Q&A: King Isis Practices Radical Self Acceptance in New EP “SIRENITY”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photography Credit: Hunter Cates
KING ISIS ISN’T INTERESTED IN PERFECT RESOLUTIONS — Genre shape-shifter King Isis has released their newest EP SIRENITY, marking the final chapter of a trilogy that has traced their journey through renewal, rupture and radical self-exploration. With collaborators including Bartees Strange, Monte Booker, Greyskiin, and Estelle Allen, SIRENITY emerges as a raw and liberating reckoning with personal chaos—a project that doesn’t shy away from existential unease but dances through it with levity and edge.
“It’s mostly an unserious, sometimes self-deprecating exploration of pieces of me,” King Isis says. “It’s a nod to my younger selves, an acknowledgement of constant growth and transformation, that life is full of ebbs and flows.”
Far from a linear conclusion, SIRENITY is a loud, unfiltered declaration of self in motion. Co-created alongside an eclectic group of collaborators—Bartees Strange, Monte Booker, Greyskiin, and Estelle Allen—the EP blurs the lines between alt-pop, acoustic melancholy, and jagged grunge textures, all while retaining the emotional pulse that defines King Isis’ sound.
Recently dropping the explosive lead single “PERMANENTLY BROKEN” is a track that pulses with nervous energy and internal dialogue, giving voice to imposter syndrome, spiraling thoughts, and the exhausted pursuit of perfection. “This song represents my habits of overthinking, feelings of imposter syndrome and an ode to my anxieties,” they say. “It’s kind of a ‘fuck it we ball’ moment—just going for it, not seeking perfection after striving for it for so long.”
Sonically unbound and emotionally unrestricted, SIRENITY continues the work laid out in their previous EPs: the luminous scales (2023), which introduced their alt-R&B-pop edge, and last year’s shed, a heavier and more rock-infused project steeped in the symbolism of the serpent. That release drew on the work of Chicana scholar Gloria E. Anzaldúa and her landmark book Borderlands/La Frontera, reframing transformation as a cyclical shedding of skin—painful, necessary and sacred.
But SIRENITY doesn’t try to resolve the tension; instead, it leans into it. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s intentionally imperfect. Blending elements of alt-pop, acoustic vulnerability and grunge distortion, King Isis approaches this third act not with neat conclusions, but with an acceptance of emotional contradictions and a light-hearted nod to the absurdity of it all.
“SIRENITY is accepting yourself and being okay with all parts of you,” King Isis says, “being okay with imperfection and continuing to grow and being more grounded in yourself and nature.”
With each release, King Isis has peeled back another layer of identity, queerness and rebirth. Now, with SIRENITY, they’re not trying to fix themselves—they’re just trying to feel it all. If scales was the introduction, and shed the descent into shadow, SIRENITY is the surfacing: still scarred, still searching, but singing anyway.
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
KING ISIS: I would say a lot of things like conversations definitely inspire some of the lyrics and writing, and so do authors and books. On the last project, Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera was a pretty big influence. Also, movies and nature and the desert definitely inspire my sound.
LUNA: Are there particular moods or themes you find yourself gravitating towards when writing and performing? How do you channel these into your music?
KING ISIS: For writing, it's definitely more introspective. A lot of my songs end up being like journal entries and odes to my past selves or my younger self. When performing, I used to be really shy, and I still am, but I tried to not be in my head as much. I'm trying to channel confidence when I'm performing.
LUNA: You just released your new EP SIRENITY and huge congratulations! I love how it continues the storytelling and energy of the shed EP. What is the inspiration behind the EP and what themes and emotions do you explore?
KING ISIS: I feel like it combines the themes of shed and scales a little bit, and closes up that world where I feel like scales was like the beginning of introspection and an introduction. Scales was the release, where SIRENITY is accepting yourself and being okay with all parts of you. It’s an accumulation of all those themes, but being more okay with everything and being okay with imperfection and continuing to grow and being more grounded in yourself and nature.
LUNA: SIRENITY completes a trilogy that began with scales and continued with shed. How do you see each project connecting to one another thematically or emotionally?
KING ISIS: Growth and like introspection, and those two sides of shadow and light. In the first couple EPs, I feel like I was hiding more behind metaphors. I feel like SIRENITY is more raw and to the point, lyrically. Growth in that way.
LUNA: You’ve worked with incredible collaborators on SIRENITY, including Bartees Strange, Monte Booker and Estelle Allen. What did each of these artists bring to the table creatively, and how did they help shape the sonic identity of the project?
KING ISIS: For this EP, I definitely worked with new collaborators. Estelle is someone who I play with live. She plays guitar in the band, and I just love her sound. She does more hyper-pop, electronic rock, but she definitely helped bring “PERMANENTLY BROKEN” to life and make it like the fun, lively track that it is. GREYSKIIN is another collaborator I worked with on “TEARS DON’T DRY (IN A RIVER)” and that came after a really long session, and we did that song in 30 minutes. They also play in the band too. It's nice to work with friends and work with more queer people. Bartees and I also met a while back, and he really made the whole thing come to life and brought his unique sound to it. Monty is also someone I met last year, and is one of the most genuine people I've met in LA and I just love working with him. I love all these collaborators. They're all amazing artists themselves.
LUNA: Do you have a favorite track on SIRENITY—either one that felt the most fulfilling to create or that you feel represents King Isis the most right now?
KING ISIS: “TEARS DON’T DRY (IN A RIVER)” because it's fun and different from anything else I've released so far, but it's hard to pick.
LUNA: You describe this EP as a nod to your younger selves. If they could hear SIRENITY, what do you think they’d say? And what would you want them to take away from it?
KING ISIS: I think they would be like, ‘oh, wow, you're releasing music and you sound confident, because we weren't at that time.’ I feel like my younger self would definitely love this project. I feel like they would be proud that the music we’re making is what we love. We don't really see a lot of Black girls doing that, so that's cool. I think they would like it.
LUNA: As this EP closes a chapter, what do you hope your listeners can take away from SIRENITY?
KING ISIS: I feel like the sound is very reminiscent of the other projects, but I feel like it’s a little more diverse in its sound. So just bear with me and all the different sounds and hear how it all connects. Just have a good time with it.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would like to share with Luna?
KING ISIS: I'm feeling good that this music is coming out. I'm working on my debut album this year, and working on the visual world that accompanies it this summer. I'm really excited about that, and just making more music and working with more people, building out the world. I'm excited.
