Isaac Dunbar
Isaac Dunbar combines elements of alt-pop, smooth R&B, and off-kilter dance music into his musically whimsical, often lyrically earnest songs. He released his debut EP, balloons don't float here, as a high schooler in 2019, leading to his major-label debut, isaac's insects, the following year. He scored tens of millions of streams with singles like "love, or the lack thereof" and "fan behavior" from his third EP, 2021's evil twin, while reinforcing a trajectory toward more extroverted sounds. After releasing the Banish the Banshee EP in 2022, he delivered the exhilarating and deeply grooving single "Apartment A" in 2024.
Born in Rhode Island and raised in Barnstable, Massachusetts, Dunbar first started learning the music production trade as a preteen, when he was inspired by the music of Madeon, whom he knew to be one of the producers of Lady Gaga's Artpop album. He tried to reproduce some of that record's songs while learning about synthesizers and music theory from free online video tutorials. An Italian music blog shared his track "Pharmacy" in 2017, and by the end of 2018, songs like "Freshman Year" and "Blonde" were being featured on popular New York- and Los Angeles-based music sites and radio shows.
In July 2019, a then-16-year-old Dunbar released his debut EP, balloons don't float here. Within a couple months, he was touring with girl in red, and that October, he signed with RCA Records and released the stand-alone single "onion boy," a playful song about bad breath and facades that garnered millions of streams. A month later, he appeared on MTV's PUSH Live concert showcase. The isaac's insects EP followed in April 2020. One of its singles, "Makeup Drawer," was written when he was 14 and chronicled his experiences with homophobia. That year, his song "God, This Feels Good" appeared on the Hulu series Love, Victor. Another solo EP, evil twin, arrived in early 2021, with singles "fan behavior" and "love, or the lack thereof" pulling in tens of millions of streams.
Dunbar's fourth EP and third for RCA, May 2022's Banish the Banshee, included "Tainted Love," an original song that borrowed its chords from Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopedies. He returned in 2024 with "Apartment A," which split the difference between theatrical art-pop and driving dance-rock.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo
-
-
-
-
-
Songs from "Love, Victor" (Original Soundtrack)
Tyler Glenn, Greyson Chance, Isaac Dunbar
Film Soundtracks - Released by Hollywood Records on 19 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
isaac's insects
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 9 Apr 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
balloons don't float here
Pop - Released by Platoon on 12 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
scorton's creek (re-imagined by filous)
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 12 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
miss america
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 25 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
miss america
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 3 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
onion boy
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 25 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
love, or the lack thereof
Pop - Released by RCA Records Label on 20 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
makeup drawer
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 20 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
intimate moments
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 11 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
comme des garçons (like the boys)
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 2 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-