ISAIA HURON: FROM GOSPEL TO INDIE R&B SWEETHEART

In his debut album CONCUBANIA, Huron shows advancement of lyrical prowess from an already accomplished songwriter

Taken from VALŪS Issue 002 Winter 2026 glossy print edition - order your copies today!

Photographed, styled, and written by Alex Blynn

Alex Blynn: Tell us about growing up in South Carolina with a pastor dad and a choir leader mom! Seems you've been surrounded by music since before you were born.

Isaia Huron: Music was the air we breathed in my house growing up. I grew up watching and listening to my parents use music to bring people together, so it never felt like something separate from my daily life, and it was just part of how we communicated. I think it shaped how I approach singing now, and how I look at putting together the production of my music and live shows.

AB: When do you think you changed from loving music and enjoying it as a great hobby and family pastime, to taking it seriously as a profession?

IH: The pandemic took away all my drumming gigs. I had nothing else to do so I started to take the skills I learned from Ableton and started to really take singing and making music seriously.

AB: Was there an artist growing up who you looked up to, admired, emulated?

IH: Tonéx, he is the reason why my ear allows me to accept diversity of music and apply it to an R&B context.

AB: You’ve collaborated with many other artists and released EPs, but now you’re standing on your own with the full-length debut album, CONCUBANIA. How does it feel to have your completed work out there in the world for all to hear?

IH: This album is the most complete version of my music so far, so it feels strange, I don’t really know how to process it, but I think I’ll be able to give you a full answer in about three years.

AB: What made you pick “Fiddy” as the lead single off your new album? What’s that song about?

IH: I picked “Fiddy” because I felt as if people would be able to sing along to it at my live shows, so I wanted to give people the time to learn it. It’s also vital to the story line of the album, it’s about treating a sex worker with kindness.

AB: What are one or two more tracks off the record you’re particularly fond of? (we know, it’s hard to choose favorites!)

IH: “Through You? (Interlude)” and also “Thotful.” I really like the way the band and I do “Thotful” live – you really have to come to a live show to hear it.

AB: You also created CONCUBANIA (The Play), a visualizer portion for the album—tell me about that! And, would you consider directing Broadway, off-Broadway, plays?

IH: I really tried to pull a nostalgic feeling with a piece of theater that I felt was nonexistent in the music space. Thank god for Elliott Muscat for being a pivotal person to help me bring this vision to life.  I think in terms of directing Broadway, off-Broadway or plays – like the Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith song I’ve learned to “Never Say Never.”

AB: And if you could have dinner tonight with anyone, living or passed, who would it be?

IH: (Painter, sculptor, and author) Walter Russell. No hesitation.