Rykarda Parasol’s fifth studio album, Tuesday Morning—her first in over eight years—is arguably much brighter than her previous works. While Parasol, 53, is known for delivering truthful and poignant hymns, a life spent primarily between San Francisco and Paris has taken her through peaks and valleys that are beautifully reflected in her music. Here, she chats about the shift in her ’60s-pop-infused sound, and how she had to lose control to gain back her love of making music.
Where do you feel like you are on your journey as an artist?
In many ways, I feel like I’m starting over, but it feels very different this time. I just create, I do what I do. I share, I collaborate. People dig it? Cool. If they don’t? Cool. Enjoy something else [laughs]. I just feel secure. There was a big pause between my last album and this album. I was going through a lot of stuff, and I had to just sort of buckle down and deal with the stuff and fight my way through it. And, you know, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. So yeah, it feels positive, dare I say. I don’t think that word has always been attached to me.
Where did this moment come from? Do you feel like a switch was flipped during that pause between albums, or was it more of an evolution?
It was an evolution, but there certainly was this moment where I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was somewhere around the third album; I was in a drug counselor’s office with my ex. And there was this moment where the drug counselor literally took me by the shoulders and was like, “You’ve got to chill out. You can’t control everything. You’ve got to accept some things are just beyond your control.” I just needed somebody to say it. I don’t know why it was a real turning point, but I was like, I’ve got to learn to let go. And so there was a sonic change in my work. It was a slow evolution, but I knew I didn’t want to be in a box of darkness. That was never the goal.
As someone who is always listening to her own work, what would you say is the fundamental difference in this new music?
I think it feels free. It just goes where it wants to go. And part of that is…I wasn’t sure I wanted to record a new album. I always knew I would write and see what happens, but I became friends with somebody in Paris, Marc Ottavi, who is a musician and a composer too. Working with somebody else helped me with just the fun of it. You know, collaborating, talking about music in general. It felt very fresh.
What inspired the album title Tuesday Morning?
Well, on the last album, on the opening song, there is a line that says, “On Tuesday morning, where will I be?” I liked answering that question on Tuesday Morning. Where will I be? I guess I’m here now.
