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Ionas Finser

Where I Go: A Conversation with PEARL


With a uniquely dreamy and picturesque style, PEARL is already taking the music world by storm with her debut EP, "Where I Go". We recently had the opportunity to chat with the talented UK artist and discuss everything one might want to know about her infectious new project.

There have been some serious moments of frustration, tension, and feeling so lost. Moments of not even knowing what door to knock on, let alone being frustrated that it's not opening. And I think that has only made me more determined.

Keep reading to explore the intentions behind Pearl's songs, discover her inspirations, and uncover the secrets behind her creative process.


Tune Parade: To start off, I read somewhere that you were classically trained. How did your style evolve over the years to what it is now in Where I Go?


Pearl: Yeah, so I started classically, and was doing lots of Italian arias (could you call them that? It's been a long time) …and I just don’t think I ever really connected with any of the music until I tried to write it myself. And that was a really frustrating process. I don't know if I would say I loved my singing lessons, because I felt like warming up was really boring. And then I would just sing the sort of songs that were fun, but also quite difficult and something I didn't really want to do. So as soon as I could, I went to music Uni to learn a little bit more about the language of writing. I'm not the most skilled in terms of piano, I kind of know my way around theory but I'm not a ‘sit down and play music that sounds nice’ kind of person. So, it was really helpful to learn how to produce and create the sounds that I was imagining.


Writing kind of came from a really insular place to start with. It was very much all in my feelings. I was in my first sort of serious relationship at the time, and I felt like there was so much pressure on trying to say something that I ended up being a bit choked up and not saying anything at all. I did three years at Uni, and then after graduating, I spent a lot of time writing songs and getting frustrated in front of logic. I remember for a period of time I was dog-sitting for this family, and I would be in their house on my own for like two weeks at a time. They had a piano, and I would sit down every day and just force myself to write stuff. I would wake up every morning and not have anyone else to talk to, so I fully went in. That’s where there was a gear shift for me into slowly releasing some of the things I wanted to say. And I got into object writing, which is a great way to focus on the vastness of things you can talk about: you just pick one thing and go through that object or memory through all the senses, and you write about it in a stream of consciousness for 10 minutes. I then take that writing and dive into it, creating a little sonic world around it. That’s the process by which most of the songs on the EP were created.


PEARL Where I Go

Pictured above: Cover art for Where I Go


Tune Parade: I love hearing about how different artists came to be, and how they found their own unique style and voice. I think that if one were to just sit down one day and say “Okay, I want to become a pop star,” and then replicate someone else's career, it seldom results in what you want it to. But when you have all of these different experiences within music: going from this genre, realizing it's not for you, and then discovering another style, and then having some pivotal life experience… that's really what makes a wonderful artistic voice. It’s that melting pot of different experiences that transpose one’s life experiences into a piece of art.


Pearl: Yeah, I agree with you. And I definitely spent time trying to make songs because I thought other people would like them. I wanted to impress my friends, and at times I felt nervous about saying the right thing. And I thought that my music had to be really profound, and all that kind of stuff. I was kind of choked up by the same pressure that I felt when I was doing the classical arias. I wasn't singing or writing for myself, I was doing it for other people. And the moment of realization came when I was just on my own. For that length of time when no one else was there, I could just do what I wanted to do, have fun with it, be a bit silly, and use my relatively mediocre logic production skills to make some funny sounds and create a little world that I wanted to be in.


Tune Parade: That's amazing. I'm really interested in what you said about object writing as well, because you can try and sit down and write something super profound about what it means to be alive, what it means to be human, and so on… or you could write about a #2 pencil. Both songs can have a lot of beauty to them, depending on how they're written and the place that they come from. I was also curious… just listening to your EP, I begin to wonder, do you draw your songs and your lyrics from more of a real-life experience? Or is there a fantasy world that you go to in order to create these lyrical images and experiences that come across in your songs?


Pearl: Everything on the EP is from my own experiences. Years is about a day I spent with my granny, we had a moment in the garden where she was telling me about naughty things that she can't do, and about how she was at school and times she got in trouble. And it was so lovely seeing that little sparkle in her eyes come back. She's 94, you know, and she's got dementia, and it was a little moment where I was object writing about plums, which was the fruit that she was eating. And it just took me back into that moment of being with her. And that's how that song came about.



