Isabelle Fries – Scrapbook (Spotify)
“Life is a journey, full of memories and experiences... something authentic and unique for each of us. In "Scrapbook", the artist shares her thoughts and reveals how her past can affect present. All these through soft Lo-fi Pop sound with an epic finale that leaves its sign in most listeners.”
-Nagamag.com
“SCRAPBOOK”, the new single from Isabelle Fries, invites us to not only take a look back at our life adventures, but to also look forward, letting us truly “feel along the way.
“This song for me is about longing for the past and the all encompassing feeling of nostalgia, emotions we almost all surely experience”, says Fries. “Yet at the same time, it’s also about wanting more for your life and knowing that you are capable, even if it means having to fight off the demons in your head, feeling rather than going numb, and that internal battle to get to where you long and belong to be.”
“I wanted to forget, I fell asleep and it’s so cold alone
I want to be someone, I want to reach out and touch love and burn all up
But they say it ain’t easy… “
~ SCRAPBOOK
At the tender age of 23 Isabelle Fries is not only a successful emerging artist, but she is also a teacher. Isabelle is the real life “Hannah Montana,” balancing a career of music along with educator to children in Colorado and Uganda.
Fries is a recent graduate of The University of Southern California whose senior year was impacted by the pandemic. Alas, her altruistic spirit and devotion for music has been going strong. Since her last release, she has been working on projects that merge service and music - not your typical pop star, but refreshing to say the least.
Isabelle has been described by the likes of Perez Hilton and others as a young Kelly Clarkson with a mix of Miley Cyrus and Maggie Rogers. There’s also a distinct Nora Jones “Jazz” influence that echoes through her raspy voice, which is no surprise since she began singing old Jazz songs with her acting coach at the age of 9. Her music is also morphing into a beautiful “Lumineers” sound that grabs your soul.
Along side her LA based music team lead by Grammy-winning, multi-platinum producer/mixer Rob Chiarelli, her latest single “Scrapbook” is a song that invites you to welcome all of life, even the painful memories that have caused so much heartache. Her “Coldplay” type melody on this track shows that she is indeed growing up, and her folksy-pop sound is maturing like a good vintage red wine.
Penned by writer Seth Baer, who’s developed a close musical relationship with Fries, had this to say about the new tune: “Scrapbook is a story of losing someone close to you, and the feeling of falling away from your true self. It’s the feeling of letting go of your past, nostalgia, simpler times, to finally move on with life, quieting the noise around you and battling what’s inside”.
Isabelle’s dream is to combine her love of music and international service work to bring people together and make a difference in the world. She continues to believe that music is a basic human need that allows a connection to self.
Reviewed by Nagamag on March 3, 2022