Talking Passions: Laura Lewis Paul

This week on Talking Passions we meet up with the founder of one of Bristol’s most exciting, and fastest growing all-female record labels Saffron Records! It’s a well known fact that the music industry is a predominantly male industry, and after finding out some of the facts for herself, the multi-talented Laura Lewis Paul decided to start a positive change right here in Bristol, empowering one young woman at a time. Adam caught up with her recently for a chat about life and everything Saffron..

Adam Chisman (TP). “As a young girl what did you want to be when you grew up and how did you get to where you are now?”

Laura Lewis Paul (LP). “As a young girl, it was a very different sort of lifestyle I lead I guess.. Giggles.. I was quite rebellious at school, I didn’t necessarily engage with it, and I really wanted to be a lawyer because I just wanted to argue with people, that was my main reason. Laughs. But then my teacher told me that I was too stupid, and that I couldn’t do it, so that was really encouraging. It was probably quite good because I don’t think I would have wanted to be a lawyer really, to study for that amount of time. I guess for me, what I’ve done is.. I’ve done a lot of different jobs I guess, you know, hairdressing, I did a fashion degree course, lots of different things which I think has really helped me to get where I am now. So from school I went and did an art foundation, then did a fashion degree course. Halfway through my fashion degree I realized that I hated fashion, and the fashion industry, and that I didn’t want to do it anymore. But because I hadn’t done all of my GCSE’s at school, so I’d only got like three GCSE’s, I was like, I have to finish it otherwise I’m gonna feel like a failure for the rest of my life, bla bla bla. So I did it, but I did it in a different way. I did it based on the psychology of fashion, and how people are stereotyped by what they wear. And I worked a lot with alcohol and drug users, and did community projects with them, with disposable cameras, things like that. And then from there I guess I really knew that I wanted to go into care and charity work. I found it really difficult working with drug and alcohol users because I felt like.. I went in very enthusiastic, like, OK I can do this, I can change the world, and there wasn’t a lot of change that actually came from it. So I then thought, OK, who can I do that with? And it was youth. I ,then worked for a massive youth organization called ITV Fixers, who work with ITV, and on behalf of ITV News. We would do projects with young people, and then from there we would broadcast the projects after the ITV News. So it showed the positive things that young people were doing, instead of just the negative, which was really good fun. They lost funding, it was very traumatic for me. I was unemployed for ages. That’s probably helped me to get to where I am now, because it was just like.. I can feel peoples pain. Then I started  working with Creative Youth Network, and I launched the old fire-station. It was the old fire-station before, and there was Invisible Circus that were using the building, and then I launched it as a new youth arts center. So I was project manager for 2 1/2 years, and worked with Temple Records, so I set up Temple Records there. I realized that I probably don’t love working for people, I don’t love authority.. laughs.. so I decided to set up my own thing and do it in the way that I wanted to do it.”

TP. “Fantastic. So that ‘own thing’ is Saffron Records, the Bristol based female youth music label. It’s great and you must be very proud. Where did the idea for Saffron Records come from?”

LP. “So when I was working with Temple Records we had a youth steering group, and it was split 50/50, five girls and five boys, not intentionally. And with the girls that we were working with, we would go to Real World Studios on lots of different field trips, and it was very apparent that we going into a very Male-dominant industry. When we were at Real World, I said to the girls, you know, how do you feel about going into this industry, and that it’s very much Male-dominant? They would see the positive, and it was really nice. They were like, Well, we’ll probably get noticed more because we are going into that industry, and as woman minority we’ll get recognized. And my heart really sank, because that’s probably not gonna happen, and that’s not how it goes. I think that was probably where the seed started. Then just doing the research and finding out a lot of the statistics.. watching ‘Miss Representation’.. It’s about women, and how advertising is marketing women, and what we then look to. How we, from the media, then feel we need to fit into that. It was really powerful for me, and I was like, OK, I need to change this, and I need to work with young women. And I love working with young women, it’s something that I’ve always loved. And I guess it’s probably like, you know when you’re a bit of a rebellious child, and you’re like, I just wanna work with them and, not change them, not rescue them, not any of that, but just work with them through that..”

TP. “Because you’ve been there, done it maybe? You can give them another point of view..”

LP. “Exactly, and just open those opportunities up for them really.” Smiles.

TP. “It’s all good stuff, I love it. Well, like you mentioned, you’ve been involved with several other Bristol based youth networks and organizations including the ‘Creative Youth Network’ and Plaster Creative Communications, to deliver a range of opportunities for young women in the Bristol music industry. Can you tell me what you can offer them?”

LP. “Yeah, so we have two apprentices that work for the organization. One of them goes to Plaster Creative Communications one day a week.. I guess it’s being able to offer the opportunity to work within a small label, but also a big PR agency, so that she’s getting a really well rounded version of the industry and how it works, and again, opening those opportunities up for her as an apprentice. And in that young age where I think there does need to be a lot of exploration, and not being too bogged down with, ‘This is my career, this is what I need to go with’, and all of that. So we have apprenticeships, and then we have our recording contracts. Recording contracts we offer out to 16-24yr old women with a complete range of genres. So signed to the label we’ve got China Bowls, whose kind of neo-soul jazzy, Azadi, whose alternative r&b, and then Lauren Martin whose hip hop. I think that’s something that’s really great for us, because we can market them all in very different ways because they’re all so different. It’s giving us a real diversity in what it is that we’re putting out. Then we’ve got our schools program where take DJ’ing, MC’ing and music production into a school setting, where young girls feel safe and feel like they wanna learn. It’s fun.. well, school may not be fun, but this bit is fun. Laughs. So we take that in there, and that’s really to encourage girls to do more tech-based music, which is really good. And then we’ve got our open mic nights, which we work with Temple Records on, and that’s really about creating collaborative creativity, so that young musicians can collaborate with each other, and just creates a bit of a scene for them.”