Words is about a relationship with my best friend, at a time when I was not in a really good mental headspace… and she's so good at knowing when I'm not okay. It was a reflection of that.


And then Fish is about my grandpa dying and sort of processing that.



And in Go, I was looking at my relationship with my boyfriend and thinking, “Well, what is home to me?” And in a rather cheesy sort of way, I was thinking about how I hold lots of my memories within people, and that if I just kind of left everything, what would happen? It was a nice song to look at my relationships with people and how I can find home in them.



Tune Parade: Have you played these songs for their subjects? Like for your grandma, grandpa, friend, and boyfriend?


Pearl: I have, yeah, I have. It's always so awkward. It's a funny moment for them, isn't it, to be put under the spotlight. And it's probably a bit hard for them to listen. But it's probably cathartic. They can kind of internalize it a little bit.


Tune Parade: It’s really cool, where you've drawn your inspiration from with these songs. I'm curious, do you have a specific physical place that you like to go, like a room or an outdoor area, where you like to write your music? Or does it change for you?


Pearl: It changes. I do like to have a little space though, somewhere where no one can come in. If I'm writing really reflective stuff then yeah, I want quiet. I want a candle on. I don't want any overhead lighting so that it can be like a little cocoon that I can go into and explore without the fear that I'm gonna be interrupted. The environment definitely influences how the art is created.



Tune Parade: I get the same thing when I’m reading a book. I like there to be an atmosphere that allows for the words and phrases to be fully internalized into my imagination. What was the first song that you wrote from the EP? Was there a first and last?


Pearl: Yeah, Words was the first one. And I think I started writing it like, five, six years ago. And it's changed shape so many times. And it was the one that was hardest to write, because I felt that I had to kind of solve or explain what the issues were that I was going through in the song. And then I had a breakthrough moment where I was like, “Oh, I don't need to do that, sometimes not having the words is actually fine,” And that kind of tied it all up. But I think I had to go on a bit of a journey with that one. The last song I wrote was Years.


An early demo of Words:

The final product:


Tune Parade: It's cool to hear that Words was six years in the making. Is there perhaps a lyric that you're the proudest of from the EP that really exemplifies the message that you want to get across?


Pearl: I think there's one that sticks out. It was in Fish, the song that was most helpful to me. And it's just as simple as “but it's not up to me.” I found that one really helpful, because I would go around really trying to control situations and people's emotions. I think I did it out of what I thought was compassion. And it actually just ended up not allowing people to have space for their emotions. And I think just realizing that I can't control everything was a really freeing moment.


"Some little fish swim, inside a little tank I stop to look them, they seem to look back I want to break the glass and send them to the sea But it’s not up to me And if I could take them with me then you know I would I would take them home But I looked into their eyes and I understood That it’s not my choice, no it’s not up to me"

Tune Parade: So maybe we could pivot a little bit to how you brought all these songs from their creation to their final product; the logistics of being an artist. From my experience, there are always many people involved in bringing an EP or an album to life. I'm wondering how you were able to meet the people who helped in the creation of the EP.


Pearl: I originally approached some amazing producers on SoundBetter, and sort of went through some early productions with them. I'm so grateful for that experience; they were so kind and patient, and it was the first time I'd really been in the studio. But I felt that something wasn't there. The work they did was amazing, but it didn't quite feel like my language. So, I sat with it for a little bit.



My brother's a drummer, and he had done a drum lesson or session at a studio run by Matt Ingram. He had got talking with Matt in the session and they got on really well.

And my brother told me, “If you're keen, can I mention you to him? And I was like, “Oh, God, that might be really annoying.” As the classic older sister, I was like, “No, I want to be in control.” But he did mention it to Matt and sent over my demos. And Matt really liked it. I remember just having a moment of like, “Oh, God, I've really got to do this with him. He just fully gets it.”


Tune Parade: Now that the EP is out, do you have any plans for performing it live? Have you performed it live in the last couple of months?


