Photo by Kenta Kikuchi
Isobel Rain
(She/They)
I grew up on S,DÁYES (Pender Island), the traditional territories of the Hulq'umi'num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples, where the glories of nature could not be denied, and the community shone with music.
I was homeschooled for a while as a kid, and one of the things my parents were adamant about was that I had to choose an instrument, and so from age seven I learned to play the cello. I played it for ten years, until at seventeen I switched to the double bass. I had played the electric bass previously, as well as drums, in school bands. I loved all the different kinds of expressions different instruments offered, and I think that versatility is why I picked up guitar around age fifteen.
I attended the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts in highschool, an experience that made me realize I wanted to pursue music as a career.
My father is a live sound technician, who mixes almost all of the shows that happen on Pender Island. I remember napping underneath the mixing board at the Community Hall as a child. I was always there helping out setting up mics and monitors when I was a little older, and when I was eighteen I got a job as a stage hand in Vancouver. Being a part of that tech side of music was really inspiring for me, especially when I realized I could record my own music. I began to record my debut album Taphos at seventeen, and took the opportunity to finish it off as soon as I was out of highschool.
My inspirations have been quite varied over the years. I remember the first band I really latched on to was Led Zeppelin when I was about nine. The band Opeth has been super important to me, I love how much variation they have all through their music. More recently, post-rock bands like Talk Talk, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and artists like Harold Budd, have inspired me to explore more ambient and experimental sounds. The Cocteau Twins have also been defining for me, especially with how much they strive to serve the texture of sound. AURORA has also been influential, especially just in her confidence too be so simply just herself.
Photo by Isobel Lopatecki
Musical Projects
1 / Isobel Rain
With my independent works I seek to dive deep into wherever the music pulls me. My solo project I started in 2019 at 14 years old, and has grown in so many directions since then. My progressive and post-metal inspired conceptual debut album, Taphos, released in January 2025, to be followed one year later by the release of my absent concept EP Oneiro.
2 / Pondside
I play bass in the S'DÁYES based indie-rock folk pop band Pondside, with founding members Jim Stafford, Colin Hamilton, and Wendi Lopatecki, as well as drummer Brent Aron. We were in the studio January 2025, and our debut album Paper Thin released in May of the same year.
3 / Group Of Seven
From 2019 until 2024 I was the cellist, and then upright
bassist, for this nine-piece fiddle band. We played a mix of
Scandinavian and Canadian music, from fiddle tunes to
Inew-classical pieces. In 2023, under the guidance of our
mentor Denny Geortz, and with the funding of our local
community (thank you!), we travelled to perform at
Finland's Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. It was an
incredible experience, and one I won't forget.
4 / GÖERTZ/LOPATECKI
Owen Göertz and Isobel Lopatecki are childhood friends who have been making music together since the beginning. The duo’s music draws inspiration from the nature that surrounds them, while exploring the electronic possibilities of our modern world. GÖERTZ / LOPATECKI invites you to embark on journey through soft beats, strange melodies, and harmonious moments.