Paula Jivén is an 18-year-old songwriter and artist, and she is making music because it’s her best tool to communicate with people! “I love writing songs that bring the listener something,” Paula says at the top of her interview with CelebMix. “I wanna keep writing and releasing music as long as it’s fun.”
“Thank you! It feels so strange that it’s only out now,” Paula continues. “I’ve been ready for so long, some of these tracks have been in the works for years.”
‘Duality in Me’ is the debut EP from the Swedish artist, and it is the type of EP she wrote as she grew up. The EP is about growing up and finding peace in many things.
“I found it frustrating feeling like I was constantly adapting to different settings like I was never really myself, Paula explains about the inspiration of her EP. “But the realization of the EP is that it’s ok to be many things!”
The title also reflects the broadness of Paula’s sound. In fact, Paula is the type of artist that doesn’t want to be known – or settle – for one kind of song or sound.
“It’s important for me to be a versatile creator, and through the EP release, I created a tracklist that would mark that, jumping between themes and sounds.” — Paula Jivén
“All of the songs are individually a lesson to me,” Paula continues on the story of her EP. “For example, “Breaking Up With A Friend” [below] was the first time I ever wrote in Swedish and mastering those vocals took a lot of work.”
Throughout the five songs, you’re going to get an understanding of who Paula – is as an artist and person – as these songs cover she comes from.
Paula truly stands behind everything these songs represent. The thing is, though, she tells CelebMix that she is not sure if she knew what she wanted to say before beginning the writing process. “I just kind of wrote whatever came to mind, and that I needed to express,” she says. “So that would be a bit hard for me to say.”
“I don’t think this music is what I will be forever,” Paula continues. “I think the next cycle is going to sound different than this one, and that’s always been the goal!”
The creative process for this EP was very sporadic! Paula wrote a lot of material before she decided to settle for the five songs within. However, whilst Paula admits to CelebMix that there wasn’t really a goal in mind, she wanted to use the platform to figure out what she wanted to say.
Just like a mother cannot choose her child, Paula has a difficult time choosing which song, or songs, off the EP she would recommend: “I’d recommend you to listen to all of it [EP], I think all the tracks fill very different purposes,” Paula says. “If you need the calm tracks that will take care of you, “What Are You Hungry For” and “Someone Always Knows” are yours. But if you want to dance, I’d give you “Say That” or “Rude Girl.” “Rude Girl” is also perfect for a power-walk! If you’re in for a ride, you should listen to “Breaking Up With A Friend.”
While this EP sums up Paula’s story thus far, there were a lot of tracks competing for the EP, and she definitely misses some of those that did not make it to the final release. “[T]here are quite a few versions of “Breaking Up With A Friend,” Paula reveals. “I’m definitely the happiest with the released version, but it was a bit of “kill your darlings” over that decision.”
With this EP, Paula hopes that it can be empowering for listeners, telling CelebMix that “Rude Girl” is the sister-track of “Someone Always Knows,” but instead of being sad she’s just dancing, very angrily, through it all.