Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Isaiah Driftwood
Isaiah Driftwood was a late bloomer when it came to music. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Isaiah was mainly surrounded by local music and thought that was all that sound has to offer. It would later be found that what he initially thought was the farthest thing from reality. After hearing what his uncle and cousin was listening to, Isaiah went home and replayed the song Started From the Bottom by Drake and fell in love with music at that moment. It was through his outside family that he learnt about more artists like Lil Wayne, Tyler the Creator, Mac Miller, Lil Yachty, Lana Del Rey, Frank Ocean, Bruno Mars, Adele, J Cole just to name a few. Through his newfound love for music, he was like a sponge soaking up different eras of sound. He would go on to write his first song in late 2019, sending it to a friend to review. After surprising encouragement to continue writing music from them, he did just that. It wouldn’t be until January 2022 that he decided to be bold enough with his passion to want to pursue music full time. October 2022 was his first music release, commencing the beginning of the journey. While Isaiah may be considered a newcomer, his hunger and drive for success is unmatched and sees his glory as inevitable.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory was hearing Billie Jean by Michael Jackson and seeing the music video for it. I saw it on tv then went to watch it over on the computer. That started a rabbit hole of me watching all these Michael Jackson music videos, like Speed Demon, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, Bad. That was the start of it all.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My secondary school held an Extempo competition they held once a year. My music teacher Mr Morales asked me to compete. I had never written any sort of music before that point, so I was shocked for sure when he asked me to enter the competition. We had an hour to write a verse and perform it in front of the school. I placed third.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Situationships, man. It’s taken over my life. I would like to say that it’s about love but as I reflect more, it feels like I’m chasing the thrill of it all. Treating something that could potentially last a lifetime without any sense of urgency. Self destruction of my connections definitely played a part in my current piece.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Words that cut deep said over funky beats production. I’m a huge fan of songs that have insanely groovy production accompanied by lyrics that weigh heavy. It’s like that Outkast song Hey Ya!
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Everybody’s process in creation is different. It’s easy to watch someone freestyle a whole song and criticize yourself on your ability, but everybody has a different path. Some can write along to a beat, some need silence to write.Just do what’s most comfortable to you and the best will come from it.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
All I need is my phone and my notes app. It’s all I’ve had for almost 4 years. I only bought an actual recording microphone a few months ago. Before that, it was just me with my wired headphones and my recording app on my phone getting these songs out.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
You Told Me by Ian has been a frequent listen of mine. Loved the beat switch and the passion he put behind his words. Daniel Caesar’s album Son of Spergy is also a frequent listen. Emily’s Song off that project is incredible.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Oh man, it’s everything to me. Most of my music is basically therapy sessions that I record for the world to hear. All my failures, shortcomings, ambitions and dreams. The only times I’m not writing music is when I have nothing going on in my life.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Relatability is my priority. Everyone is special in their own way, but we all go through a lot of the same experiences. I can talk about something I’ve been through, maybe someone’s in the same boat, they don’t feel alone. To me, that’s a job well done on my part.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
It’s incredibly important to have a reaction to things. It sounds super simple, but it’s not healthy to always be stoic all the time. When it’s just you and your thoughts, don’t bottle your emotions up. Feel them, feel them through and through. That’s how you get stronger, that’s how you learn and find the root of the problem instead of cutting off a branch and hoping it doesn’t grow back.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Whenever I’m in New York I always gravitate towards theatres. I love the architecture. The capacity is not too big, the sound travels so well there. It’s an intimate showing whenever you watch an event. So performing in any theatre would be a dream come true.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Drake. My uncle had a blackberry and his ringtone was Started From The Bottom. Ever since that day, Drake has been my favorite artist. If I even had a solid conversation with Drake I think that would be the peak of my career.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Isaiah Driftwood on all platforms. Thank goodness it’s such a unique name, it makes the username super easy to find.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
The audience I have right now, some of them message me about how a song might apply to their life, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. So for the future, I want more and more people to not feel alone in anything they’re going through. That’s all I could ask for.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Whatever they want. A good thing about life is everybody has their own perception of things, and we can all learn from listening to one another. I’m an open book, so if anyone wants to know anything, I have an answer.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
Actually, since you asked for this interview it pushed me to release a song today. So instead of a Youtube video, I’ll attach the link to the song. You don’t have to do anything with it, it’s just a thank you on my behalf
