Who am I? , asks Paula Van Hissenhoven in her two most recent records. And it's no wonder. A step is being made as a soloist in the music industry, one of the most complex because of the number of people who, on a daily basis, dream of being part of it. Paula has not been in this much, in fact, she has worked with renowned musical projects such as Esteman and of historical importance such as the Colombian rock band Aterciopelados, however, she wants to take the spokesperson for her project and take the lead. The singer is releasing the second part of her album Quien soy, the B side, with which she intends to continue building her solo path.
Paula Van Hissenhoven may not be initially recognized by her name, however, the weight of her career make it evident her hard work within Colombian culture. Being called Paula, 'the keyboardist of Velvety, 'does not bother her, on the contrary, it makes her proud. And that is the common presentation that Paula makes in the media that want to refer to her. “It's a nice thing that supports my career. It's part of my identity. Who am I from. Yeah, it's like, Paula? Who is Paula? Oh, yes, the keyboardist from Velvety. It's part of my story. Something that has nourished me. Which has brought me to where I am. I don't want to separate it or make it something totally alien to who I am and what I am doing. On the other hand, I embrace it a lot, in the end, it has been very important in my career”, he began saying in his talk with this portal.
His album is a mix of everything. A questioning of her as a person and as an artist. It is not the same Paula who started with the project who now delivers it finished to the public. She is immensely moved to see how her audience appropriates her songs in ways she didn't even imagine. The A side of 'Who I am' put her in front of the mirror to discover who she was and who she wanted to be in the future, with side B, the transformation of her being has been rethought. “It's seeing how I've evolved, as a person and as an artist. It is to be in a constant discovery of what I am,” he added.
“The most impressive thing is that I was very shy. Allowing me to compose and record these songs, sing them live, facing an audience, has made me get out of that shyness. Identifying it as a part of me and looking for solutions, taking advantage of it to find a new version of me, that was impressive. Nowadays I feel more in person. I'm more appropriate for my music, my identity. I always include my shyness and insecurities, because they are part of who I am,” he explained. And it has been quite a journey through many 'Paulas', now, she says, she listens to songs she did in the past and has no idea how she did it or where the inspiration came from. Even, he says, several of those letters would not even write them now.
Paula studied psychology and music and during that university period she made the soundtrack for the Colombian film Mamá. His beginnings were as a keyboardist and chorus player for Esteman. From there he jumped to the renowned project Aterciopelados, where he continues to date and with whom he won a Latin Grammy in 2018.
In 2020, she released her first album entitled Quién Soy (Side A), composed of eight songs that synthesize the sound of Paula, a mixture of North American alternative pop and the honesty of Latin American indie.
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