Mikhael Paskalev: Interview

Some musicians are famous for their depth, the appearance of brooding complexity, and their endlessly layered, mysterious airs. Mikhael Paskalev is famous for the opposite; in fact, a music video of him dancing in his tighty whities is what put him on the map (keep reading if you're curious).

His bluntness, honesty, and simple, easy-going take on his career and his industry are a breath of fresh air. In a world where it is sometimes easier to hide in fear than to take risks and be true to yourself, Mikhael believes in listening to your own instincts and embracing the risk of failure instead of running from it. He is candid, talented, and uncomplicated - or as he puts it, "not very enlightened". (I beg to differ)

With his Bulgarian roots, Norwegian upbringing and Liverpool education, Mikhael is certainly well-rounded and interesting, much like his sound: dynamic, folky and pop-influenced, never quite stopping in one musical niche for long. His first full album, What's Life Without Losers, made its debut in Europe last spring. An EP version, Sayonara Saigon, has just been released in the US, where he is currently touring for a few weeks before going to work on his next album (already!).

His current music tour of North America is a little more official than his previous experiences. "Someone once told me that more than three gigs in a row is a tour," he laughs. "This time it's more extensive." He's also doing it alone, which is not how he usually performs. "You need to just think about things differently. Perform and choose [the songs] differently than you would with a band, just so the message gets across." Having been traveling for several weeks already, he's been surprised by a few things along the way. "The US is reaaally huge. That kind of struck me once I’d been here for a week... it’s very different, in terms of where you’re playing, how many people show up. You can’t just think of it as “Oh, it’s the US - that’s what it is.” There are just so many different things. So far it’s been a great tour, and I hope to come back." And his best crowd so far? Not quite the States, but Canada - Toronto, to be exact. "That was incredible, there were loads of people singing my songs, like they’d been listening to me for years. If I had to pick one place right now it would be Toronto."

Being quite popular in the Scandinavian countries, Australia, and apparently Toronto, Paskalev gets to interact with a lot of different crowds in a lot of different places. "There’s a massive difference between a crowd in Texas and a crowd in Paris. Thank God for that! Even in Europe, it’s weird, - like in Germany, there’s this very weird, off-kilter, very healthy music scene. They buy music and go to shows, but at the same time they don’t seem to care what’s going on in the UK or the US. [That's not very] typical for the rest of Europe, like France, or even like how the US looks to the UK and the UK looks to the US. You never know how you’re going to do in those different places."

In past interviews, Mikhael has talked about his musical principle of sticking to a vision and his gut feeling. When writing a song or coming up with music video ideas, he doesn't compromise - which is probably how he got around to making a music video of him dancing in his jimmies.

He seems to exist outside of the fear of rejection and failure.

"For me it’s really important to have that outlook on things," Mikhael explains. "I’m lucky because I never thought I would be living off music. I knew I wanted to do it, but I went and got an education for three years, a Bachelor's, because I thought it would help me pursue success within music. Because I thought, "Ok, once I’m a failure, I can become a music teacher" - not that being a music teacher is a failure compared to living off music - it's just different. Just like, “I’m going to try to be a musician and it’s alright if I fail, it doesn’t matter.”  I had very low expectations. I was in school and thought I would just do my best, and that’s all I can do - and then I was just kind of lucky. I was doing well. I don’t know, it’s like my gut feeling got me to that first place. A lot of people stop trusting that gut feeling and think other people know better how to make it or how to make your music, but the only reason [someone would be] interested in speaking to you is because you can go with whatever you wanted to do in the first place. For me, that’s very true. I’m not doing this for anyone else but myself. I have to make sure that I can play something and [be proud of it]."

However, even fearlessness and risk-taking alone can't make someone successful in music. You have to be good, too. So what makes a good songwriter?

