Michael Isaak Interview
Michael Isaak, Egyptian-American songwriter based in Los Angeles, just unveiled his debut EP, "Forever is a Scary Word”. Merging indie pop and folk, he intricately weaves his rich cultural heritage into his music, offering listeners a poignant narrative of personal growth and coming-of-age experiences. We got to chat with the talented artist around the release.
- Hey Michael Isaak! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
My fascination with music has been a constant companion for as long as I can remember. At the age of 9, I learned piano by ear, and during my teenage years, I broadened my musical skills to include the ukulele, guitar, and electronic music production. I secured my first production credit at 15, and by 18, I was producing for friends and began writing my own songs.
I still never saw a music career as a viable option. Instead, I aimed for the opportunity to attend Princeton University, where I pursued neuroscience and pre-medicine. However, after a year, I felt that the competitive and academically intense environment got in the way of my creativity, and I lost an important emotional outlet. Recognizing this, I took a leave of absence, returned to LA, and finally embraced a career in music. I put out my first song in September of 2022 and I’ve been releasing music and performing since.
- Congratulations on the release of your debut EP, “Forever is a Scary Word”. The title is intriguing! Can you elaborate on the meaning behind it and how it encapsulates the themes of the EP?
Before I even started writing my EP back in May 2022, I scribbled a passing note in my songbook: “Forever is a scary word, but not when it’s with you.” This became the center lyric for the song “plane thoughts” and inspired the title of the project.
The phrase “forever is a scary word” is a depiction of an adolescent angst for the future. In the EP, I focus on a protagonist who’s on the edge of adulthood and is thrilled by his future, yet scared his life will never change. He finds that there is no way to project ahead to “forever” and that experience is anxiety-provoking.
All of the songs revolve around this conflict of time, tying both reminiscence over previous experiences and forecasting uncharted futures.
- The fusion of indie pop, folk, and your Egyptian-American heritage is a unique aspect of your music. How did your cultural background shape the sound and narrative of “Forever is a Scary Word”?
I grew up being immersed in my family’s traditions, attending Coptic mass every Sunday, speaking Arabic at home, and learning about ancient folklore that is still a large part of Egyptian culture. The first songs I ever learned to sing were Coptic hymns. I’ve always been fascinated by the mysticism of the ancient Egyptian religion, especially their belief in the afterlife and the concept of eternity. I came across this interesting concept called “apeirophobia,” the fear of infinity or ‘forever,’ which inspired much of the concept for my EP.
One of my favorite Egyptian pieces of all time is a song called “Fi Youm We Leila” (in English “In a Day and Night”), originally performed by Warda. The song tells the story of how someone’s life changed in just one day upon the arrival of love. I listened to this piece over and over again, inspired both sonically and thematically. I loved the interplay between a short “day and night” and a long “forever”: how one day could entirely change your forever.
- Can you share more about how classical Arabic music and your proficiency with the oud influenced the musicality of the EP?
I grew up listening to all sorts of classical Arabic music: Oum Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Mohammad Abdel Wahab, and so many more. Today, I feel like all of those classic artists are ingrained in my practice of music.
In “plane thoughts,” I really wanted to give listeners something they’d never heard before, so I approached an Egyptian producer Abanoub Samir and we worked on the idea of ending my project with a grand Arabic orchestral section. While the whole project is a journey through my heritage, I really feel like the conclusion creates this collage of who I am that all listeners will be able to see.
As for the Oud, I began studying the instrument a little over a year ago. Although my skills weren’t good enough to make it on this project, listeners should definitely expect to hear me playing the Oud on future songs.
- Both “hey boy” and “okay with this” are highlighted as key tracks. Could you delve deeper into the inspiration behind these singles and how they represent your coming-of-age journey and personal growth?
I picked “hey boy,” a love letter to my younger self, as a single as I thought it would be the perfect introduction for listeners to get to know more about me and my background. For this reason, I also made it the first track on my EP. It is quite special to me because I feel like the song is alive. I’m constantly extracting new meaning from it, and every time I perform it, I manage to find yet another version of myself to sing it to.
The lead single “okay with this” gives more insight into the hardship I would face after taking a break from college to pursue music. The song conveys a sense of pain that comes with growing up and going away, but it also serves as a symbol of hope to overcome such challenges and start anew.
- What’s your favorite track from the EP and why?
This is always a difficult question because I feel like all of the songs hold distinct importance to me. If I had to choose a favorite, I would probably pick “okay with this.” When I first wrote it two summers ago, I was instantly proud of it and I knew it was going to be a key song on my EP. I love how the lyrics paint such a vivid picture, especially in the bridge, and the line “blue tape on a bed frame,” inspired by a conversation with my older brother, is one of the most poetic I’ve written. It was also one of the first songs that got attention of new listeners who had anticipated the release. It was so surreal how so many people resonated with it before it came out, just from small clips on social media.
- You’ve had performances in iconic LA venues and gained recognition on Spotify. How do you adapt your studio-created music for live performances and what aspects of your live shows do you find most fulfilling?
Matching the energy of the recordings was actually something I really struggled with at the beginning of my live-playing experience. Me and my band have now spent many months together workshopping every song quite carefully to materialize my vision for the live set. This involves a lot of one-on-one sessions, watching playback of our live videos, and a lot of comparison to the recordings.
The part that is definitely the most fulfilling is seeing how the songs come to life when performed in concert. It’s a crazy feeling going from singing songs in your bedroom to performing them on stage with your bandmates in front of people who are singing your lyrics back to you.
- Any last words for our readers?
I really hope that listeners take home that at the essence of my EP, there’s an understanding of hope and acceptance. We never know what the future will hold, and that’s pretty scary. But everything always falls into place in the end. The universe works in mysterious unpredictable ways, and accepting this fact is part of life, part of growing up, and part of learning to live happily.
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