Coming from the coastal hills of Northern California, Ismay is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter drawing inspiration from the natural landscape of the American West. With an ear for an old-time aesthetic and artistry of indie folk, Ismay blends inventive songwriting, ethereal vocals, and dynamic fingerpicking on her new EP, Songs From A River.
The creation of her debut EP began with a river. After dropping out of college, Ismay (Avery Hellman) wandered from California to New Mexico and up through the Pacific Northwest. During this time, she sought out a place of natural significance through which to explore her passion for the arts and the environment. Eventually, she found herself on the banks of the Klamath River in far Northern California. It was in this country that Ismay became entranced by the intricate cultural landscape of the Klamath. In the following two years, she embarked on a horseback trip to document the river through film, photography and audio recordings. In addition, she wrote and recorded five original songs, both along the Klamath with an old cassette tape machine and in a studio above the Pacific Ocean.
Working with producer Tim Bluhm (Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion) and engineer Robert Cheek (Band of Horses, Chelsea Wolfe) at Panoramic Studios, the field recordings were produced by Eric Drew Feldman (PJ Harvey), and string arrangements in Nashville with Brad Jones at Alex the Great Recording (Justin Townes Earle, Nancy Griffith, Yo La Tengo).
Weaving natural symbolism into this coming-of-age story, Ismay’s EP, Songs from a River, explores the way in which a connection to place shapes and parallels songwriting and recording. Today, Ismay shares one of the tracks from the EP, “River of Light,” a delicate string-fueled ballad highlighted by Ismay’s serene vocals. Ismay had this to say about the song, “If you fly into Los Angeles at night, and look down on at cars on the roadways making their way through the valley and up the mountains, you can see long streams of light reminiscent of rivers. While the L.A. River has been rendered nearly invisible, these “rivers of light” have illuminated the landscape. This song uses this symbolism to explore toxic love affairs, drawing connections between these man-made rivers that draw us in, and the deceptiveness of partners who entice us into a damaging relationship.”
Listen to the track HERE.
