Exclusive Interview with PASCAL SHRADY

Pascal Shrady is a Los Angeles-based truth-seeker, storyteller, and agent of change. He was born to American parents in Cologne, Germany, and began performing music at a young age. As a young adolescent, Pascal understood he wanted to have a significant difference, typically confronting hard issues in his songs but handling them in a lighthearted manner while organizing a music festival with Greenpeace to combat ocean plastic pollution.
Pascal was influenced by musicians like David Bowie and Lady Gaga when he gave his TEDx Talk at the age of 16 and received a scholarship to work in India with a UN-affiliated Charity. After graduating from high school, he attended the Boston Berklee College of Music and the Los Angeles College of Music.

Pascal Shrady’s enthusiasm for pop music has been a constant force throughout his career and has carried him to this point. His debut single “Shit Together” (2023) is an epic American synth-pop drama focused on love, lust, and heartbreak, bi-panic, and discovering one’s sexuality. The artist hopes it will put a smile on people’s faces and help them view life’s difficulties with a grain of salt. Check out the song and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

PASCAL SHRADY: I was born and raised in Cologne, Germany. My parents are American, my dad is half German. English is my first language. I know it sounds complicated, but we would come to the U.S. a lot to visit family, and I always knew California was where I was meant to be, and that I wanted to be an artist.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

PASCAL SHRADY: Yes, I grew up taking piano, and later voice lessons. I also played drums when I was little. After high school I was a voice major at Berklee College of Music in Boston and later a songwriting major at Los Angeles College of Music.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences?

PASCAL SHRADY: My parents are hippies, so when I was little I listened to a lot of the music from their youth. They loved the Beatles. My dad would also play Bob Marley on guitar and I would sing along to it. I remember being about eight years old, standing in an electronics store and hearing “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga playing. It was the first time I was really exposed to contemporary pop music. I made my dad buy me an MP3-Player right there on the spot, so I could get the song— and that’s how it all started!

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

PASCAL SHRADY: I want to make pop music with a purpose. I know my first single is fun and lighthearted, but there’s an important underlying message: Love who you are and embrace your sexuality. Don’t let other people dictate what to do in your life, and don’t let your past mistakes bring you down. If you watch the music video for Shit Together, that is tackled there as well. My next song is going to be about mental health. It’s a topic that’s so important to me, and I hope the song will resonate with a lot of people.

5. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work?

PASCAL SHRADY:

I think music has always played a really important role in driving social and political change. When I think of music being used as a vehicle for good, I think of the protest songs of the Civil Rights era. I love that style of music! Even though I wasn’t alive at that time, I know a lot of the songs, because my parents had them on CDs when I was little. I kind of miss that element of rebellion in today’s Pop music. Especially at the major labels, everything has become about money and the virality of a song. I would love to bring some of that rebel energy back!

6. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

PASCAL SHRADY:

Yes, of course I would like my music to reach as many people as possible, but if a song I wrote helps even one person, then it was all worth it.

7. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

PASCAL SHRADY:

Well, most songs I am releasing at this point in my career, I’ve been the sole writer on. I usually come up with an idea or even just an emotion while I’m in the middle of something else, and then I’ll run to the piano and play what I’m feeling. The words just kind of fall into place, and then I’ll shape them later. I’ve also been a part of some great co-writes, and a few of those songs have been released by other artists. I’m starting to write like that more, and work with different writers and producers!

8. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

PASCAL SHRADY:

I think on a personal level, it was difficult growing up in a place where I was different from everybody else. I was the weird American kid in Germany. Then I came to America, and everyone thought I was the weird German kid, even though I have U.S. citizenship.

I still sometimes struggle with my identity and how I fit in, but all in all I think that makes me more of an interesting individual and a better artist!

9. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

PASCAL SHRADY: When I was 16 I gave a TEDx Talk about volunteering and played two of my songs there. It feels long ago now, but I remember at the time it seemed utterly surreal.

10. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

PASCAL SHRADY: I think that is something that everyone has to ask themselves, even non-musicians: Are you doing it to please other people, or are you doing it, because you are being true to yourself?—I choose the second option.