Dark-pop artist Isabel LaRosa opens up about her debut album ‘Raven’, the emotions behind “Cry For You,” her hands-on creative process, and what’s next in her rising career.
You’re just released ‘Raven’, congrats! What does this project represent to you, personally and creatively? Is there a central theme or story running through it?
‘Raven’, to me, feels like it’s a representation of what my life has looked like for the past couple years, what the positives and the negatives have been for me, going through heartbreak, growing up, and all of these things. It’s a representation of my sound too, and how it has evolved over the past couple years.
Let’s talk about your latest single “Cry For You”, it’s haunting, hypnotic and emotional. What inspired the track and how does it fit into the world of Raven?
“Cry For You” was inspired by a situation that I was in that made me feel like I had to suppress all of these emotions for so long, and once I was out of the situation, I could finally feel all of it. I think “Cry For You” was written from a place of feeling all of that anger for the first time in a very long time. That’s what it was about to me.
You’ve said in the past that you grew up writing music with your brother. How has that family bond influenced the sound and direction of your artistry today?
I feel like it’s honestly everything, I would not be where I am without Thomas. He is such a key part of all of this- the writing, the production, and my sound- and I’m always grateful to him for that. I think it’s really cool when you’re able to write something with with someone who’s so close to you and who knows you so well because it’s writing with the two different halves of your brain. 
From “I’m Yours” to “Home”, your songs often explore themes of love, longing and emotional intensity, intensity. Do you find yourself drawn to writing from personal experience? Or do you sometimes imagine characters and stories?
More recently, I feel like I’ve been writing from a place of it being more personal. I think in the past, I’ve written more from the place of it being almost like me as a fictional character or in a fictional scenario. Not to say that my old music wasn’t personal, I just think that now, especially, I’ve drawn from my real life and not a fantasy.
The visual aspect of your work, from music videos to social media content, is incredibly cinematic. As a video director yourself, how involved are you in shaping the visuals that accompany your music?
I’m honestly a control freak about it. I have to be the one to do everything and I’m very much behind all of it. Not that other people aren’t amazing at what they do, I just don’t trust anyone to execute exactly what I have in my head because no one’s gonna be able to see what’s in my head the way I see it, and so I would rather be the one to do it.
You’re currently on the Psycho Pump tour across the US and Canada. What are you most looking forward to on the road, and how do you prepare for a tour, both mentally and creatively?
The tour so far has been really incredible! In terms of preparing mentally, you have to be rested, which I found out the hard way on opening night. You can’t push through everything, and you have to really take care of yourself and your body, because it does catch up to you. Creatively, I think that follows with being rested. When you’re rested, you’re creative, at least I am. And I think it’s really inspiring to be on the tour in itself, it’s very inspiring to me, just as a whole.
The dark pop esthetic you’ve created feels very intentional. Who are, what are your biggest artistic inspirations when it comes to both sound and style?
Some of my biggest inspirations are Melanie Martinez, The Neighborhood, Paramore, there’s so many. I’m very inspired especially by alternative women who are kind of alt, but also follow a pop songwriting approach, that’s super inspiring to me. I’m just inspired by passion and creative direction in artists, that’s what’s important to me.
As a young artist who’s already signed to a major label and building a global audience, what has surprised you the most about the industry so far?
There’s so many things that have been surprising to me, but I’ve gotten used to it over the past few years. I think it’s surprising how much money it takes to make things. I don’t think I realized how much of a budget everyone has, to be completely real. That was the thing that I was like, wow, it takes literally so much money to make a music video, I did not think it was gonna take that much money.
What message do you hope people can take away from Raven, whether they’re longtime fans or hearing your album for the first time?
The coolest thing to me is being able to write a song and have someone take a completely different meaning away from it, as long as it’s personal to their life. I just hope that within the songs, people can find their own meaning and really relate it to themselves, and hopefully it can help people feel a little bit more seen.
With your debut album dropping and a tour on the horizon, what’s next for you after this chapter? Are there other creative goals or dreams you’re excited to explore next, musically, or beyond?
I have so many. I feel like I’m always just scratching the surface with what I want to do. I have so many goals that I’m working towards and a lot of plans that I’m working on right now so I just can’t say that much.
