Paris Jackson mines her heartache
NEWYORK— It started in her bedroom with just a guitar, but Paris Jackson has turned coping with the heartache after a recent breakup into her debut solo album.
Jackson, 22, has been a devoted music fan all her life and dabbled in making her own, but has been hesitant to call herself a singersongwriter until now.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Jackson said in late October.
She describes her ethereal acoustic sound as alternative folk— a far cry fromthe genre of her father, Michael Jackson. Being the daughter of the King of Pop adds an extra layer of scrutiny to the vulnerability required to put personal songs out into theworld.
“I’m excited, I’m nervous, but I feel confident that the people that are supposed to hear this record are going to hear it. It’s going to reach them. Andwith regards to critics and stuff, I don’t really think they’re going to know how to critique it,” Jackson says.
Earlier this year, Jackson was one half of acoustic duo “The Sound flowers” with boyfriend Gabriel Glenn, until the two split. She describes nursing a broken heart as a literal “aching in your chest,” but Jackson turned her pain into art.
The time in her bedroom resulted in11 songs on the concept album, “Wilted,” released by Republic Records on Friday.
Jackson cites many musical influences— including singer-song writers Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne and Conor Oberst. Her eyes light up when she talks about being a “massive fan” of the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. When she heard that guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull fromthe band would produce her first record, shewas elated. She flew to Atlanta towork with him and says the band was supportive of her sound.
“Everyone was just so welcoming and so kind, and they held this project to be, like, very sacred. They understood my emotional connection to it and understood that this is my baby. They didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t authentic to who I am, and they just took it to the next level,” Jackson says.
Whenasked what her father might think of her music, Jackson demurs.
“I don’t know. I’m not him, so I can’t speak for him. But I hope he would be happy, and I think he would be stoked because I’m happy,” she said.
The pandemic has sidelined most musical acts, and Jackson says she misses hearing her favorite bands live and aspires to play a few shows soon, if COVID-19 measures allow. She said she hopes the music will help people feel “a little less lonely.”
“I found so much healing through creating this. And there are moments where I’ll listen back to certain songs, and I’m like, ‘Wow, Iwas so naive.’ But for the most part, it’s just like somuch gratitude and joy that I get from listening to these songs and just seeing the development and the evolution,” she said.
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