Pamela Machala Makes Pop Music for Deeper Listening
/It’s hard to find a balance between pop music and the technicalities of experimental music like jazz and funk. Many artists find themselves unintentionally sacrificing accessibility and strong hooks in the name of making something that’s technically accomplished and challenging. Boulder singer/songwriter Pamala Machala has been aptly striking this balance her entire career, making piano pop flavored by jazz, R&B, and funk without sacrificing a great hook.
“I think a lot about the perfect balance between novelty and repetition,” Machala says. “The songs I want to create, I want to be clear, accessible, and memorable, but I like to think about the more complicated chord changes or a phrase with nine measures or eight measures— things that make it sound like there’s something different operating in the background. I think about it like gourmet mac and cheese— I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, I just want to make a good pop song that has a lot of depth, using a broader palate of ingredients. Using more exotic spices like saffron or turmeric, not just cheese, salt, and pepper.”
I was first turned on to Machala’s music after seeing her playing at a coffee shop in Boulder in 2018. She was primarily playing songs off her 2015 sophomore LP When I Get Home, and her song “Barista” caught my attention. The track features a beat made by sampling the sounds of a coffee shop. “Do you need me like you need your coffee”, Machala crooned on the chorus, aplty finding a new way to say something that’s been said countless times.
On her forthcoming album Something Simple, out October 30th, Machala leans into the same songwriting sensibilities that have informed her since her 2012 debut LP Golden Delicious, but this time she worked with friend and producer Julian Peterson to give Something Simple a fresh sense of eclecticism and groove.
The twelve songs that span Something Simple feature a palette of jazz, R&B, and funk, weaving them into jaunty, personal piano-pop. This is Machala’s most diverse collection of songs so far, with “Cardboard Cutout” drawing influence from indie-folk, incorporating a slide guitar into lush, piano balladry, “You Didn’t Convince Me” shining with impressions of Motown and Otis Redding, “Some Other Night” reminiscent of musical theater, using a rain and thunder sound effect to craft a song as visual as it is musical, and “My Little Green Friend”, calling back to Ben Folds.
“In the past I’ve self-produced with the help of an engineer, but it was great working with Julian [Peterson] on [Something Simple],” Machala says. “We have really similar taste. There’s one show I remember we were co-billing at The Laughing Goat; I remember him saying that my music needs jazz guys that play pop music. He had suggestions for musicians, and production, which really helped bring a lot of groove, R&B, and funk flavors to these songs.”
Machala’s songs wax poetic on everything from love, self-doubt, and personal improvement, to her relationship with her craft. Two of Something Simple’s most powerful songs, “Leave Me Alone” and “Bleeding Me Dry” came out of sadness and despair; the former a heartbreaking waving of the white flag, finally surrendering to the fact that a relationship is over, and the latter written about the inevitable moment and dialogue every artist has with themselves at one time or another: wanting to quit.
“I wrote ‘Bleeding Me Dry’ in 2017 after watching La La Land,” Machala says. “There’s one scene where Emma Stone plans a one-woman show, and the day of the show, only a few people show up. She’s outside talking to Ryan Gosling’s character after the show, and she’s like: ‘I’m done. I can’t do this anymore. It hurts too much.’ That scene hit me like a gut punch, because I’ve had that exact same conversation. I came home from a show where it was just me, the bartender, and my boyfriend, and I had the same thought.”
Machala has no plans of throwing in the towel, but the blatant honesty with which she writes about that moment is refreshingly transparent; she isn’t afraid to be vulnerable through her music.
Machala’s commitment to her craft runs deep. Since COVID-19, she’s taken up teaching music lessons full time; something that used to come second to gigging. She’s also taken on the role of student. This year, she’s been immersing herself in what she calls “Song Study,” a process that involves learning the songwriting and performance techniques of her favorite artists for a month, and writing a song in that style. So far she’s studied Billy Joel, Vulfpeck, Stevie Wonder, and Bridger Kearny and posted the songs to her YouTube channel.
“Most of the time, I’m trying to walk the line between paying homage and being original,” she says. “I want these songs to sound like me, even though they’re directly inspired by my favorite artists. I’m planning to release ‘After All These Years,’ the song I wrote in the style of Vulfpeck, as a single next year.”
The song studies emphasize Machala’s urge to learn and evolve as an artist. There’s always something new to learn, and she doesn’t want to be set in her ways.
“The thing that will keep you going is the music,” Machala says. “I recently did a song study on Bill Withers, and I read an interview with him where he says: ‘Don’t confuse music with the music business. Don’t value your gift to where you measure up to commercial success.’ That’s where we let it get twisted— when commercial success gets in the way of our love of doing the thing.”
Something Simple is out October 30. You can hear the lead single “To Open Yours” now, and Machala is doing a live-album listening party on October 30th at 5PM MDT on Facebook.
All photos per those credited. All videos and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.