Greta Isaac, one of the UK’s most exciting new musical voices, recently released her second EP I Think You’d Hate It Here. It arrived with the new single ‘Mediocrity’, which joins a collection of five previously released songs. Since these new tracks started to appear in late 2021, they have propelled Greta at breakneck speed from a promising grass-roots artist to a serious one-to-watch.

I Think You’d Hate It Here is the follow-up to 2021’s sensational debut EP Pessimist. Continuing her knack for weaving huge pop melodies through tight folk influenced harmonies, the new collection takes Greta’s songwriting and cross-genre prowess to the next level. Switching with ease between graceful ballads and massive pop anthems, Greta took a slightly different approach to writing this EP. Rather than needing every song to result in some personal epiphany, she allowed herself to trace ideas and thoughts.

Greta’s friendships and collaborations with fellow musicians Dodie and Orla Gartland have also had an impact on the EP’s creation, and has seen Greta direct some of Orla’s videos too.

We sat down with Greta to have a chat about what she’s been up to, the making of I Think You’d Hate It Here, her new visual aesthetic and more. Read the Q&A below.

Hi Greta! How are you? It’s been a year since we last had a chat with you. What has life been like since then?

“Ello Ello! I’m GOOD thanks how are you? It has been a year yes! Crazy. I feel like so much and so very little has changed in a year. I don’t have eyebrows now I guess? And I have white hair? My cactus has died which is sad. Other than that, life is pretty much the same.”

I am very well, thank you for asking! You have just released your new EP I Think You’d Hate It Here. What can you tell us about the record? How does it compare with your previous release Pessimist?

“This new EP definitely feels like the evil twin of Pessimist. But like.. a hot evil twin you know? hahaha. This EP talks about some whacky stuff and the rawest of human emotion that I think I’ve ever felt.. I feel like with every release and every project I’m getting closer to my full form but I don’t ever really intend on arriving there. My partner says “we’re always becoming” and even though this EP feels really exciting and the most “myself” I’ve ever been, I feel like I’m just looking forward to the next thing now. I still want to sit and enjoy how this feels though. Feels nice. Feels cosy.”

We are loving the whole visual aesthetic for this project. What/who did you take inspiration from?

“Thanks! I’ve always leaned really heavily on visual storytelling and only in the last year I’ve properly let that become the main driving force to my project. That’s down to my creative partners Karina Barberis and Suzie Walsh. They’re fantastic educators in their field of fashion and photography and I feel deeply inspired by them all the time. I also love the growing community of sustainable fashion designers in London and their commitment to repurposing and creating amazing pieces whilst also doing their bit.”

What was the songwriting/production process for the new EP like? Did you do anything differently this time around? Any challenges?

“We wrote most of the EP in a cottage in Hereford a few years ago. I wrote the songs with 3 of my closest pals and we cooked food and went on walks and had just had a nice time basically. I think writing songs has always felt quite full of pressure and has been a daunting task for me haha but recently, having being more playful in my visuals, it’s helped me become more playful in my songwriting too.”

Finally, what else is next for you? Any shows coming up? We would love to see a collab between yourself, Orla and dodie. Is that something that could happen in the future?

“There’s lots coming. A lot of music. A lot of collaborations. Keep yer eyes peeled! hehe.”