They say the hardest thing is talking about ourselves. For many people this can happen in many different ways. In Jake Isaac’s case it happened through music.
He was born and raised in South London, UK, where he started playing drums at the age of 3 and taught himself to play piano and bass during his school years. By the time he was 16 he had completed his drumming studies and had begun teaching the instrument. By 19, Isaac had begun to make a living as a part-time session musician playing drums and bass on a variety of jazz and rock records for various international artists, including Grammy Award winner Duffy.
In his CV he lists many close collaborations with artists such as: Cynthia Erivo, Gabrielle and Blue, while he has opened concerts for: Sir Elton John, Sting, India Arie, Ella Eyre, Paloma Faith, Lake Street Dive, Joan As Police Woman , Angus and Julia Stone, Tori Kelly etc.
He recently released a brand new album that confirms all of the above. “When It Hurts” is proof that he is a completely giving person and artist. On the album he collaborated with Jack Savorretti, Joss Stone, Jacob Banks and Joshua Luke Smith, in four different songs through which he does what he knows best… he talks about what he couldn’t express so well in words… mainly about the emotional difficulties inside in a relationship.
However, Jake Isaac, spoke to SounDarts.gr and tried to interpret everything with a big smile and disarming honesty!
creators: CHARLIETHORNTON.CO / CK MORRISON
In April you released your 3rd studio album “For When It Hurts”. What inspired you to write an album about «honest relationship hurdles and hurts»?
What Inspired me was that I’ve been so bad at relationships in my life, let me correct that not relationships but I’ve been so bad at learning how to love and when I get it wrong it hurts. I realized that, not just me but also a lot of my friends, particularly guys, feel that too. When it hurts in love it hurts really bad so I decided to write an album about it.
Which is the song from this album that is closer to your heart and why?
The song that is probably closer to my heart is “Broken Pieces”, featuring an old friend of mine, Joss Stone. I wrote this song after a really bad argument. It was late at night, it was like eleven, maybe twelve at night, I was having a glass of wine and I sat to the piano. It was a reflection of the argument I just had, but it meant everything. Every word I said, I meant it. And I think when you have moments like that, it helps you to grow because you’re being honest with yourself.
Among the songs in the track list one can spot the interesting duets/collaborations with Jack Savoretti, Joss Stone, Jacob Banks and Joshua Luke Smith. How are your feelings about these collaborations? In what ways do you feel they made your songs even more special?
Man collaboration reads innovation. When you work, you always get more than yourself, so that’s special, no matter who I work with. But having these guys: Jacob Banks, Jack Savoretti, Joshua Luke Smith and Joss Stone on this album, to me it felt like expressing myself with friends. When you go out and you sit down for a drink with friends and you start talking about the same topic, you walk away feeling understood and seen. I feel like having those guys on the album felt like, “oh, I’m not alone”. They were sharing their voice too. It made me feel like I’m not a weirdo on my own, sitting down, talking about this stuff. It’s just great to share the moments and hear not just their perspective, but what they brought musically and vocally, how they expressed themselves with the topics.
You have worked with and supported artists like: Elton John, Sting, Duffy, India Arie, Ella Eyre, Paloma Faith, Angus and Julia Stone, Tori Kelly etc. Which of these experiences stand out for you the most? What did you learn from that?
Probably one of the biggest experiences I had, was being signed to and supporting Elton John on his arena tour around the UK and Europe. That was incredible because he was so humble. He’s like one of the biggest icons of a generation and his humility, the way he welcomed me, he encouraged me, he championed me, he was real and honest with me. You don’t expect that from people like him. He doesn’t have to be, you know what mean? Like, he’s Elton John, he doesn’t have to even talk to me. So I was blown away by just his humility and I thought to myself,” man, if I ever, ever make it to that level, I would want to be like that”. I learned so much from being around him.
So, I could say that you are an artist influenced by many artists. Right? What music does Jake listen to in his personal time?
I listen a lot to soul and R&B music. I listen to soul/R&B singer songwriter music. I like old jazz, like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, like old jazz and then sometimes bebop. But I prefer Jimmy Bruno jazz, like late night with a glass of wine or if I’m washing the dishes or having dinner. And then in the mornings, I listen to classical music.
