A San Francisco, California native, Parasol currently splits her time between her home town and Paris, France. She is the product of Swedish mum and Israeli father, a Holocaust survivor. Parasol has been performing for a decade and has written and self-produced two highly acclaimed albums, which have both been self-released in the USA.
Third Album April 2013
In May 2011, Parasol was in need of a change of scenery. She set out to Tel Aviv, Israel, then arrived in Paris, France one month later. For most of 2011 and 2012, Parasol called the French capital her second home. It was there that she wrote, studied, and recharged. The sojourn proved to be creatively fruitful. With jaunts home to San Francisco here and there, Parasol began to piece together her third album. During this time she continued to perform specifically in Poland, Austria, and Holland.
Initially a private pursuit, Parasol played most of the instruments and layered the vocals with an acoustic album in mind. While further production actually followed, the tone had been stated. There are no electric guitars and bass makes few appearances. What is present however, is the scope of Parasol’s vocal palette where her talent for her own rich harmonies and backing vocals act as Greek chorus to her drama.
Previous recordings compared her gender bending voice and poetic writing to the likes of Nick Cave, Lou Reed, and even William Faulkner and Christina Rossetti. And yet, while some of the darkness is ever present, Parasol surely proves to us this time around the breadth of her talents. “Against the Sun” owes some of its influence to classic American soul and French pop. Like her prior work, Parasol begins with a personal tale and story-writing.
Thematically, the songs touch upon isolation, independence, and autonomous travel both physically and intellectually in various forms. “Parasol” loosely translated from Latin means “Against the sun”. An amusing irony for Parasol herself, who seems at times find herself much like the parasol object itself: Moving about in the world while concealing the body from worldly burn.
Heart & Soul Featuring Rykarda Parasol
Parasol also moonlighted as guest front-woman for acclaimed Polish indie band, “Heart & Soul Featuring Rykarda Parasol”. Sponsored by renowned Warsaw-based national culture organization,The Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM) a collaboration between Heart & Soul and Rykarda Parasol began in Lodz, Poland 2011. The band, Heart & Soul, is in fact, a super group of sorts highlighting members of some of Poland’s most noteworthy indie and cold-wave bands, which includes members of Agressiva 69, Made In Poland, Cool Kids of Death, and L. Stadt. The 2012 EP is a result of their writing and recording collaboration.
