Premiere: Byron Isaacs, on “Losing You”

Lumineers bassist steps out

Bassist Byron Isaacs is a founding member of Ollabelle and currently records and tours with the Lumineers. For many, that’s plenty, but the ever-creative Isaacs is also releasing his first solo album, Disappearing Man.

Isaac’s songs combine the quiet grooves of Curtis Mayfield with the simplicity of Neil Young, then adds his own distinctive sparkle. Having terrific bandmates makes recording a solo effort a little less stressful: co-produced by Hector Castillo (David Bowie, Bjork, The Brazilian Girls) and Brian Cullman (Lucinda Williams, Ghazal) Isaacs was joined in the studio by keyboardist Glenn Patscha (Ollabelle, Roger Waters, The Holmes Brothers), guitarist Chris Masterson (The Mastersons, Steve Earle, Loretta Lynn, The Golden Palominos), drummer David Berger (Amy Helm, Alice Texas, Justin Bond, Mary Fahl), percussionist Joe Bonadio (Sting, Boz Scaggs, Roseanne Cash).

Asked about the origin of “Losing You,” Isaacs told Elmore: “The song is about the breakup of two friends of mine, told from one of their points of view. It seemed like no one was talking about it, but everybody knew. There was an odd chill about it that I found unsettling and compelling.

“My friend Melina Cullman struck on the video idea by accident. She’s an artist and loves filming and taking pictures, and she took the video with her iPhone on a lark. Once she was home, she was watching it while listening to my album–which her husband, Brian Cullman, produced–and realized that video sort of synced with ‘Losing You.’ So then we went back and filmed some more. Most everything came together easily, but then it took hours to get that last shot of the subway stopping directly across from me and drummer David Berger. We tried it in probably three different stations over the course of two days!”