Old Crows Promotions: Interview with Susi Pagel

Facebook isn't all for people baying for attention and spouting off passive aggressive posts aimed at getting a 'DM me BBZ' type response. Sometimes, just sometimes it actually serves you up something special you might not have otherwise heard about. This was the case with Susi Pagel, always on the look out for new music a Facebook post about her new single release was enough for me to click through. 'Yesterday' is a perfect slab of electro pop with heavy Chvrches vibes coming through, it would actually sit perfectly on one of their records. The production is massive, with great beats and Susi's sweet vocals singing of defiance against old wounds. From interviewing Susi I was happy to learn of other releases on a Soundcloud account which are definitely worth checking out as well. Susi has already featured on ATL and is definitely one to watch over the coming year. One of the most exciting artists coming out Belfast.

Enjoy!

Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?

I started writing songs when I was nine because my cousin and me formed a “band”. We were obsessed with Mcfly and wanted to just copy them completely, I think we stole about 20 of their song titles. Before I even touched a guitar, though, I started learning drums for a couple of years but knew I needed something to write with, so moved onto a pink flying V ukulele and eventually got my first guitar when my neighbours couldn’t stand the noise of it anymore.

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

I went through a huge emo phase when I was 12 and you couldn’t see any of my bedroom walls because I properly plastered them in pictures of Black Veil Brides and My Chemical Romance that I’d ripped out of Kerrang. There was quite a lot of Guns N Roses and Rolling Stones on there too, though.
BVB’s Wretched and Divine album was the first record I remember buying with my own money, and I listened to it every day for 2 years. A lot of people didn’t like me in school because of the music I loved, but 7 years later, I stand by this album being pure art!

You just released your debut single ‘Yesterday’ which is amazing, I haven’t stopped playing it. The production is excellent. Can you tell us about how the track came to fruition, the song writing process. I know you worked with someone on the production side of things, how did that come together?

Thank you! I’m so glad you asked me this! I wrote Yesterday a couple of weeks before it was released, in a day. At the time, I was really angry, trying to forget a person so the lyrics flowed really quickly. I had so much to say about it. The chords and lyrics were the easy part, but creating the instrumental was so hard because I did it all on keyboard, which I can’t even play properly!
Yesterday was produced by Jack McGarry. I knew I wanted him to produce it because he’d done another song for me on my soundcloud, called “Backwards”. He blew my mind with it, and Yesterday was somehow even better. I actually can’t talk highly enough of Jack; when I sent him the song it was nothing compared to what was released. He’s a wizard, he took what I gave him, made it so much bigger and somehow created exactly what I envisioned without me even telling him. Yesterday would have been nothing without Jack and I’m going to be pestering him to produce everything I release forever.

Up until ‘Yesterday’ your shows have been you and an acoustic guitar. What made you take the a more electronic approach to ‘Yesterday’ is this a direction you’re going to explore further? I get strong Chrvches vibes from Yesterday is there a chance of that kind of set up live?

I actually posted a song back in 2018 on soundcloud called London and it was all electronic. From then I knew that was the vibe I wanted to keep because I had so much fun doing it. I didn’t start gigging until a year later though, and the first show I was asked to do was acoustic so it just kind of stuck from there. I’ve been trying to gather a potential band for about half a year but I’m currently just trying to work out how to recreate the sound of my songs live. I definitely want people to hear the full effect of my originals, rather than just me and an acoustic!

Can you tell us about what drives you to write songs and what you cover lyrically any themes or topics that run through your work?

I started writing songs that weren’t just Mcfly ripoffs when I was 15. I had a lot of dark stuff happen at once that changed everything around me and I couldn’t talk about it so used writing music to vent. I had to be pulled out of school a year early because of it all so instead of using my time to homeschool myself, I wrote music. Any time I’m writing a song, I think about how I feel and what’s making me feel that way, and the lyrics just flow. I think I’ve written about 50 songs and a lot of them centre around the same 3 or 4 people. Pretty much all of the songs I’ve written include a lyric about 3am, I think that’s because it’s usually the time I’m awake at and writing, it’s when I think about the past or the people I love the most. Yesterday is actually one of the only ones that doesn’t include 3am, I think!

The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

I’d love to shout out any band that’s ever been kind enough to ask me to support them! I think the amount of talent here is insane! Any time I’m playing a gig with local artists, I’m terrified to go on after I hear their sound check! I think definitely some of the bands to watch at the minute are Vale and SX-70, they’ve both got such different sounds that no one else is doing locally. I’d say everyone also needs to keep an eye out for a band called Next Wednesday, who are going to be emerging when all of this is over. If you’ve had the privilege of seeing one of their gigs, you’re lucky, because I think they’ll be huge in the future.

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

I love this but it made me realise how all over the place my music taste is. I’ll go from first to fifth!

My mind Makes Noises, Pale waves.
K-12, Melanie Martinez.
In Utero, Nirvana.
Wretched and Divine, Black veil Brides.
Radio:ACTIVE, Mcfly.