With The Great Estate Festival taking place in a little over 2 week’s time, we wanted to touch base with some of the acts who are performing, we reached out to many and the first to come back to us were a Cornish duo called ISYLA. We asked the questions, they knocked them down, read on to see how we got on….

Please tell me who you are and what you do....

We are Lizzie and Amy and make up duo ISYLA (iz-eye-la)! We write songs to inspire change on climate and formed for this purpose. We are a slightly unusual act in that we are across two generations - 21 and 43 and met through climate activism. 

When did you start your musical journey? 

We have both sung from a young age and Amy wrote throughout childhood and teens. ISYLA began in January 2020 when over coffee ,we decided to combine our singing and writing strengths to create songs that contained messages about climate. Our debut album ‘Where She Walks’ was written, recorded and released by May 2020 and amid the global pandemic so it was a bit of a bonkers start!

You're a Cornwall based duo, do you play live as a duo or are there more band members involved?

We don’t; we need our wonderful players as we are not strong players ourselves. We play with artist and session player Ashley Height who was such a find. We joke because we were fans from afar, totally in love with his own music before we were lucky enough to have him join forces, so we sometimes have to check ourselves that we ended up playing together! We have just got a fab drummer and bass player on board too! So great to make some NOISE!

What style of music do you play?

Essentially it’s folk pop with a cinematic bent.  Latest album Of Blood and Star leans towards alt pop and is pretty eclectic in its musical influences from funk to folk and also rockier elements. 

Who would you say are your musical influences?

Lizzie is drawn to Celtic music, as well as bass and beat driven styles and adores artists such as Aurora, CLANN and Billie Eilish. Amy loves the layered drama of these and also draws on pop and indie influences from across the decades; soaring early Radiohead style melodies and the delicate sweetness of folkier artists such as Laura Marling. 

Your new album 'Of Blood and Star' landed on April 22nd (Earth Day) and you recorded it with some amazing musicians (The duo teamed up with national session players Lukas Drinkwater (Emily Barker), Rob Pemberton (The Staves), Kit Hawes (Yola) and Evan Carson (Seth Lakeman) to create the album, produced by Gareth Young (Tom Meighan, Kasabian), please tell me more about how you approached the recording and how you managed to land such names to join you on your journey?

We met the four session musicians through our producer Gareth Young. He gets a lot of great players through the door of the recording studio and he recommended these four guys, who are top, national folk session players.

What day and time are you playing at the Great Estate Festival?

Our slot is currently 6.30 on the Earth and Roots stage on Friday 3rd June. See you there? :-)

What can the audience expect from your live show?

Sultry grooves, sweet and souring harmonies, hooks you will love, musical, love bomb activism and a bass player with a heroic stance! 

The bill is looking pretty good for this year, who else would you recommend the festival goers make a beeline for?

Well our bass player is playing with Will Etton and that’s well worth a listen! Plus we love Archie Ray for his performance and energy and Hedlove and Passman are a definite don’t miss. Not sure how to describe them but they are very entertaining! 

There seem to be more Cornish festivals popping up all over the county these days, what is it about them that keeps people coming back year after year?

What’s not to love about Cornwall?! It’s such a special place. 

Tell me a funny story about a festival/show that you've attended in the past....

Lizzie’s first time at Boardmasters she immediately inhaled a fly and was coughing it up for some time. 

Our first ISYLA gig saw our accompianist Ash accidentally end up looking like he was part of a belly dancing/burlesque performance by sitting on the wrong chair at very much the wrong time. We laughed so hard on the car journey home we were hurting. The best part was his panicked face when he realised he was trapped!! Best first gig story ever. 

Give me 3 bands or artists that you would like to headline at your own festival (you can choose ANY band/artist dead or alive)

Gorgeous Aurora, for Amy, the Resurrected Beatles (Well duh) and for Lizzie, the mystical and ethereal Calandra.

Lastly, tell me your top festival survival tips? 

Amy’s ADHD festival survival tips: 

1. Earplugs 

2. Spare ear plugs 

3. Wear earplugs at all times

Lizzie’s tips

1. Don’t camp next to the dance tent

2. Remember to actually check when the people you want to see are on so you don’t get carried away and miss them

We’d like to thank both Amy and Lizzie for chatting to us ahead of The Great Estate Festival and we wish them every success at the event and for future shows. They perform on the Earth and Roots stage from 18:30 on Friday 3rd June, be there or be square! Tickets are selling FAST, to secure yours and enjoy a whole 4 days of fine music in tranquil surroundings, click HERE

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