Isaac Howlett is a British-born musician now living in Linz, Austria. He's best known as the singer / songwriter behind the internationally renowned UK synth-pop band Empathy Test, with whom he recorded and released three albums between 2017 and 2022. After successful collaborations with Aesthetic Perfection (Save Myself) and Bop x Subwave (Storm in a Teacup), Isaac released his debut solo single, a synthwave-tinged, dance-floor-ready track called House of Cards, in February 2024.
With US producer Walter Kazmier (Danny Blu, Nyxx, pure xtc) on production duties, House of Cards reached #1 on the Deutsche Alternative Chart (DAC) and #2 in the bestselling synth-pop tracks on BandCamp. It also reached #29 (Czech Republic), #40 (Sweden) and #67 (Greece) on the iTunes chart, for all genres. In the iTunes Dance chart, it reached #16 in South Africa, #18 in Switzerland, #36 in Germany, and #100 in the UK. ReGen Magazine praised its "energetic, emotive layers of synth".
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Isaac Howlett's second solo single, also produced by Kazmier, arrived in December 2024. An orchestral waltz in 3/4 time, Endless Night reached #1 on the DAC and #2 on the Klangwald Radio Chart. It also reached #40 (Norway) and #70 (Ireland) in the iTunes Pop chart. Synthpop Fanatic included it in their 10 best synthpop songs of December 2024, praising its "...beautiful vocals and heartfelt lyrics", while Blitzed Magazine described it as "an ethereal gem".
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House of Cards and Endless Night were repackaged and re-released as the House of Cards / Endless Night EP in February 2025, with remixes by Emmon, DSTR, The Foreign Resort and Aiteall (a side project of Grendel's JD Tucker). A limited run of 500 digipak CDs and a 7" picture disc were produced and released by Isaac's own label, Terrifying Tiger.
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On 18th April, 2025, Isaac Howlett made his solo live debut with ex-Empathy Test keyboardist Samuel Winter-Quick on keyboards. On consecutive nights, the pair supported Devision Redux in Berlin at Columbia Theater, Frankfurt at Das Bett, and finally, at Kulttempel in Oberhausen.
In Berlin, Reflections of Darkness said that Isaac's "unmistakable voice and emotionally charged synth-pop ballads immediately captivated the audience". In Oberhausen, Monkey Press, wrote (in German) that Isaac's "intense" set left behind "a palpable sense of anticipation [that] this was just the beginning of an exciting new adventure".
In July 2025, Isaac released another collaborative track, this time with European music collective A State of Flux. Spiralling debuted at #6 in the DAC and reached #23 (Czech Republic), #26 (Sweden), #38 (Germany), #56 (Norway), #66 (Spain) and #72 (Russia) in the iTunes Alternative Chart. At the end of the year, Synthpop Fanatic crowned Spiralling their #1 Synthpop song of 2025.
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"Spiralling [...] exemplifies [Isaac's] evolution, preserving his vulnerability and magnificent voice while opening the door to fresh sounds and newfound range."
Synthpop Fanatic
Isaac Howlett made another live appearance in July, appearing at Eastside Open Air Festival, in Halle, Germany, where he debuted Spiralling live for the first time. Daniel Graves of Aesthetic Perfection also joined him on stage for a rendition of their collaboration, Save Myself.
Not everyone was as enthusiastic about Isaac's new solo venture, although Monkey Press reviewer Alf Urbschat outed his own prejudice in the first sentence of his short and dismissive review. "I struggle with singers who try their luck solo" Urbschat began, not bothering to even watch or properly review the full performance.
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In October, Isaac continued in the darker, punchier direction of Spiralling, but brought the tempo down to a more Empathy Test pace, mixing synth-pop with elements of Industrial and co-producing alongside Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Liebknecht, Architect). Released on 3rd October, 2025, Eggshell debuted at #1 on the DAC. It also reached #1 on the Klangwald Radio Chart and peaked at #13 (Germany), #15 (Sweden) and #31 (Spain) on the iTunes Alternative chart.
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A fourth solo single, also co-produced by Daniel Myer, was released two weeks later. Ghosts of the Tsunami entered the DAC at #16, giving Isaac two simultaneous top 20 tracks, before later also reaching #1. Ghosts... reached #70 in the Czech iTunes chart for all genres, and #5 (Czech Rep.), #12 (Switzerland), #28 (Germany), #32 (Sweden) and #67 (Russia) on the iTunes Alternative chart.
On Spotify, Ghosts of the Tsunami proved more popular than both Eggshell, House of Cards and Spiralling, and earned glowing reviews from Electrozombies and Analogue Trash. Electrozombies praised Isaac's new direction, Thomas Frenken commenting that compared to Empathy Test's Monsters, "the sound of ‘Ghosts Of The Tsunami’ is much more electronic, and I really like this direction".
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An EP, this time with remixes by genCAB, Clan of Xymox and Suzi Sabotage, was released via digital, limited edition digipak CD and 7" picture disc by Terrifying Tiger, on 14th November, before Isaac and Sam hit the road again in support of Devision Redux, this time in Czech Republic and Poland. The genCAB remix of Eggshell went on to become one of the "top Goth tracks of 2025" on @Gothsworldwide, an Instagram account with 30K+ followers.
In February 2026, Isaac Howlett tours as main support in Germany for Covenant and in Spain for Devision Redux. Click here for a full list of future Isaac Howlett tour dates.