Summer of Paradise: London based jazz musician breathes life into the grey summer with his new EP ‘In The Garden’
Courtesy of Aniella Weinberger
19th July 2024
By Zakiyah Shobowale
There is no mind as coveted than that of the artist. The desire to create is a state that has connected us all from the beginning of time. The North London native, who goes by the moniker Sol Paradise, exhibits a fluid mastery over his creative energy, pouring it freely into his newest EP ‘In The Garden’. The project is a rich green, embroidered with gentle vocals and instrumental play reminiscent of the Jazz of old. Each song pours into the next seamlessly like a winding, golden stream of consciousness; Inviting the listeners into the lush gardens of his mind through song.
I sat down with Sol to discuss his new EP:
Courtesy of Aniella Weinberger
ZS: How would you describe your creative process? What does a day of writing/producing look like and how do you get into the flow of creating?
SP: There’s a lot of trial and error. When I hit a wall I like to get outside and take a walk while listening to different demos I’m working on - usually answers will come to me while I’m a bit distracted or thinking about something else.
Recently my favourite way of exploring new ideas is to start with a continuous or ‘pedal’ note on my Prophet synth and build chords around that, finding how unrelated chords work together when they share a common note. I usually record some gibberish lyrics along to the demo I’m making and then piece together words made up from the phonetics of the mumble track. I like to think subconsciously the song’s meaning was there already when I was doing the initial mumble take. I think there’s this idea that artists need to be insanely inspired in the moment while creating, but often you sit back and let your mind go where it wants to, and then piece together the meaning behind what you did after the fact.
ZS: You’ve previously cited Fela as an artistic inspiration, a core tenet of his artistry was the importance of creative community, as a London based artist, do you remember a moment where you felt inducted into the creative scene of London?
SP: I’m not sure about a specific moment, but some days I do look back at where I was 2 or 3 years ago and reflect on how much has changed. I’m so lucky to have some incredible musical friends around me - I’m consistently inspired by them, by their musical output, work ethic and general approach to life. Whether consciously or not we’ve built a really nice scene within the jazz/alternative/soul space in London. I used to find the London jazz scene a bit stifling and competitive, but the people I have around me all seem to have a shared intention of mutual support and doing music for the pure joy of it. It’s like any success is shared success, we’re all coming up together. I love that approach so much, it allows you stay in a healthy mindset when creating.
Courtesy of Aniella Weinberger
ZS: I’ve noticed a strong visual motif of nature that is consistent across majority of your projects, what do you think about your music’s ability to transmute across artistic mediums?
SP: I love the idea that the music extends beyond the experience of streaming it on a platform. My biggest hope is that the music I make could inspire someone to do that hike they’ve always wanted to do, or just to factor in a 20 minute walk in their local park in between work meetings. Whatever form it takes, I’m trying to get across in my work just how much being outside has helped me and my mental health. The visual side of my music is so important to me - the music video or cover art of each song conveys exactly how I visualised the music as I wrote it - it kind of welcomes you into the world I created for myself but which opens up to everyone once I put the track out.
ZS: One of my favourites off your EP is your collaboration with Nectar Woode, how did this song come to be?
SP: Nectar is such an incredible artist and a dear friend - we always spoke about making something together and I really felt that ‘In The Garden’ would suit her voice so well. I’d hit a wall with what was quite a challenging song to write - its simplicity made me overthink everything. I was stuck on writing a third verse, so Nectar and I got in the studio and almost instantly she finessed it like it was nothing! It was such a treat for me to just sit back and let her do her thing. I love hearing our voices singing together, it adds such a vibe to the song and turns it into a proper family affair.
Courtesy of Aniella Weinberger
ZS: Your connection with nature makes me think of the artistic perspective of symbolism , the belief is that nature imitates art, what do you think about the symbiotic relationship between music and nature.
SP: An idea I’ve focused on with my new EP ‘In The Garden’ is that within our extremely divided world we live in now, the natural landscape is a sort of common denominator. To put it simply, everyone appreciates a sunset. Everyone marvels at a massive bird in the sky, or shuts their eyes for a second as a cool breeze comes through the trees. It’s something that brings us together - the same could be said for music. That feeling of being at a gig where everyone in the crowd is having this shared experience simultaneously in real time gives you such a rush. It’s that feeling of connection we’re all constantly seeking - nature and music brings that to the forefront.
ZS: Following on from that, many artists see art as something that is naturally occurring and inevitable, do you agree? Or do you believe perhaps that the things we create are inherently artificial?
SP: An idea that really stuck with me when I was in the finishing stages of this EP - arguably the hardest bit where each day I felt like I was doing admin tasks getting the production all polished - was from Rick Rubin’s book. I don’t agree with all the points he made but one really resonated with me - the concept that creative ideas exist in the ether, and your role as an artist is to open yourself up to accept the ideas that are already out there somewhere. It totally takes the pressure off - you’re not needing to create something out of nothing, but simply to be open to receiving what already exists (just not in physical form, yet). In this way art is totally natural occurring, it doesn’t need to be forced or concocted, just guided from the immaterial to the material. Something that’s helped me a lot personally with dealing with the London music rat race is the idea that I will inevitably make music forever - just because I love doing it. I’ll do whatever I need to do alongside to live and pay bills, but the music itself is inevitable and won’t stop.
Courtesy of Aniella Weinberger
ZS: Who is someone that embodies musical creativity to you?
SP: The first person who came to mind was Jacob Collier - I admire his almost child-like approach to music and how he revels in the ‘play’ aspect of music rather than arbitrary rules and confinements. But when I think about it a bit more,someone like Dijon comes to mind - an artist so willing to push sonic boundaries and revel in places that aren’t inherently comfortable. I love artists that you feel are really making music for themselves, and any fans that accumulate along the way are just an added bonus.
ZS: What do you picture when you think of/listen to your EP?
SP: Genuinely, I feel such a sense of ‘this is really who I am’ when I listen to it. I feel so proud knowing that I tried so hard to expel others’ expectations from my mind when I was making it - to do that fully is probably impossible but the intention is what makes it pure. I consciously structured the track listing to try and take people on a journey, which is hard just in a 4-track EP but I hope people listen in full to get what I was trying to do. I really want people to hear the honesty when I talk about how much nature has helped me deal with my own mental health, and how the words I speak on the project are true and open. I hope not only that more artists write about the natural world, but also that the conversation about the protection of outdoor spaces extends into the music industry as they do so.
‘In The Garden’ is out July 19 on all streaming platforms.