By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
Breaking into the music scene can be hard for new artists. With the rise of social media and trends, staying relevant in today’s entertainment industry is a difficult thing to do, but local musician Isaac Turner is combating that.
Turner created a “Song of the Week” series, where over the course of one year, he writes, produces and creates a music video for an original song. Turner just wrapped up working on his week 10 song, “The Road.”
I got a chance to sit down with Turner and learn all about his work and the exciting things he’s been working on.
“Last year in December, I reflected that I’d done nothing the whole year. A whole year has gone by and I haven’t even finished my album, I was still recording it. I played a couple shows and did a few festivals, but that’s nothing. I did nothing to build a fan base” said Turner.
With this, Turner recounted that it was time to make a change.
“I came up with this idea to write, record and produce a song every single week. One, it’s going to force me to buckle down and handle it. It’d force me to stay in the studio writing and producing. The other thing is that you get better every time you do something. Every time I do one of these songs, the songwriting will get a little bit better, the production will get a little bit better, the music videos will get a little bit better. That was the main part of it” Turner added.
Shying away from the old standard of making music and staying relevant in today’s world of social media are both important for Turner and his music.
“How do you stay relevant in today’s crazy social media? If you have an album that’s 12 songs, how do you keep that relevant all year? You can’t. By a new song every single week and the process of the song, I can stay relevant all week long” Turner said.
Turner currently has three albums out. His latest, “Give You Love” released in January with 12 songs.
The biggest inspiration for Turner’s current release system is the band Marion Hill, who released a song online and gained enough popularity that they had a record deal before their first tour. He said Marion Hill, “… and their story is what changed my idea, so they’re a huge inspiration on me, their story more than their music. Sound wise, I’d say Chet Faker. I love his vibe”.
Another inspiration for Turner is the state of Oregon, where he’s spent his whole life.
“The rivers, the woods, nature. I incorporate that into so many of my videos. I think a huge part of my acoustic thing comes from that folky Oregon natural kinda thing” added Turner.
Isaac Turner’s music is available on both iTunes and Spotify, as well as on his youtube channel “isaacturnermusic,” where his weekly music videos can be found.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
