rykarda parasol

For those familiar with Rykarda Parasol’s music, know her semi-autobiographical tales have steadily progressed from the dark to light while still maintaining Parasol’s darkly-tinged voice and subdued off-center style.

Parasol began playing music in her hometown of San Francisco yet soon began performing to a wider audience particularly in Europe. After her fourth album, she went on hiatus, moved to Paris, France, where she continued writing songs and collaborating.

Parasol released her fifth album, “Tuesday Morning”, October 24th 2023. The album captures the cool shadowy chic of the Velvet Underground while offering up an elegant bent on psych and mid-60s styled pop like Jacques Dutronc or Nancy Sinatra. The album also features a French cover song of Zouzou’s “Ne Cherche Pas'“. Known too for her self-made emblematic cover art, Parasol suggests a very different take on things than her earlier work. “Tuesday Morning” was produced by Parasol and recorded primarily in San Francisco with her long-time engineer/bassist, Mark Pistel (Consolidated / Meat Beat Manifesto) with added writing and production in Paris, France with Marc Ottavi. “Tuesday Morning” also features keyboardist Marc Capelle (American Music Club) throughout as well as drummer, Danny Luehring whom has appeared with her onstage as well as her last three albums.

Currently, “Tuesday Morning” is a self-release with Parasol acting as the sole distributor. And though that poses some challenges for those seeking vinyl, she encourages her audience to stream or download. It’s really about sharing the music! That said, the pink vinyl can be obtained through her Bandcamp and a few select shops in California.

Born and raised in and around San Francisco, along the way, Ms. Parasol has also lived in Los Angeles, Austin-Texas, and more recently, Paris-France – which continues to be her part-time home.

Parasol’s last two albums were both released on Warner, PL as well as several smaller labels within Europe. From 2013-1019, Parasol was primarily based in Paris, yet had formed a live band in Warsaw whom she toured throughout Europe including the Heineken Open’er Festival and Vienna Waves.

Parasol and her SF-based band (Also featuring Mark Pistel and Danny Luehring as well as Roger Rocha and Michael Shaw) perform in the San Fran area – and her Warsaw-based band also too hope to perform in Europe in 2024 (stay tuned).

In April 2023, Parasol also released a remix by Mark Pistel via Emergency Hearts Records of “Valborg’s Eve” and signed with Cézame Sync Agency, Paris, France. Writing and recording for other remixes and releases are already underway for 2024 and 2025.

Words and images: You’ll find that Mme. Parasol is also a visual artist and hobby poet who creates her own far-out emblematic album art and other visuals, like the paper doll, with paint, pen, and computer. She’s currently working on a collection of short stories for later publication. Stay tuned!