Isaurian About Their New Album, "The Pulsing Rush"

Isaurian released their new album, "The Pulsing Rush", today. I sat down with Hoanna, Jorge, and Roberto to get some insights about their songwriting process and where they got the ideas for those seven brilliant songs. Please enjoy the read and find out why they matched so perfectly with Jesse Gander, who they worked with and who also cooperated with bands like Brutus and Anciients.

If you read my preview of "The Pulsing Rush", I'm sure you've noticed that this record is one of the best of this season so far. If you would like to know more about it and why it turned out to be such a gemstone, I invite you to continue reading.

Anne: Hi! Thank you for agreeing to this interview! How are you guys doing?

Looking forward to your release of "The Pulsing Rush" on the 25th, I guess?

Jorge: Hello! Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you! Yes, it's always exciting times to release a record. The whole process is fun to me. Sometimes it all seems pointless in today's music climate, but it is just something I love to do. And I love seeing people relate to the music. It is cool to make people feel feelings.

Roberto: Hi, Anne. We're so excited about the release. This has been our longest wait between preproduction, recording, and release. We're really proud of what we were able to come up with and very excited to finally be able to release it.

Anne: The album is outstanding. When I wrote my preview, I found myself listening to it all over again and again. What inspired you to write these seven songs?

"Our main inspiration for 'The Pulsing Rush' was life"

Jorge: Thank you so much, Anne. That means a lot. Such a lovely review. I think the main inspiration was life. All aspects of it. Pleasure, pain, death, loss, longing, love. I feel that life gives me endless inspiration, from the tiniest things to the biggest things—the good and the bad. So, it is always personal.

Anne: Would you say the topics that inspired you to write the songs led to delving deeper into the heavier sides of Isaurian we know from your early days?

Jorge: In some ways, yes. The music is always a snapshot of a period in life. But it is definitely not something thought out. I write the songs, and when I look back, I am like, "OK, cool, this is heavier". So, the music often makes a path to the lyrics. And Jesse's production helped a lot in that aspect. He just made the songs bigger, heavier, and more dynamic.

Anne: I read you went through some heavy times during the production period. How did you manage to step out of it, go to the studio and work?

Hoanna: I was only able to record the vocals months after the instrumentals because I was undergoing radiotherapy and felt really frail. It is difficult to describe the feeling of helplessness that falls upon you when you are young and have to undergo debilitating treatment that consumes your health. I don't have much hope in the world and don't know what the future holds, but when I sing, I feel reconciled with some mystery that I can't explain. I feel that my existence is justified. So that's when I found the strength to sing.

Jorge: To get the news that Hoanna had cancer days before we got into the studio was rough. She is the most important thing in my life. I just wanted to be close to her. She is a strong, strong woman, so she was supportive and even tried to be close to the process. I had a sense of commitment because Jesse was coming, and he rearranged his whole life to make the dates work, so simply cancelling it wasn't an option. It was just six days of studio time, and we decided to do vocals at a later date, so we toughed it out and made the best out of it. The following months were tough, in the sense that Hoanna wasn't even sure she'd want to sing or be creative again. That thought bummed me out because she is an undeniable talent, and I no longer see Isaurian without her. She is healed now! She reached deep to be part of the album, and I love her even more for that.

Anne: So, would you say creative work and the process of bringing art to life are what help us stay on track and manage even the darkest moments in our lives?

Jorge: Couldn't have said it better myself. As a fan or songwriter, music has always played a healing role in my life. Mentally and emotionally, it has been essential, especially through dark times. Because of music, because of this journey as a musician, I have met my wife and my greatest friends and had amazing experiences. I don't have a romantic, expectations-filled view of music any more. But I wouldn't change a thing. And it remains essential.

Roberto: I agree with that statement. I believe the creative process thrives off of emotion and allows us to externalize what we feel. Giving these emotions context and contour through artistic expression is a forceful tool to channel and deal with what we feel.

And fortunately for us, our specific art form is communal. Music brings people together on many scales, from the six of us in the studio to all the people we are fortunate to be able to share our music with. This social interaction is also potentially very healing.

Anne: How important are emotions when it comes to writing songs? Which one is the most inspiring emotion?

