Hiya (PAULA T), thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
I don’t think I ever decided! I can’t remember a time when music wasn’t a central part of my life. I come from a family of musicians and started studying classical piano at age 6, and there were moments growing up when I would practice for, like, 7 hours a day. At 20, I wrote some songs with my oldest friend, Allison, which made me feel powerful and giddy, but it wasn’t a serious thing. After college graduation, I went on a cross-country road trip with some friends, and every driving day we would listen to Beyonce’s Lemonade to pass the time. The bass and arpeggiated synthesizers in the song “Love Drought” gave me the chills every time and made everything so deeply evocative. I remember driving through the Texas sprawl and telling my friends, “I want to do that.” As soon as I got back home to NYC, I rushed to download Logic to learn to produce music on my own. I’m finally ready to start sharing my songs!
Introduce us to you and your musical history.
That’s basically the history! To introduce myself: My name is Paula Tartell, and PAULA T is my artist’s name. I’m not sure I like going by PAULA T, but it’s too late to change my mind! I’m just proud that I committed to something and went with it. I connect to the world around me through art, and I’m overcoming some very deep fear to share my very first song with you all (there’s no connection without vulnerability!). I want my music to make the misery in the world feel less miserable, more possible to overcome, and to punctuate the beautiful things about being alive and human. That’s my very-ambitious mission statement. Mostly, I just want to have fun with it!
I’ve seen a lot of people struggling for support recently online. What’s your view on the industry?
Oof, yeah. In the process of releasing my first single over just this past month, I’ve learned and been so frustrated by so much! I haven’t had time to make any new music because there’s been so much work to do to ensure this one song gets heard. And there’s no guarantee it’s going to work! I see so many talented friends and acquaintances around me releasing incredible music that so many people would love to hear, but it just evaporates into the internet void. There are so many gatekeepers, including non-human algorithms, that determine what music is heard, and that makes me so angry. Especially when others are profiting off those who have the guts to create.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Floating somewhere in the cosmos, chilling, eating space ice cream <3
Tell us a fun fact about you.
I love to make mischief.
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
Nah! Sure, I think people can lack compassion and humanity when engaging online, which can lead to misunderstanding, but I think the idea of “cancel culture” is overblown. If you’re kind and engage thoughtfully with the world, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. If you act racist or abusive, expect people to hold you accountable! But a lot of people who create the most harm in the world don’t actually get “cancelled.”
Do you subscribe to any conspiracy theories? If not, why not?
Aliens are definitely real. Once I got into a pretty deep “Paul is Dead” rabbit hole but ultimately escaped. I won’t die on this hill, but the Avril Levigne theory is probably true.
What was your best experience on stage?
I haven’t performed as PAULA T yet! That’s my next goal for 2025. My best experience on stage was probably playing Schumann’s Piano Concerto for a full theater in 2015.The entire audience was with me – you could hear a pin drop! The acoustics were amazing, and I felt in control of each color and projection of sound. I felt like people could hear the inside of my heart. It was such a connected experience!
What was your worst experience on stage?
Childhood community theater production of The King And I.
Tell us something about you that you think people would be surprised about.
I think there are few surprises – I’m a very open person!
What are the next steps you plan to take as a band to reach the next level?
I want to keep learning, making things, and growing as a musician and person! And releasing music, of course! And connecting with more people through my music. I’m 100% certain my best music is yet to come. That’s extremely exciting.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
This single, Canary, is my very first release! It’s a sonic exploration of bird calls and an emotional exploration of vulnerability. I wrote it after facing a dead end in a relationship. I had asked him if he could open up more to me, and I shared my desire to know him inside and out. He went quiet for a while and reflected, “You want to know me inside and out? I’m not sure I want to know myself inside and out…” I realized that I couldn’t force him to heal for me, nor could I force him into vulnerability. I was also becoming frustrated at an emerging pattern: I kept falling for people afraid of accountability and vulnerability, who couldn’t meet me where I’m at. It was scaring me. Am I unlovable?
I chose this as my first release because it’s pretty meta. It’s all about vulnerability, and it’s wildly vulnerable to release music! Artistic vulnerability and romantic vulnerability feel very similar. Actually, for me personally, releasing music is way scarier than falling in love will ever feel! This song, and the canary, is ultimately about singing and flapping your wings no matter what, even when sharing your heart and opening yourself up to rejection can cause you pain. If you clip your own wings, you’ll miss out on so much connection and all the things that make being human beautiful. It’s a hype song for myself, and hopefully for others.
What was the recording process like?
Multi-step and silly! I wrote the song in my bedroom and recorded the electronics while playing around with some National Geographic bird samples. I was very intrigued by their natural rhythmic quality, especially when saturated and distorted. I threw them over very fast drum samples, and the melodies came to me instantly. I found the vocal and instrumental melodies were simple but very familiar and warm, so I decided to keep going with it, and Canary birthed itself in minutes! The canary calls were part of the songwriting process – in the verses, there’s very much a call-and-response with the vocals. I recorded the initial guitar in my bedroom, like, a few measures at a time, because I’m not good enough to play that fast, and I pitched my guitar down an octave for the bass, because I didn’t own a bass at the time.
I brought my music to my dear friend, Eli Heath, to produce with me; I felt like I was hitting a wall finishing my music on my own. The morning we opened up the file for Canary for the first time, he texted his housemate, Addie Vogt, to see if she could come across the hall later to record drums, and posted an Instagram story: “Anyone wanna record guitar on Paula’s punk song? Only requirement is playing v fast.” A bunch of people volunteered, but we decided Jake Ford would bring the musicianship, creativity, and good vibes.
That afternoon, I was in Eli’s bedroom studio recording my music with others for the first time! It was happening! It was an extremely goofy session. I was really nervous. When I played them the demo, I accidentally unmuted some terrible marching-band sounding horns I was experimenting with earlier and went bright red. And we only got three full takes because the song is so fast. Because of my nerves I kept cursing into the microphone (some of which you’ll hear in the final mix). Jake shredded too hard and broke his string on the third take.
In my opinion, what makes the song so special is that we captured that chaotic, kinda weird live moment, and then I retreated back to my bedroom to weave in more layers of sound and vocals. There are so many layers of sound and emotion. And Eli made everything sound gorgeous.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Realizing that collaboration is everything. I was hitting a wall with my music, trying to be self-sufficient, but then I realized: literally all my favorite music is made by multiple people. Ask for help, y’all! Interdependence is greater than independence.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Hell yes! But it’s time to let Canary fly!
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Tax the rich! We have all the resources we need to keep everyone safe, healthy, and thriving!
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