Name: Sol Paradise
Nationality: British
Occupation: Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer
Current release: Sol Paradise's In The Garden EP is out now.
Recommendations: Book: Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You - an incredible study of our battle to give rights back to nature as well as beautiful stories of engagement with wild spaces.
Music: Resavoir - an album by Chicago-based jazz group Resavoir. I’ve been so inspired by this record, it’s perfect from start to finish.

If you enjoyed this Sol Paradise interview and would like to know more about his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and tiktok.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I like the music I’m listening to to interact with my surroundings - to bring out the vibrancy of the world around me.

I like eyes-open listening; I often find listening to a good track helps me notice things around me that I would never have otherwise taken in.

Entering/creating new worlds through music has always exerted a strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

In a lot of ways, truth is very important to me when making music. Trying to expel others’ expectations of what I should be making, and not trying to impress anyone.

In that way, staying true to what I want to make and allowing myself to make honest work without false pretence.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I think during that period, music meant community and friendship. Growing up in Haringey, North London, I played in the council jazz band for over 10 years during those formative ages.

At school, some of my closest friendships were formed around a shared love of playing music - some of those friends are still in my band today!

Tell me about one or two of your early pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) – and why you're content with them.

The interlude track on my 2022 debut EP.



The project came out at a time where I was struggling to know where I fit in genre-wise. Not quite jazz enough, definitely not pop, and not wanting the indie pigeonhole.

This interlude song was my first flight into a jazz world that I now realise is entered once I leave all worries about genre labels behind and just focus on making exactly what I want.

What is your current your studio or workspace like? What instruments, tools, equipment, and space do you need to make music?

I just left my studio share as I’ve moved to a different part of London so I’m back producing at home again in my room. I learned a lot about using outboard gear at that studio, so I’ve made some upgrades to my home set up. A few good mics, some nice preamps, my guitars, Prophet 08 synth, my trumpet and lots of percussion.

[Read our feature on the Sequential Prophet 6]

I work on Logic, so all that + my super accurate Neumann monitors and I’m good to go!

From the earliest sketches to the finished piece, tell me about the creative process for your current release, please.

"In The Garden" began while experimenting with Drop 2 voicings on guitar. I was trying to work out more interesting ways of voicing the chords I tend to use most. I wrote the chorus first, and had a super clear idea for the lyrics and melody - I wanted it to be centred around how much being outside has helped with my mental health.

But I then spent a few months really struggling to write the verse. It felt like attempting to add ideas to what was already a fully formed song. That’s when I brought my friend Nectar Woode into the studio and she encouraged me to let go of all my preconceptions about what the song should be and just write.

I co-produced the song with Alex and Lloyd Haines which was such a great process. It was my first time not producing a release solely myself, and welcoming people who I trust into the process was really rewarding. It showed me that there isn’t greater value in trying to do everything yourself - others’ inputs are so valuable and stop you from going stir crazy in the studio!

What role and importance do rituals have for you, both as an artist and a listener?

I’m quite a ritualistic person - on a writing/recording day I will always try get outside first thing and get sunlight into my eyes. Ideally closely followed by a cold shower, though that gets super hard in the winter.

I get these things done before looking at screens and starting work - I feel like long-term it really helps me maintain focus.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these?

Honestly? I’ve reached a point where I don’t feel that gap between my ‘true’ personality and whatever comes across in my music.

I’ve tried to marry the two to help myself feel connected to the writing process and make it as genuine as possible.

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility [...] to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that?

It’s freeing. The realisation I had last year was that there really are no rules in music or art generally. Guidelines, maybe, but really and truly you can do what you want. And actually, that’s rewarded long term!

I think there’s a certain amount of pressure to make music that fits current trends, but those that buck those trends make new ones and so on. It comes back to that idea about making music for yourself - I’m trying to enjoy doing that as much as I can.

Do you feel that your music or your work as an artist needs to have a societal purpose or a responsibility to anyone but yourself?

Recently, it’s felt more like that. As I bring more environmentalist messages into my work, and writing more about my relationship with the natural world, I feel more responsibility as a result.

But that’s a good thing! It gives purpose to what I create, and although it opens my lifestyle up to scrutiny, I think overall it brings a level of accountability to my work which I enjoy the challenge of.

Once a piece is done and released, do you find it important that listeners understand it in a specific way? How do you deal with “misunderstandings?”

Once it’s left my control and sent to streaming services, I really enjoy the idea that it’s up to listeners to interpret in their own way.

Having said that, I love the process of making music videos in order to give people an understanding of what I pictured while writing the song.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Weirdly the first thing that came to mind was being alone in a forest - how the wind that blows through the trees breaks what feels like the deepest silence. It’s pretty incredible.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I really enjoy silence - recently I’ve been walking a lot more without music in my ears. Time away from music is just as important to me when I’m in the writing process as immersing myself in musical inspiration.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Music gives you the opportunity to really dig deep and access thoughts and feelings that are perhaps buried in your subconscious - emotions that your brain doesn’t allow to come to the fore during mundane tasks.

It’s this idea that gives music writing its therapeutic quality.

What is a music related question that you would like to ask yourself – and what's your answer to it?

Why do I make music?

It allows me an avenue of expression that I get nowhere else in my life.

It’s a mask I’m able to put on to safely express feelings that sometimes I didn’t even know existed, an opportunity sometimes to jump into someone else’s skin and fully immerse yourself in imagining how they feel about a certain situation/experience.