Izzy Bizu is definitely one of those artists that seems intent on forging and following her own path irrespective of whether it will lead to ‘brand Izzy’ or not-way before this current wave of interest in Izzy, labels were knocking. Izzy rebuffed or avoided them I am sure in her affable warm manner which seems her character.
There’s also a definite feel of an individual who is a free spirit as John (from the I Luv Live camp) attests; “where is she now she just randomly walks off she is a free spirit I tell you”?! Hearing her laugh first she comes in and greets me warmly before taking a seat on a bean bag crossed legged-well when in Rome-so I proceed to sit crossed leg and you know what? We had an interesting conversation.
Post her astounding performance at I Luv Live, Izzy is lapping up performing live music. With her right hand man Mika they are bringing to a wider audience her brand of soulful written magic.
Singing, writing poetry a natural connection
I was always listening to music as a kid and I have always just really liked singing. I actually started off writing poetry before getting into singing and song writing but it really started because I was into English and creative writing and so I would just sit in my break time writing about nature and other random stuff. I then started to play piano and I started putting my poetry to the piano and so I kind of turned them into songs- I feel there is a real connection between poetry and song writing both emotionally and lyrically and so it was an organic transition I think.
Finding the right sound.
I mean when I was fifteen I was in a girl band and we were so young and it was really cool but it was great to leave. We went our separate ways because we discovered we liked different types of music. I remember at the time I was not sure what I needed but I knew that I did not want that whole band thing-I mean I love the girls and they were all awesome in what they did but I just kept feeling there was something missing. When I went to college and I started chilling with live bands then I realised what I needed I needed-LIVE music instruments to jam with that is what fires me!
Boarding school ignites musical bug?
It was a release for me it was like a diary really because as a kid I was a real thinker and I made sure that religiously I would write in the diary. When I was a kid I was in Bahrain with my dad for a bit and then I wanted to come back to England and I went to boarding school for a couple of years. Boarding school was awesome there was just like so much sport you could do there the classes were hard though I am not going to lie the people there were like super smart but anyway it was there that the music bug started to take me over really. Eventually I came to London and I went to music college where I met Mika.
Mika and Izzy: “we just became really good friends through jamming”
I genuinely like being friends with people before doing stuff and it just works. Music is just about good vibes really and so being genuinely good friends I think just makes better music. Miko and I have been together only for about two years but we are with each other like all the time.
Mika, Izzy-making music
He will jump on the keys for example and I will do some keys and then whatever we feeling at the time it will kind of create. We first bonded when we were at college for an exam we had to play together as a band and when we jammed together I was like ‘wow’ I am feeling this and it was like one of the best performances I did that I can remember. I remember thinking ‘I want this feeling again’ and he felt the same and so we just carried on together-it was just good vibes.
Luv starts the journey.
I went to all these shows like XOYO and I Luv Live and I saw all these great musicians and song writers and I felt that that was basically me and I felt ‘wow’ I finally have found where I fit in.
So at I Luv Live I was seeing these people perform on the open mic with the awesome house band and I wanted to jump up and sing but every week I just wossed out. Eventually my friend persuaded me and I went up and I sang Summer Time and we had like sixty seconds. Ras Kwame actually was hosting the night and he is so awesome. I was petrified because on the night they ask the crowd to vote for their favourite by shouting. I actually did not know it was a competition because every time I went I never stayed for the end so I was doubly petrified when I found out- I would not have probably gone up if I had known it was a competition!
White Tiger
White Tiger is really just about letting go-it is quite imaged bid. It actually started out as a poem at first but then Mika started playing some chords and I just started singing ‘White Tiger, White Tiger’ like a random melody but then he went to France and other things happened so we kept stopping and starting White Tiger . I then went out to see him in France and I asked him what he thought of White Tiger after I had written more (I did not even have a melody) and he just played some chords and then I started singing and it just started to come about.
It was and is not a conscious decision to avoid the labels I am just happy in the place I am in right now. Right now I am just chilling and writing and it feels just so good and just feels comfortable even though we are doing quite a lot-I just want to take my time and do everything step by step but maybe in the future yeh I will try and go with a label-when it feels right I will do it.
2013 plans
EP is coming out on the 1st September and then we are touring with Sam Smith which I am really excited about. There’s lots to come and so I am just happy.