Folk Artist Rose Paradise Whisks Us “Over the Hill” With Her Debut Album

Styling by Macie O’Neil

Shot at Prosper Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Curled up in the sunny window of a Brooklyn studio, Rose Paradise introduces herself to Pleaser magazine. The folk singer, who speaks as elegantly as she sings, is preparing for the release of her debut album, Over the Hill. Paradise beams as she details the inspiration and collaboration behind the album filled with honeyed vocals, hopping guitar and heartfelt storytelling.  

PHOTOS BY OLIVE JOLLEY

PLEASER: In your own words, who is Rose Paradise? 

ROSE PARADISE: Well, I have to clarify that that is my birth name because I feel like it gets mistaken a lot as an artist name. I think Rose Paradise is just a girl who has hippie parents [and] who grew up in a small community. [A girl] who loves music, meeting new people, making new friends. I try to lead with my heart. I think that that's kind of what we should all be doing right now. 

I agree with you there. Where did you grow up?

RP: I'm from an hour north of San Francisco. A town called Stinson Beach. 

What made you choose to come to New York City to launch your career?

RP: I got into school in NYC with a scholarship. I never saw myself moving [here]. I love the ocean and nature. Without it, I don't feel grounded, but it was such a special program that I got into. I felt like it would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't go. I moved in 2020, and I'm so glad that I did because of the people I've met. It was also important for me to leave where I grew up, and NYC is definitely the melting pot of every experience possible.

Very important. When people think about NYC’s music scene, folk-adjacent music usually isn’t the first to come to mind, but this city really does have a deep-rooted history of it. What has been your experience with the folk scene in NYC? 

RP: I have found it interesting playing folk music as a woman in NYC, which is such a rock, male-dominated environment. [And I do] love those people. I've played on countless bills of male rock bands. In some ways, you can look at the glass half full and say, ‘it's such a treat to be the only different genre on a bill.’ On the other hand, it's hard. The last four years playing live in the city, I’ve had the challenge of: how am I going to capture this crowd who isn't here for this music, all they want to do is mosh? Especially as of late, I know there's a lot of incredible folk musicians in the city and it's been so awesome to discover that. I've been doing this residency at a country bar [Desert 5 Spot], and I have guests play with me every week. It’s been awesome for me to have a deep dive into the city to find other country, folk and Americana artists.

These genres you mention are rooted in storytelling. With your music, are the stories you tell often personal, or do you draw from the world’s experiences around you? 

RP: They're all my own, I would say, all from personal experience or learning something through friends or family. The natural world around me is a big influence. This last album especially, was inspired a lot by where I grew up. It’s about leaving and coming back and what I've learned. That's why I called it Over the Hill, because I grew up in a really tiny town, and there's a mountain I have to drive over in order to get to a gas station or any chain store. It's like a 30-minute winding road, which we call “over the hill.” It's a larger meaning for me because I went all the way to New York. It was like over a f*cking mountain. 

Are there any other experiences that shaped your storytelling within the album? 

RP: The title track, “Tangerine,” conveys a hometown relationship. Everyone has a sense of place, a sense of growing up in that [hometown] landscape and culture. It shapes who we become, and every kid sees their hometown change and shift, and it can be really difficult. I grew up in a place that was a vacation town. I watched a lot of change happen. We battle with that inner anger and inner resistance, but we need to find an acceptance that change is inevitable and holding on only hurts yourself. 

This album, Over the Hill, has been a little while in the making. What has the creative process been like?

RP: Doing it independently has been such a journey. I GoFunded this album to make it happen. Me and my band recorded it in a studio in the hometown that I grew up in. We went back there in March and had a week in which we recorded all the songs live. I knew I wanted to do that because we play live all the time together, and I wanted to capture that raw energy. There's some magic afterwards in editing, but the bulk of the work happened [in that studio] over a year ago. I got back to NYC, and we did some overdubbing with other instruments. My friend Jason plays pedal steel, my friend Huxley plays fiddle, my friend Jenna plays cello [on the album, to name a few]. I'm glad that it took as long as it did. It's an experience that I don't think I'll ever get in the same way. 

Collaboration in music can make it so much more impactful since it becomes a shared experience and combines the touch of different artists. 

RP: I think that is what's so beautiful about independent artists. They're working with their friends. It's coming from a pure place. My friend Weston, who I grew up with, has done all my video stuff. My friend July, who I also grew up with, did all the cover art. He's an incredible painter, and I'm so grateful. He has the knowledge of who I am and what our home looks like, and he was able to demonstrate that so beautifully. Making this album with a group of like-minded individuals my age, who brought in their own backgrounds and style of playing, is such a dream. I wrote all the songs, but they shaped them. At the end of the day, it's the Rose Paradise project, but there's so much else behind it and I always want to shout that out because I could not have done it without the support of my friends, my family and all the people who gave their time and their energy to make it happen. 

And now all of the working parts of Over the Hill will culminate into your album release show. It’s coming up soon on April 8th at The Slipper Room in NYC. Are you excited? 

RP: I'm very excited. My drummer and my bassist, who moved to LA, and the pianist on the record are all coming in, so it's gonna be a production. 

Love that you’re bringing back the band that you recorded it with. Why is it so important to you to have people come hear Over the Hill live vs. streaming it? 

RP: I think we do our best work live. I mean, this album was recorded that way. Live music is the greatest gift on earth. Seeing art in its true form, being part of a community and sharing energy, that is what live shows are about. This show is going to be fun. It's gonna be a party. It's been a while since I've played a full band show. I'm excited to put it all together.

For those that might not be able to make it, what do you think is the ideal way for listeners to hear the album for the first time?

RP: Any way they want. Any way that someone listens to music the way they love to. That could be outside with a speaker, in a car driving, on their headphones while walking in the city or in their kitchen. I think that the music could live anywhere.