Going back in time, can you recall that moment when you decided to become a professional musician and singer?
I remember I was with my friends at the time, and I was with my misses and I said, “Guys, I think I’m going to try this”. I didn’t know how far I could get, you always want to get far, but I didn’t even know what I was doing. I didn’t even know where to start. Maybe like three and a half years after that, I was playing at Glastonbury. I don’t even know how I got there. So I remember clearly starting out, but I can’t even take the credit for getting to where I got to at all because I don’t know how I did it. I don’t know what I’m doing now. haha
It’s obvious that your music has evolved over the years in a more outgoing way. Where can you spot this evolution in the way you create or even in the way you communicate with your audience?
I’m slowly becoming more and more of myself and what that means is I’m singing about things, not just writing a song, because it sounds nice. I’m writing more and more songs, that mean something to me, and there’s truth. I’m communicating that to my audience. The more I do that, the more and I’m grateful. My audience loves more what I’m singing about because I’m being more honest and more vulnerable just about my life experiences. And, yeah, that’s what I find.
Since you have been professionally involved in music since a young age, have you faced any difficulties? Do you remember anything in particular?
Hmm, I remember once I had a friend of mine who was in my band, and things were happening like we played at Glastonbury and Leeds, with Sir Elton John, I’d had, a top ten, No.1 EP over here and I’ve always made my own music from my little laptop from home. I’ve just done it all by myself. I never had the money to get great musicians in or do what Jack Savoretti does. I just make music for my little shed in my garden, and so I remember one day he phoned me up and he said, while we were talking to other musicians and some other friends that we knew, and je said “listen, dude, you’re good at what you do, but your music is not good quality. You need to get better. You need to spend more money because your music needs to be better quality”. That broke me because I thought to myself, “man, if my music is not good enough, then we don’t have to do this”. It just hurt because you think that the people closest to you are for you. They were for me, they wanted me to do better, but it was just a bit hard hearing that friends I’d known, who are also musicians didn’t think much of what I was doing. When I came off the phone, I thought to myself, “man, hold on a second. I’ve just signed to one of the biggest pop icons in the world. I’ve just played at one of the biggest platforms in the world. Why am I getting down about this?” and I realized because we all need friends. No matter how big, how good things are going, we all need people that we can trust who are closest to us. And I think I felt alone for the first time. Anyway, we’re friends now, we patched up but it reminded me of the importance of not doing journeys alone.
Do you still work together?
We still talk. So he ended up running a business, but we’re good now. It was just one moment in our friendship journey, which was just like, “wow, this is hard”.
What does soul music mean to you?
I love what James Brown says. “Soul music comes from people who hear the word “no””. It’s the longing of your inner voice, your inner heart. “This is hard and I need to sing about it. I’ve heard “no” and I need to sing about it. I want to hear “yes”. Can I hear “yes”? I’m a sing about the “no””. I think James Brown’s definition is perfect.
They say the hardest thing is talking about ourselves. However, could you tell us from your heart, who is Jake Isaac?
Jake Isaac is a guy that is aware of his weaknesses. I’m aware of what I’m bad at. I’m a giver. I love to give. Sometimes I give and I get hurt because I’ve just given to the wrong people. I always want to try and do right for people. I don’t like upsetting people. I’d rather lose and make sure that we’re still friends. And it’s hard. I often say there are two types of people in the world. There are givers and there are takers, and I’m a giver. Sometimes if you give and you want to be their friends and you want to make sure they’ll just keep taking not for you to get hurt. I’m someone who’s had to learn my boundaries. I’m learning not to get hurt. At the same time, I’m aware of my weakness. I like to keep people happy. A relationship is super important to me, and I’m just trying to do right.
What are your next professional plans?
I’m writing a film at the moment. I made a short film a couple of years ago and it won, like, five awards. It did pretty well. So I’m writing a full film at the moment. It’s hard, but I’m trying. And then I’ve also started writing a new album as well, for which I’m very excited about.
Any details that you can share about it?
Yeah, this album is an introduction to Jake Isaac. I think I’ve written a lot of albums about love, about bits and pieces of my journey, but this album is going to be about who I am.
What’s your motto in life?
Interview: Theodore Kolliopoulos
