In Conversation with Paultra Violet
Have you ever listened to a song and paused to reflect on how it made you feel? Paultra Violet specializes in that exact feeling. Between the skillful melodies and electro-pop sounds, We’ve Already Happened takes you on a musical journey through space and time. Joey Palestina (HBO's We Own This City), composer Spencer Miles (Space Fight), and producer Joel Hunter Martin (Y God Y) come together, with other musicians contributing from across the globe, to give us music worthy of becoming a movie’s soundtrack.
Paultra Violet comes at you from all sides and can’t be confined to just one sound. The music, which is similar to the sounds of Pet Shop Boys and The Drums, stretches beyond just sounds and into something that you can feel in your body. “We’ve Already Happened” joins the string of singles released in the past year and continues to bring the heat. We had the chance to talk to Palestina about the group and it’s upcoming album We’ve Already Happened.
Photo by Kyle Seagraves
Where did the name Paultra Violet originate from?
“In early stages, we were called PAUL. We liked the idea of an anonymous name/character being the centerpiece of the project. Later we realized we have a close friend outside the project whose name is Paul. It wound up being a bit confusing for local listeners. Wait, Paul as in PAUL? So we nixed that but kept some remnants of it, including the idea of an anonymous character.”
Who are your biggest musical inspirations and how has their work changed how you make music?
“On a personal level it’s PV’s co-creator Spencer Miles. Spen and I have been writing music together for twenty-one years. He’ll send me the bones of a song, which are always intriguing and singular, in turn inspiring me to make things thicker. Create the story. Adding co-producer Joel Hunter Martin to PV has been amazing as well. He takes what we do, puts it in the shower, and then adds makeup. We have this sort of three wheel machine, all inspiring each other to treat our records like cinematic stories.
On a bigger scale, artists like Beck, Beach House, The Police, Nine Inch Nails, Tears For Fears. The films of Kubrick, Villeneuve, Refn and Satoshi Kon. Artists that create moods.”
Paultra Violet has been around for three years now, how do you think it has evolved?
“It’s been a real treat to see it evolve. Incredibly grateful to be 41 working on this project and not 21. In my younger years with other bands and artistic endeavors, there was a lust and drive to get bigger by any means necessary. Now there’s a slower, more internal evolution to the work. Curated with ease. Just keep adding things, I say to myself. Keep adding things when you’re ready. Songs. Pictures. Artwork. Shows. Videos. And so that’s what we’re doing. There’s no rush. The pandemic taught me that. Take your time. Suddenly you have a project with personality.”
How do you find time in your schedule to make music while there are other personal projects happening?
“To piggyback off the last question, the other factor that has helped shape the project is all of us juggling other projects/careers. We have our own workflow. There’s concentrated bursts of songwriting and curating and then there’s downtime. But we’re always working on something, all of us, together or separate. I’m also an actor/writer. Spen has a solo music project called Space Fight. Joel is usually producing two other albums at the same time as he’s working on our stuff.”
Musicians from across the globe are contributing to this project. How does that process work?
“On this album, the three of us made a point to get the songs in good shape before sending them to trusted musicians/vocalists for additional layering. Many are friends we’ve played with in the past whose work we admire and many are musicians we’ve never met but admire all the same. We have musicians/vocalists from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey on this album. It’s an incredible thing-to be able to collaborate like this.”
What is your favorite song off of “We’ve Already Happened?”
“Spen’s is “Year Of Sweat,” Joel’s is “Flirt Machine Effect” and mine is “Glow Up Wolf,” although I wished I added guitars on it!”
If you had to describe “We’ve Already Happened” in three words, what would they be and why?
“The three words would be: We’ve Already Happened. In order to understand this, you’ll need to listen to the album!”
Are you planning on playing any shows in the future?
“Yes, we have all types of ideas on how to present this project live. One man show. A three piece. A four piece. So much to do!”
Is there an overall message from this project, or Paultra Violet in general, that you want listeners to know?
“This project is a journal entry to myself. I make creative stuff to better understand how I process all the things, like a case study. If there ever is a message, it’s a message to me and for me. Maybe through that a listener can connect, but I do it out of desperation to better understand myself.
I do however have a message to other artists: Create to better understand how you process things around you. How you process you in this thresher of a planet. Be mindful of fixating on having a message for people - - we see that a lot now, more so in the theater than anywhere else. It’s cringy as the young folks say. We’ve become obsessed with messages. Did they get the message? Who cares? Is the work good? Does it pop? Is it singular? Try not to create to appease a mob. Mobs change hands. Make it for yourself.”
Where do you see Paultra Violet in 10 years?
“Scoring films. Playing shows. Making records. Being fully bald. Bouncing around Earth and The Internet.”
The single “We’ve Already Happened” is streaming now and make sure to keep an eye out for the debut album from Paultra Violet, We’ve Already Happened.