“The people I look up to the most are themselves sort of world builders and storytellers in their songs.”
– Paris Paloma
British singer songwriter Paris Paloma is no longer a stranger to the music scene. With her music, she’s creating the perfect amalgamation between indie, folk and dark pop, paired with lyrics about womanhood, grieve, love, death and power. She’s inspired by art history, romantic and mythical creatures, an interesting mix, which she is portraying both, in her sound and visuals.
We had the pleasure of talking to Paris and taking some dreamy photos of her, while being at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.
Hey Paris, thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us, here in this lovely Park in Brighton at The Great Escape Festival 2023. Is it your first time here in Brighton?
No it’s not! I’ve been here a few times now to perform and I also enjoy coming here a lot, its a great town.
Your single ‚Labour‘ has already more than 26 million streams and over 6 million videos views. What do you think makes ‚Labour‘ such a success? And can you name three things, that inspired you the most for writing this song?
I’m so grateful that Labour resonated with so many people so much, I think those people felt a kinship with the frustration and exhaustion at the patriarchal dynamics that I wrote about in the song. Three things that inspired me the most for writing this song I would say are, love, patriarchy, and the need to be heard.
What’s your favorite song to perform live (at the moment) and why?
It’s so hard I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite, but I’m looking forward to finally playing labour live with my full band for the first time.
You mentioned that words come first for you and then music or the melody. Would you describe yourself more of a singing poet?
That’s quite a nice way of putting it, I think I’ve always looked at music for myself as a storytelling format, but of course it exists to other people in lots of different ways.
In which way are you influenced and inspired by other artists?
Many ways, when I was younger I wanted to be an author, and the best advice for wanting to write novels is to read, read, read. The advice is the same for writing music, just trying to listen to lots of music. The people I look up to the most are themselves sort of world builders and storytellers in their songs.
You did a lovely cover of Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s song, It’s called: Freefall, why did you cover this song in particular?
I honestly just loved the song that’s the only reason. Normally the reason I cover songs is because I love them so much I literally want to create with it, so I did my little version of that song out of my love for it and RKS.
If you could, who would you collaborate with?
I couldn’t possibly pin it down to one person, I’d say Aurora, Ethel Cain or Hozier.
What would you say is the best thing about being an artist and what’s the worst?
I’m not sure what the definite best and worst things are, but the fact that you are ALWAYS creating is something that can silmultaneously be one of the best and worst things about it, there is always in every moment of the day and night the possibility in my mind for songs and I never stop writing really, but it can makes it difficult to rest every so often, then again it provides me always with an emotional outlet, so it feels restful.
Do you have any childhood heroes?
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
You mentioned you would really like to play a gig in a church one day, which is happening here in Brighton for you. Besides from that, is there anything on your list you’d really love to play one day?
I’m honestly just excited for everything that’s happening right now, I feel like thanks to everyone who’s been engaging with my work and listening to my music lately, these sorts of possibilities are blowing wide open its a really lovely time to be in!
Which film, TV, or book character do you most identify with?
This is a really tough one, I keep mentioning the book “Circe” by Madeline Miller recently because of how the island sort of was an inspiration for the island I wrote about in “labour” but I’ll mention it again here as I really resonated with her characterisation of Circe in that book, as well as her Patroclus in Song of Achilles
How do you nurture your own creativity?
Just brooding, reflecting upon my experiences a lot to grow, and writing whenever I can, and writing immediately when inspiration comes.
What means fashion to you?
Fashion is such an extension of artistic expression, and obviously instrumental in forming your identity and perception of yourself, whilst making yourself comfortable with who you are and how you feel as you move through the world.
How would you describe your style?
My bassist, George calls me “the fairy grungemother” as an attempt to describe my style which has stuck since. I’d say my style is ethereal-grunge with a lot of comfort elements
What influences you in the way you dress?
Comfort, textures, the feeling of fabric, and just whimsy.
Indispensable piece of clothing for you?
My black western boots.
How important is the way you dress (especially for your shows)?
It sometimes is and sometimes isn’t, it can be an extension of the performance sometimes, but other times it truly is just what I feel comfortable in on the day
What did you pack in your suitcase – do you have any travel essentials?
My suitcase is actually just a rucksack, and my travel essentials I guess would be skincare, as I like my self-care routines.
Music is … (try to pick just one word)
Healing.
We haven’t heard that before from anyone, but there’s so much truth to it! Thanks so much Paris, for sharing a bit of your world with us and letting us dive into it.
We are looking forward to hearing more from Paris in the future – keep your eyes and ears wide open! For tour dates, merch and more, follow Paris on her socials.
STAY TUNED!
xx smoke and echoes
in cooperation with bandwagon
smokeandechoes.com 