Life has its way of being a series of ups and lows, and for some, channeling those emotions into music is both a natural evolution and it’s just their nature. For Isabel Dumaa, this process has helped make a name for herself as an acoustic folk pop star to watch. Her debut EP, Just My Nature, released on Oct. 18, 2024, wraps listeners in a warm embrace with its introspective lyrics and inviting melodies. Paste Magazine praised the EP as “brisk and energetic, propelled by Dumaa’s crystalline vocals and bright drumming patterns. It’s thoughtful and sincere.”
Dumaa’s journey in music began at age 10 when she started writing and singing songs. Now 21, the San Francisco native relocated to Los Angeles after her moms arranged her first studio session at 12, allowing her to bring the songs in her journals to life. Drawing inspiration from Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, Dumaa released her debut single, “Call My Bluff” in July 2022. The song, which drew comparisons to Clairo, Remi Wolf and Maggie Rogers, was followed by the reflective “Freshman Year.”
Just My Nature features Dumaa’s breakout hit, “Quarter Life Crisis,” which debuted last year to widespread acclaim. The single boosted her monthly listeners and has surpassed 1 million streams, with numbers still climbing. Beyond her recorded music, Dumaa has cultivated a dedicated social media following, earning millions of likes for her acoustic covers, including one that has amassed over 11.8 million views across platforms.
Melodic Mag sat down with Dumaa one year after the release of “Always Leaving You” in September 2023 to discuss everything about her debut EP.
Hey, congrats on the debut EP! You’ve said that this EP has been a long-time coming. How are you feeling now that it’s been a month since the release?
It’s funny releasing a project because there’s so much buildup to this thing that I’ve been sitting on for years. It’s a weird shift going from that to having it out in the world. I don’t have to listen to the little demos on my phone anymore. It’s been really neat to see people’s reactions to all the songs, to see what resonates with them. It’s always a little bit like throwing stuff at the wall and hoping people like it. You can place your bets on, “Oh, I feel like this verse might resonate with people,” or “I think someone might like this bridge,” but you never really know until it’s out there.
I read that you’re a fan of Taylor Swift and that she’s inspired your songwriting. Can you elaborate on how her influence shaped your EP?
Her songwriting has been influential to me from day one. I think there’s a little bit of all my influences, but definitely a bit of [Taylor] in everything I do. I don’t know if there’s one specific song on the project that’s like a Taylor Swift-inspired song, but I love a bridge more than anything else. I think a lot of that comes from Taylor Swift being a big bridge writer. So, there are definitely little elements of her throughout my writing.
How long did it take to make the EP? Did you know these specific songs would make the cut, or was there a longer process of deciding?
Start to finish, it was around two years. There were a lot of songs written during that time that didn’t make it onto the EP. I went into it with the intention of building toward an EP and knew I wanted to make a cohesive project. This wasn’t a “go into the woods for a month” type of process — it was two years of writing and refining. It wasn’t like we went into the woods for a month and wrote everything out — it was two years of writing a whole bunch of music and trying to find the songs that paint the picture that I wanted the project to be. I wrote “Quarter Life [Crisis]” about two and a half years ago, and that was the first song where I thought, “This definitely has a space on the project.” We continued from there.
“Quarter Life Crisis” came out over a year ago and is now your most-streamed song on Spotify. How has the response to it been?
It just hit 2 million streams, which is so exciting. The fact that it’s still hitting milestones a year and a half later is wild. The second I wrote “Quarter Life Crisis,” I had this gut feeling — it felt special. Seeing it resonate with others and getting messages like, “Can I tattoo your lyrics?” was so special. I write primarily for myself — it’s my way of processing — but I also write for the world. There’s this idea of when art no longer belongs to the artist, and it’s been impactful to see my music have an effect on people the way music has impacted me.
The EP starts with “C’est La Vie,” which sets an interesting tone. How did that song come to be, and why did you choose it as the opening track?
“C’est La Vie” came about while I was listening to “pretty isn’t pretty” by Olivia Rodrigo. I wanted to write something that felt like driving with the windows down. The first lyric I had was, “I give my best, but theirs is better.” At the time, I felt rundown, like I was coming up short in life, giving myself away to things and people without feeling fulfilled. I wanted the song to capture that feeling but also have a sense of letting go. When we finished, it felt like the perfect opener — an honest introduction to who I am, how I encounter the world, and how that influences my relationships, heartbreak and all the emotions on the project. It felt like the right way to start the EP.
How did you go about including those different experimental sounds and balancing acoustic-driven songs or sad songs, and having more hopeful, upbeat anthem tracks on the EP?
I think a lot of that was just the two years of trying things, seeing things and experimenting with things. I also really just wanted it to be somewhat of a tapestry. It’s not a heartbreak album; it’s not a happy album; it’s not an angry album. It was just very much a tapestry of life — and my life — and that includes some good and some bad. Also, I wrote the song The End and thought, “Well, this has to be the last song on the project — “The End” naturally became the last track. Originally, I wanted “Everything At Once” to be the last song, but when I wrote “The End,” that one decided to take the final spot.
“Everything at Once” changes the tone, following many melancholic songs. How did that song come together and how did the transition happen?
“Everything at Once” came to be when I was driving. I grew up in San Francisco, and I live in LA now, so I’ve done the I-5 drive a lot. This was, I want to say, two summers ago. I had just been to Outside Lands — a festival where I could see all my friends — and it was so fun, but also a lot. I’d been working nonstop the week before, I’d just gotten into a fight with my sister, and I was feeling so, so, so overwhelmed.
I was driving down the freeway, someone cut me off in traffic, and I just lost it —aggressively sobbing in traffic. I took a little voice memo and said, “I want to write a song that encapsulates this feeling of bubbling, boiling, and building up until the final drop hits the bucket and the floodgates open.” I wrote the line, “What can I do if it’s just my nature?” and that brought the song together for me. That song was the hardest to craft because of the dichotomy of the different sounds and vibes in one piece. But once I wrote that line, I thought, “Oh, that’s the name for the project.”
Since the EP’s release, have fans resonated with a specific song, and what do you hope they take away from it?
It’s been neat to see people resonating with “Price Of Getting Older.” I’m a very nostalgic person, and it’s special seeing that song resonate with people my age as well as people in their 40s, 50s and 60s. It’s a universal feeling — nostalgia, homesickness, aching for childhood or a life you used to have. At the end of the day, I just hope my music connects with people, helps them feel less alone, or helps them feel seen in whatever way they need — and gives them some good music to listen to.
Keep up with Isabel Dumaa: Instagram // Spotify // X // YouTube // Website
