PREMIERE | Isle, "Treasure Hunters"

Sifting for special somethings within the foggy haze and dusty gazes of the world with Arjan and Lise of Isle; press photo courtesy of @maleyphoto.

Being habitual consumers of the worlds that we inhabit, we are constantly ingesting anything and everything that arrives along the way upon our daily walk. From taking in the beauty of a gorgeous daybreak, to the streams of media that we mainline from our device of choice; we consume these things as much as they in turn consume us. Take for example the case of social media, we become the product where our biometric data is surrendered to the technocratic hegemons that provide addictive applications that count us as part of their extensive portfolio. The planet is very much a part of us, as we are a part of the planet, just as the way our actions have repercussions in our own communities, similar to the ways that humankind is saddled with the responsibility and burden of how our actions impact things on global, socio-economic, and ecological levels.

In the throes of these endless cycles of consumption is a search for something. A journey that is deeper than a gratuitous side quest, a hunt for a fabled whale, an epiphany, an elusive spark of inspiration, an act of providence, something. Without even thinking too hard it can be easy to mistake this pursuit for an object or accolade that is external and located somewhere out in the great wide yonder. And while pursuing these flights of fancy o’er hill, through valleys, and across bodies of water, past deltas, and over streams, we arrive at the realization that the answer we seek was within us all along (always has been, always was to begin with, always will be).

This is the spiritual and psychic motif of Isle’s new illustrious single “Treasure Hunters”. Featured off the forthcoming album Equilibrium, the follow up to 2021’s A Siren’s Call, the duo Lise Low and Arjan de Wit take the audience on an adventure of discovery to find the genuine articles of truths that shine with a luster stronger than the raw materials of iron, ore, or the deceptive glimmer of fool’s gold. Heralding from the town of Deventer located in Overijssel, Netherlands: the duo create performances that exist in mindful moods, bathed in the reflective moonlight of the midnight sun.

"Treasure Hunters" moves in a manner of understated minimalism, underlining an expedition to find a spirit affirming sense of enlightenment. Lise's delivery is populated by pronounced piano keys that leads to new places of peace and blissful tranquility. Inspired in part from the effects of postpartum, and dealing with a world that is forever wildly teetering on the brink of instability: Isle in style, substance, and sound drifts away to an allegorical island of their namesake that feels both familiar, and yet totally new. "Treasure Hunters" is that sacred search to find that solid foundation, a motion to build a humble home on something stronger than the sinking sands that can wash away at a moment's notice. Isle asks us to find these special sanctuaries from within ourselves, the unique and individual ways in which we can feel whole again and not burdened and beleaguered by the baggage and weights that the material realm places square upon our mantle.

Isle observes profound feelings of loss, following the winding trails that lead toward understanding the abundance of wisdom and visions gained through the passage of time, in hand with meaningful meditations to mend the wounds from within. “Treasure Hunters” is a cinematic soundtrack to the personal processes of putting in the work to reconnect and heal in a search to obtain a newfound sense of our most authentic selves. The duo leads the listener on a return to feeling whole again in a world that is all over the place, scattered, chaotic, erratically incomplete, and always operating in the imperfect tense.

Enchantment and introspection with Isle; press photo courtesy of @maleyphoto.

Meditating on the track and gold rush follies, Isle offered the following insights on “Treasure Hunters”:

We wrote “Treasure Hunters” because we feel that often things that draw our attention, that glitter, aren’t actually that valuable, they are fool’s gold.

Journey all across the snds with Isle; press photo courtesy of @maleyphoto.

In life we are chasing all sorts of things that aren’t actually all that important…possessions, status, fame, a dose of dopamine from scrolling on our phones.

Basking as silhouettes, standing at the forefront of an indefatigable sun with Isle; press photo courtesy of @maleyphoto.

But true happiness lies deeper than the surface, where treasures are hidden that are worth hunting.

Isle’s new single “Treasure Hunters” will be available July 4, with the new album Equilibrium arriving later this year.