BIOGRAPHY
“Fizzing with barbed wit and giddy pop genius…” - Bob Fischer, BBC Tees
"Creating a piece of music with Izzy is a fascinating process; whether playing the lute or the Appalachian dulcimer she always finds new ways of making music that suits the soul of the instrument, to create a sound quite unlike anyone else. Izzy displays an unerring musical instinct.” – Paul Sparks, author of The Classical Mandolin and The Guitar and Its Music
"Amazing songs of an ambitious scope. Izzy and Paul create all sorts of inventive musical textures and atmospheres. I am amazed by the instrumental textures of this collaborative project." - Jelma van Amersfoort, musicologist (specialist in the performance practice of lute and early guitars, and nineteenth-century women composers).
Izzy Isgate is an independent songwriter and composer based in York, UK. Her current self-penned polyvalent acoustic project is a genre-crossing exploration through a myriad of stringed instruments – Appalachian dulcimer, Bulgarian tamboura, ukulele, hammered dulcimer, lute, guitar, and vocals – and anything else with strings attached.
Emerging from the Riot Grrrl & queer folk music scene, Izzy’s approach to instrumentation and composition is one of improvisational defiance. The result? An idiosyncratic, utterly unique, and startling sound; Izzy’s music is mesmerising and engaging, and best experienced in a live environment. Accompanied by classical guitarist/mandolinist/lutenist Paul Sparks, who has furnished Izzy with another instrumental arm to her repertoire, Izzy plans to curate this music in intimate venues, churches, house concerts, and other atmospheric spaces before embarking on recording a complete album. Click here for a line-up of her upcoming shows.
To invite Izzy to perform at your venue, please contact us.
“Ultimately, this is music of an indomitable spirit; sometimes it's full of humour - and some of the songs are hilarious - other times it's harrowing, but always it's intelligent, forthright, uncompromising, and beautiful.” - Richard Rowland, University of York
