SPOTLIGHT: Isabelle Mettle’s Self Produced Statement
SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT
☆ BY KATIE SLATER ☆
ISABELLE METTLE IS CERTAINLY NOT A NAME THAT I HAD BECOME RECENTLY ACQUAINTED WITH—Years before the artist-producer was performing backing vocals for British mega-stars Raye and Ed Sheeran, she was commanding attention in the university spaces. Both of us students in the distinctly Northern city, Liverpool, I vividly remember standing in the back of a crowded underground venue, absolutely blown away by the talent of the neo-soul artist in front of me.
From this moment on, I can only describe myself as a bit of a fangirl—a detail I played down in my discussion with Isabelle for dignity’s sake.
The October 15 release date of Mettle’s first EP of 2026, CMD, is fast approaching, making this the perfect time to catch up with the rising star. An incredibly easy, yet simultaneously inspiring conversation, the time flew by.
Using the EP as the soundtrack to everything from my weekly food shop to my walk to work, I entered the call having listened to basically nothing else for the past 24 hours. Struck by the sense of cohesion between the five tracks, I began by asking her about the selection process.
After taking a moment to decide on her answer, Mettle delved first into the musical features. “I'd say the element that brings them all together is maybe the harmonies, the actual composition choices and structures. And then there's some instruments that flow through.”
Explaining the sonic cohesion which underscores the songs, Mettle also wanted to emphasize the tracks as belonging to a period of very deliberate homing in. Demonstrating the drive that has no doubt contributed to her rising success, she shares the ethos of simply “writing some really good songs that [she] really believe[s] in.” It seems that beyond the songwriting, there is a thread of consistent and dedicated hard work which binds the ideas together so tightly.
A work of such carefully constructed tracks, I was interested to also hear the explanation behind their collective title, CMD. An abbreviation of the keyboard COMMAND key frequently spammed by producers, Isabelle elaborates on this reference in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Only recently embracing the branding as a producer who happens to sing, she thoughtfully depicted the name as “commanding back a space that I don't think I've been confidently taking up.”
Briefly hinting at the male-dominated aspect of production spaces, it was clear through her carefully chosen words that Isabelle herself has at times fallen foul of the gendered stereotypes of the industry. Defiant merely by her existence in the space, CMD marks a reclamation in more than one sense of the word. A collection that explores the embracing of self-love, tranquillity and healing, Mettle uses her production autonomy to paint a vivid picture of a young woman taking back control of her life.
As I listened to her describe a powerful statement of defiance with such a gentle delivery, I felt eager to question her production-first songwriting process further.
“The sounds really impact the direction of the composition for me” she began. Describing an approach that deliberately avoids hyper-focusing on the topline, she labeled her voice as something she keeps waiting on the “sidelines” for, pushing textures, chords and soundscapes to the forefront.
With an endearing down-to-earth manner which gave us both a laugh, Mettle cringed at her own words as she described the “textural journey” of her songs. Even melodies, she agreed, were approached more as a layer, often stacked over the top of one another to create an ungodly depth of sound.
Fascinated by her unfolding of the production, I expressed a sense of jealousy over her complete musical autonomy—something still few artists can claim. Hearing this appeared to ignite a passion in the singer/songwriter deeper than her personal endeavours.
“I feel like it's one of those things that anyone can do though,” she quickly responded. Elaborating, she told me how she simply thinks learning production is made out to be unrealistically complex. She expressed frustration that people are kept away from the art due to the wealth of intimidating terms.
“Well, that’s not fun. That’s not how it’s supposed to be,” she exclaimed. With a touch of concern in her voice, she shared a worry that some of the most interesting voices are getting lost due to this accessibility issue.
Mettle then moved on to demonstrate that this DIY mentality is not just an ideal she expresses, but something she herself puts into practice. Reminiscing on her first track, she described the process with affection.
“I made it on GarageBand on my phone. It's not mixed. Went to a studio, got the vocals recorded over, someone sent it back to me and then I just uploaded it”
Though a world away from her current process, she maintained that this is still one of her favorite tracks. An inspiration to anyone wishing to create music but feels the learning curve to be too steep, this is your sign to simply start somewhere.
I found myself reluctant to end the call as I reached the bottom of my list of questions. An artist with an obvious depth of knowledge, I felt there was so much more we could unpack.
After hanging up, I reached for my headphones. As I cooked lunch, I listened to CMD start to finish, framing the catchy tracks with the new behind-the-scenes information I had learned.
My ears were drawn instantly to the lyrics of self-affirmation. From the celebration of body confidence to the withering references to “the man behind the music,” I understood better than ever the gentle defiance at its core.
With the mid-September release date fast approaching, lead singles “READ THE ROOM,” “GOOD IN ME” and “HEAD IN THE CLOUDS” are now available across streaming platforms. A chance to hear a teaser of the work, I urge you to find your best badass mindset and give them a listen.
As for me, when frosty November 12 arrives, Isabelle Mettle shouldn’t be too surprised if she spots a familiar face in the crowd at the Social for her London headliner!
