Words by Rachel June 

Swedish powerhouse Izza Gara smashes onto the scene, releasing her powerful feminist-themed track ‘Favour’. She just released a single with Miso Extra and has a project out on 23rd Oct, so stay tuned for that! We sat down with the talented musician to unpack her fierce new release. In this song, her vulnerability pushes past assumptions as she states exactly how she feels. Not afraid to go against the grain and do her own thing, this project is a fuck you to expectations. “It doesn’t matter in the end”, she explains. “It doesn’t matter what I do; they will still hate me!” Her lyrics are vulnerable and show who she is - she is not defined by assumptions but by the fire within her!

Her favourite part of making music starts at the beginning: “You play around and look for stuff that makes you feel something.” This is like a playground for Izza, and she loves that part of the process because of how freeing it is. ‘Favour’ feels like a journey, and sonically it has elements of dance, groove and old-school R&B with her signature angelic vocals. On repeat for Izza right now is James Messiah, ‘Peroxide’.

Performing live is when it all starts to make sense, like when she performed ‘Favour’ for the first time at By:Larm this year. Dancers moved behind her as she shared her sound with new audiences, full of confidence and charm. She loves to express herself through dance, so in this project, she was able to combine her two worlds. This is Izza in her truest form. Fans were screaming and jamming to her set, which brought pure joy to Izza - finally, the hard work had paid off. “It was so magical for me and my friends who played and performed with me”, she reminisced.

In an industry full of challenges, Izza expressed that doing it herself is difficult. From project director, choreographer, writer and event planner, she is constantly finding herself in demanding situations. Her advice to aspiring artists is: “Don’t forget why you're doing it. If you're doing it for the right reasons, you'll keep going. Remember your why.” She has a vision, a passion, and despite doing it alone, her friendships have saved her. “I need to do this. I need to sing, dance, make art and create. I will always do this because it’s so healing for me. It’s how I handle my anxieties, hardships in life and the weight of the world.”

Find her on tour and get on the Izza Gara train - her energy is infectious and a journey worth embarking on.