The Sound (Paris 2013-2016)

MJ says: “In 2013 I moved from London to Paris - it was a new world, a new future. How was my life going to change in the City of Lights…

I was inspired by music, art, the culture and people in Paris… and it started to show in the music I was writing.

‘The Sound’ was produced in my apartment in the 13th arrondissement, near to Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand and the Seine river. The original bassline heavily featured the ‘POG’ effects pedal I had bought on Rue de Doaui, where all the guitar shops are. It sounded crap, but every time I hear the demo, it puts me back in my living room with my tiny little multimedia speakers and the slowest laptop ever. I had the bare bones for recording and playing - one bass, one guitar, one keyboard. I don’t think I even had a proper microphone…

The song’s lyrics document my perceptions of the city - what I saw, what I felt. They are also a plea - “Don’t let me down, Paris town”.

I made so many friends in my 3 years in France. I learned the language, I made music, I even experimented with veganism in one of the most meat-loving countries in Europe. I think Paris lived up to my expectations…”