Deeply connected to their roots and their families, both the band Izy and their debut album ‘Irene’ are named after guitarist Ryotaro Noshiro’s (aka Ryo Montgomery) paternal grandmother; an important source of support and comfort in the band’s formative years. Ryo, bassist Warrigo Tyrrell and drummer Maru Nitor Zamatarro each cut their teeth young, playing with their families in the Tropical Queensland towns of Cairns, Cloncurry and Mossman.
Izy moved to Melbourne in 2018 to work with Hopestreet Recordings and recorded with Henry Jenkins of The Cactus Channel and label founder Bob Knob (Robert Douglas Solà) on production and engineering duties. After a year of pandemic induced delays, they released their debut LP ‘Irene’ to great acclaim in 2021. ‘Irene’ has sold over 500 copies on vinyl, and was nominated for the 2022 Australian Music Prize. In the brief window of live performances during the pandemic, Izy played significant festival slots at Sun Cycle and Jungle Love, are managed in-house at Hopestreet, and are booked by the Crown Ruler agency.