Isabella
Manfredi

“I'm one of those annoying people that’s been transformed by pregnancy. I love being pregnant, I've really stepped into myself in more ways than one.”

Mother’s Day 2021

Sunday May 9

She’s a legend in the Australian music industry. Isabella ‘Izzi’ Manfredi is a singer-songwriter-musician, best known for her role as lead singer in indie rock band, The Preatures.

A naturally-inclined fashion aficionado, Izzi’s rockstar stage presence has seen some stellar outfits to match throughout the years. The mum-to-be and true feminist talks about music, her future daughter and navigating sexism in the arts industry.

Congratulations. Is pregnancy what you thought it’d be?

No. I thought I was going to be really sick and find that difficult but I haven't, I'm one of those annoying people that’s been transformed by pregnancy. I love being pregnant, I've really stepped into myself in more ways than one. Physically for me, my first trimester was a time of rest and I allowed myself to rest and then in the second trimester I’ve been very creative, very energetic. I feel just seated in myself.

What are you most excited for in motherhood?

I'm just really excited to meet her and discover what kind of person she is. I think that's what I'm most excited about. But it's funny because I have this real sense of her as being independent, and quite autonomous. It was something my mum always fostered in me was this idea that, well you’re you, and you do what you think is right, you have your own story. You know, and my story is not your story. I think that's something I'm already getting a sense that she's going to be her own person.

Any important life skills you're going to share with her?

Yeah, sure; sure grew up with heaps of music and art, and just lots of play. I always want to have time to play with her.

Do you think your music will change after becoming a mum?

I don't know if my music will change. I think I've had a sense of stepping into my motherhood, leaving behind my maiden hood. I have had a sense that my creativity will change or my artistry will change, but not in the sense of that it's changing thematically, or even stylistically, but that it's just broader, more multifaceted and more kaleidoscopic.

“It's sort of every woman's journey and every artist's individual journey to go through that process of self-determination and you can't do that for somebody else.”

You've had a bit of hiatus with COVID, but what does performing and being on stage mean to you?

Performing for me has been my home for a long time and COVID forced me to reimagine what home looked like. Now I have an actual physical home with my partner, and you know, a family on the way, but the stage has always been to me that place that I feel where I belong.

Tell us about a career highlight?

Recently, I did a private show - it was my first solo show ever, being 25 weeks pregnant with her and my partner had never seen me perform. We got together almost two years ago and in that time I have not played. So that was pretty memorable.

Have you got a most memorable stage or photoshoot outfit?

I remember I wore this incredible Armani sequined suit for New Year's Eve a few years ago, performing at the Opera House and that was just glorious. It was perfect for rock star mode – no one really does sequins like Armani. They just look like liquid in the stage lights. That was pretty special.

“Performing for me has been my home for a long time and COVID forced me to reimagine what home looked like...but the stage has always been to me that place that I feel where I belong.”

You've got an active voice around feminism in the media. Do you think this will become more important to you, as you soon become a mother of a daughter?

It's funny, I've been on a huge journey, the last few years. Particularly with confronting some of the more ambiguous scenarios within the industry and within the wider team that were around me. And, just pulling back from those situations, getting myself out of there, because it just wasn't aligned with who I am and what I want to do.

I think for her, it gives me a great sense of my own capacity for change and reinvention and then I'll be able to be there for her when she does that, when she goes through that.

Yes, there's the side of it, which is that sexism is pervasive and it's institutional, so it's not like just having more women in power will fix it. Because we're just as easily proponents of patriarchal institutionalized thinking as men are, but there's that side of it, which is about recognizing that it exists, that it's not in your head.

It's sort of every woman's journey and every artist's individual journey to go through that process of self-determination and you can't do that for somebody else. They have to do it for themselves.

What’s next for Isabella Manfredi?

Just pure abundance right now. Total abundance of music, making things, having babies, being in love, running a home. It's like my motherhood and my artistry are one now, whereas they used to be separate.

A Gift Like No Other

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Mother’s Day 2021
Sunday May 9