you prefer?
I love being alone with my thoughts in my room, I’m actually a huge loner. So I definitely love writing music in the comfort zone of my room. The studio is a relatively new concept to me but I think it’s pushed me in ways that help me write and come up with ideas. So I can’t really pick! I like both.
Your music videos have such a clear and linear vision and they all seem related in a way. Do you direct them all?
Yes I come up with all the concepts and shot lists and then edit them myself or closely with someone. I think deep down I want to be a movie director one day. Or maybe I’m just a control freak.
Your songs have such a strong Reggaeton influence - where did your love for that sound start?
I grew up in Honduras where that music is played everywhere so I guess it’s just been ingrained in my brain since I was born.
You’ve got a collab on Mura Masa’s upcoming album which I am so excited to hear. You both bring such sexy summer anthem vibes. What was it like working with him?
It was super fun, we met that day and just made an absolute banger. He’s super talented and I’m obsessed with our song “Tonto”!!!
What’s coming up next for Isabella Lovestory?
Too many things, I’ve only just begun ;)
Listen to Isabella’s latest single below:
Words: Eden Young | Photography: Carole Methot | Styling: Shahan Assadourian
