Isenberg serves up a sleek and sultry single called “Set You Free,” featuring vocals from newcomer Clarity, as his first standalone single on IN / ROTATION.
As an audio engineer by trade, the Dallas-bred artist known as Isenberg not only has an exceptionally fine-tuned ear for what works in the studio, but he’s also been keeping it close to the ground to filter out some of the strongest elements from the bass house, UK bass, breakbeat and garage scenes. On his next appearance for Insomniac’s house-centric imprint, he’s leaning heavily into the last genre on that list to create a velvety track that is backed by the rising all-around talent Clarity, a triple threat that has seen her flit seamlessly between the roles of producer, DJ and songwriter from project to project.
Over the years, Isenberg has been known to bang out the bottom-end with the best of them. However, he’s dialing back on the grimace-inducing basslines to tap into a more restrained sound typically found on the other side of the Atlantic.
“I wanted to make something more chill and vibey with UK garage influence,” says Isenberg. “I reached out to Clarity to do vox on the track, and it came together nicely.”
The track opens up with subtle blips punctuating the flow of whirling padlines and a faint kick knocking around int the background. Clarity’s hushed vocal refrain loops longingly in the fore, as her words “let the rhythm set you free” glow from within the foggy haze. Soon enough, the subdued melodies give rise to the seductive groove powered by a shuffling percussive rhythm, subdued basslines, glistening chord slides, and choppy blip sequences. The vocal hook runs for almost the entirety of the affair, allowing the words to manifest pure release almost like a mantra repeating until the vibes are actualized.
Since the earliest days of his career, Isenberg has been a constant artist on Insomniac’s watchlist. His tracks consistently made it onto Pasquale’s Night Owl Radio show, which eventually led him to release the growling and ghostly “Spectre” on the Discovery Project label in 2018. The subsequent year, he linked up with the Broken Music Syndicate founder Left/Right on the vibrant two-track ‘Hyper’ EP on IN / ROTATION. And to keep his streak alive, he’s now running up on the label with his first official solo appearance. With “Set You Free,” Isenberg is breaking away into a different direction that displays another dimension of his dynamic take on all things house music.