TP. “Amazing. So the monthly 16+ open mic night is at No.51 Stokes Croft alongside Temple Records. Can you tell me a bit about how the open mic came about and why it’s important for young people to get the chance to play in that environment?”

LP. “It came about because I feel that it’s really important for young people to be able to play out, and in a professional setting. Because often at that age, they can have a lot in them and they just don’t have those opportunities. I think, to offer it out to 16yr old’s to come and play in that setting is really important, because it can just get them on that ladder. But also, again, it’s about that community.. I think record labels, managers, industry, can be very inaccessible, and we really want to open up that accessibility for young people so that they knew where to go. You know, they can come, they can have an informal chat, they can perform. So it’s just a really chilled and relaxed atmosphere that we’ve got there.”

TP. “I’ve been and it’s very nice. Can you tell me about your proudest moment with Saffron so far? I’m sure there’s been a lot.”

LP. “There has been a lot yeah. I guess the start of it, the launch, that was probably the proudest. Because I’d been talking about it for so long, and saying I’m setting up my business, and all of that. But actually then when you set it up and it’s like, Oh, I can’t say that anymore. Smiles. So that was a really proud moment. But then from the launch.. sorry, I’ll just do two.. Laughs.. it was then when we had one of our live Saffron Sessions with China bowls, and just looking round, we’ve got the film crew, we’ve got someone doing illustrations of her performing, and this real creative vibe in Mr Wolf’s, and it was just.. yeah, beautiful.”

TP. “Aw nice. Do you feel like Mother Hen with your little chicks?” Laughs.

LP. “Yeah I do.. my little chicks.” Laughs.

TP. “Amazing. Now you are quite an inspirational character in the Bristol scene and I’ve heard nothing but praise when your names come up, but who do you look to for inspiration when times get tough and you’ve ran out of tea bags?”

LP. “It’s so cheesy but it’s my Mum. There are definitely other people, but if I’m really true then it is my Mum. She’s a yoga teacher, she’s really calm, she just knows me so well, and I think, you know, she brought us up, a single parent, but really fulfilling her dreams. And she’s just supported me every step of the way, in every decision, not just Saffron, every big decision that I’ve had to make. She just accepts me for who I am, and I think, from that, it means that you can explore, you can do what you need to do. You haven’t got that restriction of, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve got to have loads of money, I’ve gotta be this, I’ve gotta be that’, she’s just very forgiving of what it is that I need to do. She inspires me as to how I want to be with the musicians I work with, the apprentices, with everyone that I come into contact with, and what Saffron is about so.. But then I’ve got really lush mentors as well, like Abby who sits there. We recorded the interview in Saffron HQ. She’s amazing, she’s just there for me, and we really bounce off each other. I’ve just got lush mentors and people around me..”

TP. “A good peer group, and just Bristol..”

LP. “Yeah exactly, Bristol’s a support network, that’s the inspiration. Because I think it would be so hard to be able to do this anywhere else, because Bristol is that support network that can hold what you want to do, and help you get to what you want to do, in terms of collaboration, community, being able to just chat to someone and be like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s do a project?’ It’s very.. lush!” Laughs.

TP. Laughing. “Yeah, people really do want to get involved if they like the sound of your idea, and what you’re about.. it’s really nice. Well finally Laura, what do you have in store for us over the next few months?”

LP. “So we’re off to Palestine.. Laughs.. I know, it’s not even little. We’re going to Palestine in August, so that’s again to work with vulnerable communities creatively. We’re going out there, Me, the apprentices, and the artists. We’re gonna be doing workshops out there, there’s a festival called ‘Bet Lehem’, not Bethlehem, ‘Bet Lehem’, so we’ll have some performances there. Apparently they’ve got a really good pop-up hip hop scene, which is pretty cool, so we’ll get involved in that. But yeah, I guess it’s just about sharing those cultural stories and getting inspiration for what our artists write about. So that’s one thing, that’s Palestine. Then we’ve also got a release for China Bowls coming out. I can’t tell you the exact date, but very soon. So we’re doing music videos, Saffron Session videos, everything at the moment, so we’re in full girl power mode. And then we’ve got a gig on the 18th of September which is Bellatrix, and then China supporting, with Eva Lazarus and the Afro-naughts, and that’s at the Lantern in Colston Hall.”

If you’d like to get in touch with Laura or any of the Saffron Records artists you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at the website www.saffronrecords.co.uk

Words: Adam Chisman (Talking Passions)

Pictures: Saffron Records

Here’s a feature on Bristol24/7 called Talking Passions. It’s a Bristol-based interview series that hopes to inspire your creative side by interviewing passionate individuals in Bristol’s arts and music scenes. The driving force behind the series is a belief that within each of us is a creative soul with untold capabilities. It’s not always easy to follow your dreams, to believe in yourself and try to make it work, and it should be celebrated!

Started by local journalist Adam Chisman, and with links to various Collectives in the city including Liquifyah, The Coconut Collective, as well as Irish online magazine Ceol Caint, Talking Passions comes in two weekly parts, with brand new written interviews on talkingpassions.com and Bristol24/7 and audio interviews on BCFM’s The Bristol Music Show and Soundcloud.

Be sure to check out Talking Passions on Facebook and Twitter @PassionsTalking to keep up to date with the latest interviews, and email talkingpassions@hotmail.com or use the hashtag #talkingpassions if you’d like to know more or recommend someone for a future interview. You can also become a patron and sponsor Talking Passions at www.patreon.com/talkingpassions