"Songwriting needs emotions"

Jorge: Emotions are everything when it comes to writing. I have to feel things when I am listening to music, which applies to the music I write. If it doesn't take me somewhere emotionally, it means nothing and will be discarded as such. As for the most inspiring emotion, oof, that is a good question… It has been love, to me. Is love an emotion? I feel that even songs with darker themes, like "Árida" from our previous record, end up slightly skewed by love, by the perspective of loving in an increasingly terrible world. Meeting my wife brought me that.

Anne: Which song is your favourite on "The Pulsing Rush"?

Jorge: That is a mean question! I tend to prefer the ones in which Hoanna sings more, like "Primal Life" and "Godlike". But "Heart Like a Curse" and "Carved Earth" are good snapshots of our evolution, and I love it when Hoanna and I sing harmonies together.

Roberto: It's so hard to pick one! I'm going to cheat and say that my favourite to play is "Great Hunger". But, after hearing the final result of "Godlike", it's definitely the song that inspires me the most.

Anne: You recorded "The Pulsing Rush" with Jesse Gander, who also cooperated with bands like Brutus and Anciients. How was working with him?

Jorge: It was the perfect match. An absolutely brilliant producer and engineer and an even better person. He was the nicest guy, and he was so patient and understanding throughout the making of the record. He was eager to come to Brazil and do the record, and it showed. He seemed really involved with the songs and excited to be here, recording this tiny band. We have worked with some really great and renowned producers, and all of them did a great job and made a difference on each record. However, Jesse was the absolute perfect fit, sonically and in every other way. I never know if we'll make another record, but I don't see it being done without Jesse producing it.

Roberto: Jesse Gander was definitely the funniest person I've had the privilege of working with (although Kevin Ratterman isn't far behind). He's an incredible musician, a fantastic producer, and a stellar human being. I learnt so much from him and had so much fun while doing so. And I truly believe he captured our best side, which really heightened the quality of what we have to offer. There was genuine teamwork and riffing off each other throughout the recording process.

Plus, he played keys on the album, so I would love to be able to boast that he's in the band.

Anne: Isaurian was always more about the more introverted, thoughtful kind of sound. Intense but also very much doomy and gloomy but not in an aggressive way. Would you say music is a more effective way of sharing your feelings with the world and expressing your wish for change?

Jorge: Yeah, absolutely. That is pretty much a good description of everyone in the band. Thoughtful, introspective, doomy and gloomy. We have that in common. Music is the only way I can express myself to a slightly larger audience. It comes naturally. It is important to me to have this way of expressing myself because I tend to bottle up too much stuff inside. I lack self-importance and have no expectations that people will care about what I have to say, but it is something I feel I "need" to do.

Anne: You released your first record, "All The Darkness Looks Alive", in 2017. What has changed since then?

Jorge: So much has changed. The band itself, expectations, the reason it exists, and the sound. When we did that EP, I didn't plan to go further. I was miserable when I started Isaurian. It was a cathartic kind of thing. Now, something else moves me. Life can be challenging, but I am not miserable any more.

Roberto: So much has changed, and I haven't even been in the band since 2017. But it's really exciting to look back and compare all these places we've been to. I think there's a very clear and conscious progression to be heard in our sound, which definitely has to do with everything that went on with the band and its members. And even if this moment feels very much like a culminating one, I also hope it's another step forward and outward for the band.

Anne: If there was one thing in the world that you could change. What would it be and why?

"Capitalism as it is should be destroyed"

Jorge: Oh boy… I think humanity has run its course. It is time to let nature take over. That is how I truly feel. But yeah, if I had that power, I'd probably try to destroy capitalism as it is, thus radically diminishing social inequalities. A world without the existence of billionaires, without the continuous destruction of all that is important so we can make 0.5 per cent of the world richer. But I feel powerless every day, so I just hope nature accelerates her vengeance.

Roberto: I feel like, because of the way the world is slowly crumbling, there's a generalized feeling of apathy. I hope that, even in dark times, we can find ways of romanticizing and idealizing some aspects of our world and existence, to try to rescue some amount of empathy and care for each other. Being able to find meaning in the simpler things in life is truly dignifying.

Anne: What are you looking forward to in the future?

Jorge: As a band, we want to keep creating and enjoying the process. No point if we don't enjoy the ride. Personally, I look forward to getting home to my wife and three birds, getting cosy and watching something inevitably underwhelming on a streaming service.

Roberto: Always more music.

Isaurian – "The Pulsing Rush"