Pearl De Luna’s new project is titled La Rêverie, a French word that translates to daydreaming. The collection of songs is about the dark and light side of drifting into untethered imaginings; are they enjoyable visions of possible futures or wasted minutes of introspective fantasy. Franco-Jamaican but raised mostly in London, self-taught painter and musician Pearl was drawn to the multiple connotations of the word.

Pearl’s figurative dream-logical paintings about black experience create an illuminating extension to her songwriting. Her music is a kind of Symbolist British soul with underground US hip hop accenting and jazz styling. In 2019 she was a featured artist on former Standing On The Corner producer Slauson Malone’s LP A Quiet Farwell, 2016 - 2018 (Crater Speak) and Brooklyn raised London-based rapper Goya Gumbani’s single Valley of Def. He repays the favour with an appearance on La Rêverie. Pearl’s uniquely visual music was also influenced by her father; the photographer Dennis Morris. A pioneer renowned for epochal documentation of the black British experience as well as world famous pictures of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols. He even designed PiL’s Metal Box.

Pearl’s EP opens in a nebulous haze with Intro before dropping into the most melodic cut Cadillac Cruisin’. Starting with a sample of a 50s TV advert the track is a spiritual echo to Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. Tears Of A Man has a g-funk structure, with a Neneh Cherry-esque message; “it speaks of not letting society or someone else’s expectation hold you back and distract you from what really matters, turning your focus towards the wrong things”. Feels Like The World is a torch song about when it feels like the world is closing in on you. Ancien Amour (translation Old Love) continues the blue theme, Pearl singing in her mother tongue of French. Counting Clouds and SummaTime are dream spaces, the later feeling like an oblique interpolation of Ella Fitzgerald’s definitive recording of the Gershwin’s jazz standard. Pearl uses the mood to lament “how cold the winter hits when you have to face reality”. The EP’ outro’s is the unsettling overdriven organ chord cycles of Outro (la Rêverie). Like pulling your gaze away from a fantastical surreal painting and snapping back to reality, the rêverie ends.

Pearl sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

Growing up I was always surrounded by music, with both my parents being creatives, my mum an art curator and my dad, Dennis Morris a photographer who worked a lot with musicians as well as being in one of the first black punk bands that went on to inspire the likes of Bad Brains. So creativity was always around me and encouraged. I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else, from the moment I could verbally express my ambitions, it was always music for me…

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

I’m hugely inspired by music from the 60’s/70’s especially where the Jazz and Funk movements got more experimental and psychedelic. Artists like Eddie Hazel, Eddie Harris, Herbie Hancock. So for that reason it would be an absolute dream to be able to work with the likes of Herbie Hanccock or George Clinton. If Eddie Hazel and Eddie Harris were still alive I think my dream collaboration would’ve consisted of Eddie Hazel on the guitar going crazy while George Clinton is talking his parliament fukadelic words of wisdom as Eddie Harris would be riffing on his electronic sax! But on a more realistic front I would love the opportunity to be able to work with some of the more recent artists that I feel draw from some of the same references. Artists like Andre 3000 who even though is seen primarily as a hip hop artist, you can hear the funk and dub influences in some of his records. Records like SpottieOttieDopalicious which is one of my favourites! Kendrick Lamar who also has heavily collaborated with both Herbie and George Clinton and I’d also really love to be able to work with Thundercat who I’ve been a fan of from his very first project and have loved a lot of his collaborations as well!

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

My EP La reverie is dropping Friday 25th March, which I’m really excited about! I’d been spending a lot of time going between London and LA when making this. Two places on the opposite side of the spectrum but still two places a lot of people aspire to succeed in. Having been raised in London I quickly fell under the guise of LA’s charm and found myself constantly wanting to escape there. In a way it became my Rêverie. It’s easy to fall for the view of LA through rose tinted glasses and I wanted to play on the idea of the grass always being greener on the other side, but what happens when you finally make it there does it still look greener or is it easier to dream of a place from a far?

4. How would you describe your sound?

Sonically, I would love to think of my music as an almagamation of all the different sounds that inspired me growing up as I always had such a variety of music being played around me and I still listen to such a mix. But beyond that Ive never really been confined by the lines drawn between the different genres of music but just drawn to whatever could transport me or submerse me in its own world. How artists like Sun Ra was able to manifest his own universe that no matter what medium he used, whether it be through his music or even film he was able to take you with him and for a moment in time escape to an alternate reality. I’d love to think of my music as a portal to a universe I’ve created through my music and art all in synchronicity.

 5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

My proudest moment would probably be the release of my first project. It was so special to be able to for the first time envision and manifest something from being no more than just an idea in your mind into a reality and having been involved in literally every element of it from the production, to the visuals. I really wanted that project to be completely and unapologetically un-compromised by the influence or ideas of what type of artist others expected me to be.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Not to limit yourself by the genres or expectations others may have of you. Theres an infinite amount of different worlds within music there to explore and I think a lot of the time people try to confine your music to a box that can easily be broken down and digested but I think you can create something far more interesting when you open your mind to the vastness of possibilities.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

I really love the artist Sola, who recently released her project ‘Feels like a war’. She has such a unique and honest sound and I really admire the fact that she produces all of her own music as I don’t think there are enough female producers! The artist Slauson Malone who I was lucky enough to collaborate with on his project ‘A Quiet Farewell’, is someone I’m always so intrigued to see where his music and art is going to take him next and I’ve been really excited to see the rise of Goya Gumbani, another artist I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with on a few things including an interlude where I’m singing in french, on my new project. he’s one of my favourite rappers right now and have always really appreciated the poetry through his penmanship.

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

I’ve been really into Pink Siifu’s latest project ‘Gumbo’ and love how varied the project is. I’m really excited to see what he’s got coming next!

I also came across this band Blue Magic a little while back and fell in love with their self titled 1974 album and its been my go to record for those rainy days or lazy sunday mornings ever since. And I recently revisited and re fell in love with Sa Ra’s album ‘Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love’. I used to play their first album ‘Hollywood Recordings’ all the time back when I first heard their music but more recently have found myself gravitating towards their second album. I really love when you give a record a bit of space and then when you rediscover it, it’s almost like listening to it for the first time all over again!

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

I started painting around 5 years ago and i’ve really loved being able to have another creative outlet or language as a form of a expression. I would love to, in time explore animation as well and be able to completely merge the two worlds creating a more vivid visual translation to where I hope to transport you with my music and experimenting with different types of animations for some of my music.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

A pen and pad to write. I’ve been trying to write more when in the studio rather than use a phone as I find it easier to create a picture or story through the act of actually physically writing down my ideas. I’m also really big on having visuals and lighting set the scene and tone for a session. I think maybe something I picked up from my dad as he always watches films or interesting visuals while listening to music as the backdrop. Last thing would be either incense or candles, I’ve always just been really into the idea of fully immersing yourself through all the senses and trying to recapture that through what we make.