INTERVIEW: Paige releases her debut album 'King Clown': "Nobody’s a perfect person and it’s good to embrace and acknowledge the darker sides of yourself as well as celebrate the good"

The music from New Zealand’s Paige has always suggested she is a very special artist ever since her first release back in 2017.

Last week she released her remarkable debut album King Clown which in many ways sees the arrival of Paige as a fully formed artist, full of confidence and assuredness that sees her poised for the most successful period in her career to date.

The album showcases Paige’s versatility with the 12 tracks crossing a variety of genres, from pared back ballads to electronic pop tracks. First single ‘I Hope You Knew’ opens the album, still as beautiful as ever with its gentle electronica crossed with indie soundscape and pensive lyrics as Paige looks back at a relationship that ended and questions if she could have handled things better.

It is followed by latest single ‘Carousel’, with its jittery electronic beat, unconventional rhythm and gorgeous vocals it is mesmerising as Paige sings of a troubled relationship that feels like it just goes round and round without any resolution.

‘World’s Too Big’ is a dreamy, pop-indie-folk gem, which wraps itself around you like a warm hug and even though the lyrics speak of separation and yearning to be with that special one person when you are away from each other -“We get time / But we don’t get enough” - it leaves you with a overwhelming sense of love. ‘Bitch Boy’ is a album highlight, with its funky beat which mixes dance pop, R&B and hip hop with touches of jazz thrown in, Paige is combative as she confronts someone who has done her wrong and throws it back at them with how good her life now is “Don’t it look good how I’m living? / Your bitch boy made you miss it.” It is a glorious track that is made all the more better for being so out of the box compared to what we have heard from Paige before.

‘Another Day’ is a delicious electro-synth-pop song with beautiful melodies, it is followed by the final two tracks on the album which slow things down as the journey ends. ‘Fall Around Me’ is a pared back guitar ballad which explores the anxiety of feeling you aren’t good enough for the one you love. “Say you love me, say we’ll figure it out / And I’ll try not to doubt it.” ‘Sunflower’, a reworked version of a song from her 20176 debut EP, follows in a similar sonic vein, an even more minimal soundscape with little more than guitar, finger clicks and Paige’s emotive voice. Lyrically it ends on a note of hope: “There’s a sunflower inside of you / You gotta find it and I know that’s hard to do…you can grow if you say you’re beautiful in front of the mirror tomorrow.”

King Clown is a beautiful album that you are going to cherish. It is everything you have always loved about Paige, but heightened and with more facets of her creativity exposed with every song. It is not music that loudly screams its appeal - which is a good thing - but it will still capture your full attention within seconds. Paige seems to better herself with every release and King Clown is an impressive debut collection that confirms her status as a potential future superstar. We recently caught up with her to chat more about the creation of the album.

Hi Paige! It’s great to chat to you again. You’ve just released your debut album King Clown, congratulations it is beautiful! How does it feel to have it out in the world?
Feels so good! Such a relief to have it out after holding onto it for so long and I’m so excited to see what people think of it!

You have said the album is about the human condition, the thin line between good and evil and a journey of self-improvement. Incredible themes, can you talk to me a bit more about these inspirations behind the album and the message you wanted to get across?
Thank you! I guess I really just wanted to get the message across that nobody’s a perfect person and it’s good to embrace and acknowledge the darker sides of yourself as well as celebrate the good! I got inspired by past relationships and my journey as a growing person.

Alongside the album you’ve released the single ‘Carousel’. It’s got this really great sound, a rhythm that is a bit left of centre, gorgeous vocals and an electronic pop sound that also sounds a bit dark and grimy. Tell me all about this track, because it is fabulous.
Thank you so much! I’m so proud of this one. I started the production on this song during lockdown in 2021 and got inspired by carnival sounds. I guess I wrote it in the perspective of myself being the needy villain in a relationship. I imagined myself as a scary clown which was such a fun way to write. I took my production to Simon Gooding who added some cool sounds and then Josh Fountain added some cool creative carnival sounds.

The video for ‘Carousel’ is also amazing, what was it like to make?
So hectic! We shot this very last minute after arriving in Auckland from Korea after our original director pulled out of the shoot. My boyfriend Luke Penney really helped me out and pulled an AMAZING team together and it turned out to be so fun! Being pulled around on a harness and learning to run on a rotating platform was so fun haha

I also want to know all about ‘Bitch Boy’ which I think has to be one of the highlights of the album - a vicious beat and incredible lyrics. What’s the story behind this one?
Thank you so much! Funnily enough this song is the most personal song on the album. I wrote it at a time of anger towards a pretty hard situation in my life and it brought a lot of light to the situation. I let myself lean into a darker side of myself which was fun! And I wrote and produced this with my band members which was so, so fun.

Your music has this incredibly special feel to it, it is warm and moving and never fails to really connect deeply with the listener and get us in the feels. You have the ability to do that whatever genre your songs are in, whether a pared back ballad or a more uptempo pop track. It is a broad question, but what do you want your music to represent when it goes out in the world?
That’s such a beautiful compliment thank you so much! Honestly I think I just want it to remind people to be gentle with themselves and to connect with themselves more.

Staying with your musical sound, there is such a cross section of sonics on King Clown and perhaps I’m projecting, but to me on this album you just sound so assured and supremely confident in your artistry. How do you feel you have evolved as an artist, from your first release in 2017 through to your debut album?
Oh wow thank you! I definitely think as time has gone on I’ve just gotten more confident in my ideas and my creative decisions after learning more about production and chords and songwriting which has made me so excited to make music. I think my excitement must come off as confidence haha.

You are going to be touring Australia at the end of October, how is everything coming together for that and can you gives us any hints on what will be in the show?
Yes! It’s coming together great! I think I just can’t wait to meet everyone and have wholesome vibes! With a little bit of a banger playing in between the wholesome vibes.

A debut album is such a special moment in an artist’s career, what would young Paige be thinking if she could see this moment?!
I think she’d definitely be so excited, probably questioning “how did that happen?” and it excites me knowing that younger Paige and her excitement towards her dreams of being a musician made the album happen.

We’ve got King Clown out now and an Australian tour around the corner, what do you have on the agenda for the rest of the year and into 2024?
I’m planning to do some shows in NZ and finish writing the next album! The work never stops.

King Clown is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Paige you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.