After a sensational summer of songwriting, performing, and charting, Isaac Butler is set to enchant audiences with his latest track, “Heart of Gold,” preceding his headline show at Dublin’s Academy on December 1st. Fresh off a sold-out performance at Whelan’s main room, Isaac brings his unique blend of pop and heartfelt lyricism to a larger stage, promising an unforgettable evening of music and emotion. In an exclusive interview, Isaac opens up about the inspiration behind “Heart of Gold,” his collaboration with producer Alex O’Keefe, and the evolution of his distinct sound. Join us as we delve into the heart of Isaac Butler’s musical journey.
Hello Isaac, welcome to CelebMix! Could you tell a few words about yourself to those of our readers who are not familiar with your music?
Thank you for having me I am a singer-songwriter from Dublin I was born and raised here I love all types of music from folk to hip hop my favorite thing about this job is performing and I’m a fan of a good night out.
Your latest single ‘Heart of Gold’ is described as a soul-stirring and uplifting anthem exploring vulnerability in the pursuit of love. Can you share the inspiration behind the song and what led you to delve into this theme?”
Heart of gold was born out of post breakup sadness I had a little bit of a freak out moment where I thought oh God I’m in my mid 20s I’ve just broken up with somebody who I’ve been with for a decent amount of time am I going to die alone, I had this conversation with my dad and I ranted for maybe 10 minutes and he just sat there nodding his head and sort of smiled and just said you’ll find the one love is never easy and that’s the pre course of the song and it’s the first two lines I had in my head when I sat down to write it.
Your music is often noted for its heartfelt lyricism. How do you approach songwriting to create such emotional and relatable tracks like ‘Heart of Gold’?
Honestly I just tell the truth all of my songs are extremely honest about things that happen in my life whether that’s heart of gold which is about to proceed of love and how bad I am at that I also have a lot of songs about my family I have a song about my two sisters called bird in the sky of a song about my dad that’s called even giants fall and a song about my mum called Joanna and funny enough her name is Joanna so yeah I think honesty is the kind of core element to them
What do you hope listeners take away from ‘Heart of Gold’ both musically and emotionally? Are there specific messages or feelings you aim to convey through your music?
I mean heart of gold stemmed from a sad time in my life but I do think it’s an incredibly hopeful song, so I’d like to think that people our hopeful after listening. As I said above all of the songs are incredibly honest I have a song called devil on my shoulder which is about a personal battle between trying to be the best person I can but also acknowledge that I’ve done some pretty not so nice things in the past and being OK with just moving forward and putting my best foot forward
Could you tell us more about your creative process while working on ‘Heart of Gold’? How did the song come together, and what was the experience like collaborating with producer Alex O’Keefe?
So Alex is actually the guitarist in my band as well and he’s produced the last couple of songs for me so we have a really cool friendship as well as working relationship he’s insanely chilled out and just a great guy so I can really be myself around him and any ideas I have we kind of just mold them out and put them in the song Alex and I spent a lot of time this year working on a lot of songs and I’m really excited for the next couple of years working together. It was a perfect mix Alex being a guitarist and the producer because I knew I wanted huge electric guitars in this track and he was able to just do it straight away it was amazing
Your music is described as a unique blend of pop and heartfelt lyricism. How do you balance these elements to create your distinct sound, and how has it evolved over your musical journey?
Yeah I mean I started out with piano ballads and I still love piano ballads my first released moon song is pretty much just pure piano with a bit of drums in there but at its core it’s a ballad. I then quickly realized that I wanted my shows to be big loud energetic and emotional so I started producing the songs to complement that and that’s not to say that big piano ballads can’t be energetic and emotional of course they can but I think the mix is important I think the heartfelt lyricism again comes from the honesty and the pop elements comes from producing them in a manner in which I know people can have fun too
As a true artist at heart, how do you ensure that your live performances capture the essence of your songs while delivering a full-band atmosphere and an immersive sonic experience?
I’m a big fan of explaining what the songs are about before performing them I think that’s a really great way to let the audience inside your head and your headspace at the time of writing the songs I think it’s funny when you are that honest in your songwriting because you kind of have to put yourself back in that mode when you were angry or anxious or happy or in love and it’s a lot to do all in 80 or 90 minutes. And creating the full band atmosphere and that immersive experience is all down to my band like they are incredible and we’re all really good mates now as well so I think that comes across when we’re on stage
With a sold-out performance at Whelan’s main room and an upcoming headline show at Dublin’s Academy, you’ve been making waves in the music scene. How do you prepare for such significant live performances, and what can fans expect from your upcoming show?
I mean I’m incredibly excited for this show it’s a totally different ball game from the whelan’s headline we’re really leaving no stone unturned with the pre production it’s going to be really fun. Fans that have been in previous shows I think will be shocked at how different this one is going to be , it’s a much bigger venue than we’ve played before so we’ve really catered the show to that, I mean I have a full lighting engineer this time around and we’re dressing the stage which I’ve never done, so yeah it’s going to be a proper proper show
You’ve had a whirlwind summer of songwriting, performing, and charting. Can you share some memorable moments or experiences from this season that have had a significant impact on your music?
This time that moment for me was supporting the coronas these guys are true legends of the Irish music industry and they had me on for two of their shows during the summer and it was an experience I’ll never forget, I’ve been listening to their music since I was about 18 maybe even before and I mean proper listening not just every now and again so it was a bit of a pinch me moment and just to see how those lads have crafted their songs and molded their career to last so long and still be so good and so relevant is pretty cool
With the upcoming headline show in Dublin and the release of ‘Heart of Gold,’ what are your plans and aspirations for the future? Are there new projects, collaborations, or creative directions you’d like to explore?
My goal for next year is the Olympia theater it’s kind of the most famous mid capacity venue in the country it’s a place I’ve been maybe 40 or 50 times to see different shows and it’s been on the bucket list for probably about 20 years now.