Pearl: Yeah, I performed it live. And there's a support role that's been proposed for me in November, so I'm just kind of waiting for that to be firmed up. And I've brought my brother back in and he is going to be drumming for me which is very exciting. I'm doing a show and we're gonna get some live segments as well. And I'm just really keen to build a bit more of a band around me because I don't mind being on stage by myself but it's a lot more fun when you share it with other people.



Tune Parade: Many artists I know often wonder how they're supposed to convert the music they’ve recorded into a live format. It's a very important decision on what you leave out and what you include when it comes to a live performance, while still getting the soul of each

song across.


Pearl: Yeah, for sure. I think that one is definitely down to trial and error. Taking out bits and seeing how it feels, and if it doesn't feel right then putting them back in… but I don't think you can ever really know how it's going to be received until it's been received. And then you just change it from there.


Tune Parade: I'm wondering if there are any artists that you've discovered recently that you're really into?


Pearl: Yes, I am 100% obsessed with Ames, my favorite songs of hers are taking up the bed and Hold On. Also, a French producer and singer-songwriter called Sans Soucis. She's awesome.



Tune Parade: Do you have a dream collab? Like an artist that you think would really mesh well with your sound?


Pearl: I mean, I would love to collaborate with Westerman, they have a beautiful synthy 80’s soundscape with gorgeous, interesting vocals. Or Ben Howard, especially with the direction he's been going in his last two albums.


Tune Parade: Thanks for reminding me of Westerman, I remember listening to Mother Song back in the day. That was one of my favorites.


Pearl: I need to do more deep diving. I'm going to gig of theirs in November, and I'm super excited. But I want to be prepped, I want to be fully ready to scream the lyrics back at them.

But some work to do. It’s so much more satisfying that way when you go to a gig and you can't even hear the singer over the sound of the crowd. Though I kind of love sit-down gigs as well. Then sometimes I can just fully get into the experience. Do you prefer sit-down or like a mosh pit moment?


Tune Parade: I think sit down. I mean, I'm a cellist and a classically trained composer, so I've had a lot of euphoric listening experiences in big orchestral concert halls where you can really just appreciate every little element of the music. But there's also something really amazing about feeling the ecstatic energy of a huge crowd adoring a song that's being played. I wouldn't say I'm a big mosh pit person, but you know…


Pearl: There’s an energy to classical performance. When you're sitting down, it's more like a cute setting where you can really tune into it. And then in a big, massive mosh pit moment, you're just like, blasted by everyone else's energy.


Tune Parade: Absolutely. Yeah, how one listens to music is an important question. And it depends a lot on what kind of concert you're going to. Because, I mean, according to Aaron Copland, there are three planes of listening. There's the more intellectual or heady level of listening, common in people who are super into music theory. It goes with jazz as well, thinking about harmonic relationships, almost the math of music. Then there's the sensual plane of listening, as in listening with the heart and paying attention to how music makes you feel.

And then there's the like, lower chakra plane of listening. I think people who listen to EDM or dubstep probably prefer that plan of listening. Just feeling the more animalistic nature of the music, like pumping bass, that kind of thing. And I think, as musicians, but also just as human beings, it's definitely important to embrace all three of those planes of listening - the head, the heart, and the lower plane.


Tune Parade: Is there anything else you want to share, or any exciting events or projects that might be coming up for you and your artistry in the future?


Pearl: Yes. Yes, I'm so, so excited. I am crafting EP two. It's been a lot less of an insular experience. I have loved opening up and working with other people, like collaborating with other songwriters and producers. So, yes, I've got some things in the works. And it's all being created and crafted for next year.


To end things off, I’d say there have been some serious moments of frustration, tension, and feeling so lost. Moments of not even knowing what door to knock on, let alone being frustrated that it's not opening. And I think that has only made me more determined. I'm more and more self-assured and excited, and willing to put up with having ridiculous part-time jobs in order to do something that actually truly makes me happy. It can be so discouraging to try and find the right people and the right resources that can make your goals a reality. And I think it discourages a lot of people to the point of just giving up.


Tune Parade: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm not a spiritual person, but I do think there's some kind of law of the universe sometimes where if you just really want something and you can picture how you want your life to go, then there's often a break and a chance that awaits you around the corner.


If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to #staytuned and follow our blog and Instagram for more reviews, interviews, and articles!


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