photo courtesy of big picture media
Izzy Mahoubi is a 19-year-old indie-pop artist based in Phoenix. Beginning to release music when she was 11, Mahoubi always dreamed of sharing her music for the world to hear. The artist shared that she takes major influences from Maggie Rogers, Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, The Lumineers and the Beatles. In her mind all of these artists have one thing in common: their storytelling abilities.
A massive inspiration for Mahoubi in the genesis of her musical journey was seeing the likes of Stevie Nicks and Amy Winehouse growing up. “The female musicians that I’d say are my biggest influences just inspire me with my confidence … [They are] people who were just unapologetically themselves.” The singer shares that “music can all sound the same” so those who experiment with sound are what drive her to create her music.
Encouraged by figures in her life like her guitar teacher, she started releasing her own music at the age of 11. “11-year-old me was like, ‘I’m gonna release music onto all the streaming platforms ever’ which I shouldn’t have. But I did. There’s probably a trace of those first few songs out on the internet somewhere. But releasing music is such an amazing thing that artists get to do at any stage — you don’t have to be Taylor [Swift] to do it,” the singer shared.
Mahoubi was recently signed to Rude Records who have been distributing her music. “I still don’t believe it sometimes,” Mahoubi says. “When you’re just by yourself for eight years, I just thought I’ll be by myself forever … I was the person submitting demos to hundreds of people online … and so the fact that I just sent [my team] “Hang Around” and they loved it and wanted to hear more was just super encouraging.”
The singer released “Hang Around” on Oct. 28. She says “I wrote [Hang Around] during quarantine. I was on winter break, and I couldn’t hang out with my friends because we were all quarantining. And I was just thinking about summer and the summer before … I wanted to write a song that just felt good and that reminded me of that.” She wrote the song and released it in October for herself and her listeners to reminisce on the bright and warm days of summer.
The singer’s entire discography consists of honest lyricism accompanied by a stripped back sound. “That’s what I listened to the most [growing up] … guitar is my first instrument and songwriting is just what I love,” Mahoubi expresses. At her core, Mahoubi aims to be a storyteller, much like many of the artists she admires. “[I like to] write something fun and descriptive … just manifesting wherever you want to be in your life, if it’s in the future, or ten years from now.”
Alongside storytelling, the artist also wants to work toward expanding her sound. “I try to write, just for fun, a rock song here or there, or a jazz song or bluesy song. I love doing that … The music I’m gonna release does go into different genres.” The concept of an artist being “genre-less” speaks to Mahoubi as she doesn’t want to be confined to the indie-pop genre. “I think that makes your discography fun, too, because you’ll never know what to expect.”
In the next year, Mahoubi intends to release a handful of singles. In November, she is releasing a cover of “bury a friend” by Billie Eilish — but with her own twist. “I completely reimagined [‘bury a friend’] into a bluesy, alt song.” she shared. This rendition of the song will be a true insight into her mind and how it perceives the music of such admired artists like Billie. Following the cover, a long-term goal of the singer’s is to release an EP. “An EP has always been a far-off goal in my brain. And to have a team now that’s supporting me and supporting my music has been the greatest joy. Being able to work towards an EP and write songs where I’m like, ‘Oh, this will actually get recorded’ is super encouraging,” she candidly shared.
To follow Izzy Mahoubi on her budding musical journey, you can find her on Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.