Isogenic releases third single and live session ‘Step Closer’ ahead of debut album ‘Libertine’

Today, the Danish art electro-pop band ISOGENIC releases the third single, Step Closer, from their debut album Libertine, due out on September 19. Step Closer follows the two previous singles Age and You Enjoy and the new track is accompanied by an intense and intimate live session, created in collaboration with director Azadeh Ghavamrad.

Behind ISOGENIC is singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Emil Lundbak. While Lundbak’s starting point for Libertine is personal, it also contains reflections on how structural expectations help shape sexuality—not least in relation to masculine ideals. A key theme on the record including Step Closer, is the male as a passively desired object remains so taboo that, for a heterosexual man, embracing a non-aggressive yet expressive sexual role can feel almost impossible.

Lundbak on ‘Step Closer’:

For me, ‘Step Closer’ is the most central track on our upcoming album. Musically, I see it as a fusion of Isogenic’s earlier, more rock-driven sound—featuring wild drums and maximalist synth layers—with the newer, more pop-oriented and contemporary song structures that shape several of the tracks on ‘Libertine’.

Lyrically, it’s the most direct song I’ve ever written. “Can I be afraid, and you set me free? – Can I be the vulnerable and you seduce me?”, the opening line of the second verse, expresses the fundamental longing that the whole album is built around. Step Closer is the wish to be desired, seduced, and to be allowed to take on a more passive, yet expressive and exhibitionistic role than what is normally available to men.

Watch ISOGENIC’s live session for ‘Step Closer’

Isogenic - "Step Closer" Live-session - YouTube

After an EP and a series of singles, the Danish art electro-pop ensemble ISOGENIC can now announce their debut album Libertine, set for release this September. The album unites the synthetic and the analogue in an intimate, eclectic pop sound that thematically circles around especially sexual liberation and the journey toward it, from self-repression to self-recognition.

ISOGENIC took shape at the start of 2021 and released its debut EP Diffraction in the fall of 2021, followed by a string of concerts that made it clear to all present that the band was on the right path. Over the past couple of years, Lundbak and his two bandmates, Jonas Klintstrøm and Andreas Larsen, have produced a wealth of new material, now distilled into ISOGENIC’s debut album Libertine. The album’s ten tracks include the two 2024 singles Complex Pleasures and Iris, which heralded the more direct sound that defines the record, though still keeping the band's grandiose synth sound intact.

The album title Libertine refers to a person who lives without regard for society’s sexual norms and moral principles, seeking sexual pleasure free from guilt or constraint. With this figure as a kind of idealized archetype, the album revolves at its core around liberation—liberation from shame, guilt, and in particular, sexual shame. Lundbak explains:

“The album is an exploration of sexual roles, attraction, seduction, desire, and fear. For me personally, the songs reflect my own journey in understanding and expressing my sexuality: how it feels, how it looks, and how I can give it space in my life.”