trousers SOL DELA VILLA vest and sunglasses **STYLIST’S OWN.** top and jewellery **STYLIST’S OWN**

Sol Paradise began as a bedroom production project and has now evolved into a solo artist performing with a 7-piece live band. Sol paradise is currently playing guitar for Ash Walker on tour with Oscar Jerome.

jeans CARHARTT shoes VIVIENNE WESTWOOD sunglasses **STYLIST’S OWN**

What did you dream about last night?

I’ve been reading a book about fungi and how they’re the craziest organisms on earth, so I’ve had some weird mushroom related dreams recently.

Can you tell me a bit about the evolution of Sol Paradise?

What started out as a bedroom producing project while I was at university has really come into its own recently. I now play with a 7-piece band for live shows, featuring a saxophone and flute player, which has taken the sound in a richer direction than I’d ever hoped it would be. My debut EP ‘Forest’ which I just released was my biggest production challenge to date, with 5 brand new tracks that I recorded and mixed myself.

What conceptual themes or references do you tend to work with? Do you have any key inspiratory figures?

Nature and the outdoors have been a big influence on my work recently. Exploring the contrast in headspace between urban and rural life has always fascinated me. We’re super lucky in London to have so many green spaces, but time in more wild settings is really important for fostering healthy creativity. I recorded most of the EP on my own in rural Suffolk, so those themes combined with ideas of independence/isolation featured heavily.

jeans **ONE OF A KIND** jewellery **STYLIST’S** **OWN**

The first song you ever released as Sol Paradise was called ‘No Doubt’. Can you tell us the story behind ‘No Doubt’?

I had ‘No Doubt’ on my laptop in demo form for about 3 years before I released it. It was the track that I knew from the outset would be my first release once I felt I was ready. The song is a personal one, marked by coming out of a really unhealthy relationship and starting afresh with someone new.

In terms of the technical production of your music, creating the sonic aesthetic, what is most important to you?

Moving away from perfectionism right now is at the forefront of my production workflow. Accepting that the best I can do is good enough, and not obsessing over a track to the point of falling out of love with it. Collaboration is something else I’m exploring nowadays, working with the amazing musicians I have around me. In terms of sonic aesthetic, I always try and create space and growth within a track - I guess also my trumpet playing helps add richer textures to what I’d otherwise be able to achieve from guitar-based music.

Your latest EP is called ‘Forest’. Can you speak about the process of behind creating this EP?

Lockdown was obviously a weird time to make this EP but spending that chunk of time by myself recording it in Suffolk added such a different dimension to the project. Mixing an EP can get really relentless, and you can start hating the songs, so getting out and about hiking in the surrounding forests eased a lot of that weight off.

The EP was really about me shouting to the world that I wasn’t just an indie artist, that I had music to offer to the jazz/neo-soul world. I wanted my wider musical inspiration to come across in the work - having big horn sections, more dance-oriented tracks, spoken word and my first feature from Yorke helped cement that, I hope.

Are there any new sonic realms or techniques you are interested in working with?

Producing for other artists across genres is something for the future for sure. In the here and now I’m concentrating on collaboration as much as possible and pushing myself in different directions to test my identity as an artist.

vest, shirt and jewellery **STYLIST’S** **OWN.** trousers U SO NICE shoes VIVIENNE WESTWOOD belt **STYLIST’S** **OWN**

You also create clothing under your brand Sol Paradise. What inspired the colour palette and prints you use in your merchandise?

My recent release featured earthy colours - browns and forest greens. The hoodies accompanied the EP, featuring an embroidered flower front and centre. It all tied in nicely with the outdoors theme of the project.

If you released a fragrance, what would it be called and how would it smell?

Definitely something woody with dark, musky notes.

How do you feel about the music industry today?

It’s tough. Totally dominated by social media for sure, but also with pockets of organic raw artistic beauty. The 21st Century music business is definitely a weird one, but it’s all about staying true to yourself in order to survive and stay sane.

Can you tell us anything about what you are working on right now? What’s next for Sol Paradise?

Right now, I’m playing with Ash Walker, supporting Oscar Jerome on his UK Tour which has been pretty crazy. I have some big live show announcements coming soon for November, and next year hopefully a big tour support slot. For now, I’m working on lots of new music…!