Isadar

Born and raised in south Louisiana (USA) into a musical family, Fabian Isadar Thibodeaux was inspired by music he was exposed to as a child, and began playing the piano “by ear” at a very early age. He began formal piano studies at the age of five. By the time Isadar was ten, he had already won an impressive number of awards in local competitions. Piano study continued off and on, shifting to a focus on woodwinds in his teens.

Isadar’s involvement with his high school’s musical rekindled his interest in the piano and triggered improvisational skills, which segued into songwriting.

A graduate of the University of Louisiana, Isadar began to professionally record his compositions while a student. These early recordings evolved into his 1997 vocal release, ‘Dream Of The Dead’, and were influenced by British recording artists – Kate Bush (in particular The Dreaming), Thomas Dolby, Peter Gabriel, and US/NYC based performance artist Laurie Anderson. Inspired from attending a performance by pianist Liz Story, Isadar briefly changed his focus to solo piano and recorded his 1990 debut, ‘Near the Edge of Light’.

In the early 1990’s, Isadar concentrated on writing pop music to finance his more artistic work. He relocated to New York City in 1993 to further pursue his music and recording. He continued to record original music and created mechanical reproductions of his piano recordings for playback in Yamaha Disklavier player-pianos. Isadar’s interest in mechanically re-produced music further developed into creating sound recordings of Regina, Polyphon, Symphonion, Troubadour, and Kalliope antique music boxes.

In March 2012, Grammy award winning guitarist and founder of Windham Hill Records, William Ackerman produced a solo piano project for Isadar at his Imaginary Road Studio in Windham County, Vermont. The project, titled ‘Reconstructed’, is a re-working and re-recording of tracks Ackerman felt were the strongest from the six solo piano albums Isadar released since 1990.

Isadar has recorded a handful of Kate Bush songs: cover versions of Running Up That Hill, And Dream Of Sheep and Watching You Without Me in 2017, Mother Stands For Comfort, Under Ice and The Morning Fog in 2018.