"When I was younger, I used to think all the symbolism and the poetry involved is what makes a really good lyric. Then I started to get older and started to appreciate someone who is able to tell it like it is. Just kind of not hiding behind a lot of symbolism all the time, because you’re afraid that people will understand that you’re not actually talking about anything. I hear a lot of poetic lyrics and nice words and they might sound nice - which is definitely key, it’s very important - but at the same time it’s often just like, people lacking a sense of just telling it like it is. Just telling a story. "

But he doesn't mean just being genuine...

"You can be genuinely feeling that it’s great to use all the symbolism and the metaphors and all that, but you’re not actually saying anything by the end of it. Some people say it leaves more to the listeners for them to interpret. I have my fair share of songs where I’m just saying rubbish, but the other side of it is me trying to actually be a lyrical songwriter."

Don't be fooled, though - while he's a talented musician, What's Life Without Losers is just as much an exploration and development of his songwriting as it is an embrace of the risk of loser-hood. The subject matter of each track varies, from characters to situations to love to loss. "It’s just me running around, basically - I definitely haven’t found myself as a songwriter or a musician and I hope it will take me a long time before I find that. I think the search is really important and I’m having a good time with that."

So "the search" is important. But a musician can only write so much while on tour - so how does Paskalev balance promoting the work he's already done with creating what's next?

"I try to do everything all the time but I’m not good at it. I write best when I’m home, I’ve watched movies for a couple of days, I’m relaxed, I’m not stressed. That’s when I usually write. When I’m touring, I tour. I can’t get my head around all those things at the the same time because then it’s just taking my focus away. So when I go home in about two weeks I’ll probably do nothing else but write for a month or two, and there might be some more gigs around the corner I’m guessing. It’s seasonal. It’s getting easier and easier - at the beginning you have to say yes to everything and do everything at once. You can’t afford to say no to anything - you can’t afford to say, “no I don’t want to travel to this gig, I’d rather write”, you know what I mean - you just have to go, go, go all the time. Now I’m growing up a little bit. I’m able to follow my own tempo a little bit."

While touring is exciting and a part of life for someone in Mikhael's shoes, it isn't always as glamorous as it seems.

"It sounds like a romantic idea to be writing songs and lyrics on the road, but the truth is, you mostly just don’t. You’re cramped for space. Your legs are hurting. I always felt when I was younger that like, 'Oh, yeah, traveling around, stopping someplace to play my guitar, suddenly I’ve written a song' - that sounds very cinematic. But it’s less true."

And, of course, as a musician trying to promote his work, interviewing with publications and blogs (like Stereofox :)) is a part of the job - whether or not the interview is worth the time. "I never get tired of interviews, that’s just a part of it. I’m flattered that people want to take the time to ask me anything at all, it’s such a cool thing. But when someone asks me, like, “What was it like to dance around in your underwear?” for the millionth time, I just go a bit on autopilot, give the same answer. It’s like trying to reinvent the wheel every time." Almost every interview MIkhael has done within the past year has revolved on his provocative "I Spy" video. Everyone wants to know what he truly was trying to say, as if on some profound level he was making a statement about the music industry or morality. He has learned the delicate art of convincing others that, no, he really just wanted to dance in his skivvies - that's all.

So Mikhael's "I Spy" video represents his past, What's Life Without Losers represents his present, and... his future?

"Well I’m pretty much finished writing [the next album] and we’ve already started recording, demos mostly - I don’t want to pinpoint it too much because it’s going to go through a hundred changes before it’s finished. I have a huge respect and appreciation for good pop songs, so whenever I write something like that it’s because I like pop songs and not because I want to create a hit. It’s pretty much still me doing whatever I want and hopefully the outcome will be alright." [laughs]

If Mikhael can put out an album about embracing the risk of failure and find success, I don't think he has to worry about the outcome of whatever he does next.

Catch Mikhael somewhere in the Midwest as he tours with Communion Club Nights for the next week, before he goes home to work on the next thing for us to enjoy sometime soon!