A Conversation with Singer-Songwriter Doe Paoro
Creating new music experiences, Sound Healing circles, Kundalini Yoga and her new single Universe Promises.
Photo Courtesy: Doe Paoro.
Universe Promises is the new single by singer-songwriter Sonia Kreitzer artistically known as Doe Paoro. Her new song couldn’t have come out at a better time, even though it wasn’t planned. After listening to the lyrics of her song, waking up so many emotions within, I reached out to talk to her about her new music and the uncertainty we are all facing at the moment.
Born in a small town in Upstate New York, Doe never imagined she could make a career out of music. She is a self-taught musician and her only proper training has been in Tibetan Opera — but more of that later. Most of the women in her family are artists, so she figured out she would go down the same path, went to college and majored as a VA. When she graduated, she realized her passion laid in music, so she put together a band with some of her friends. Her major music influences range from Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley to Lauren Hill.
After several hits and misses she was ready to let go of her dream of becoming a musician, so got a one way ticket to India to get her YTT ( Yoga Teacher Training). “When I was in India, I released the idea of doing music into the Ganges, it was this whole ritual of letting things go. Immediately after my voice opened up, it all started unveiling and I had never felt closer to music than I did at that time; which proves that once you let go of things they start happening. Whatever is meant to be, will always be”. - She says.
Her personal story resonates with the lyrics of her song, so I had to ask the reason behind it. “I wrote it a year ago because so many things in my life were coming undone. I was signed by a record label and they decided they didn’t want to carry me as one of their artists anymore. I was also going through a breakup and even with all of it happening, I was thinking - how am I not losing it? - and realized I had the chance to be independent and knew deep down that something better would come along”. She says.
Photo Courtesy: Doe Paoro.
This newfound independence means Doe can actually focus on creating music experiences that resonate with her. “There are so many things I don’t like about the music industry, there needs to be a systematic change. Being an independent artist, means I have the freedom to create something pure”. Doe explains.
“I love music and it saved my life, but I want something else from it. I am creating these alternative music experiences where I play sound healing music, so when I go back to play the clubs, I can hold face different.” She says, as we discuss the irony of music being such a healing tool but always associated with self-destructing behaviors like drugs and alcohol. “You could write a whole essay on that!” She jokes. “But I think it’s so human to have that kind of contradiction in us.”
Her alternative music experiences are linked to sound healing circles, which she learned from her travels in India and Peru. “I am very privileged that I get to travel the world, feel inspired by seeing how people live and then, do healing work through music”. She says. “Sound healing is such a big part of my life; it is now inseparable from what I do. Even on a vocal level, my voice started to change and vibrate differently, so it is all linked”. She explains.
Despite knowing things always unfold the way they are meant to be, this time of uncertainty has been challenging for Doe when it comes to creativity. “There is so much happening, and I am not really sure what to say yet. There is so much to take apart from all of this and so much going on I don’t even know where to start”. She explains. However, she has been feeling inspired towards Kundalini Yoga. “It is the yoga of awakening and no bullshit”. She says. “I don’t know if you are familiar with it, but it has to do with the age of Aquarius, and it has to do with the truth coming out”. She explains.
This inevitable leads us to discuss the political situation in the USA at the moment. “The one good thing about Trump is that he is exposing ignorance and the systematic injustice. Anyone born in this lifetime is going to spend the majority of their time undoing the damage he made us aware was in place: racism, misogyny, environmental issues, etc.” Doe states.
Despite everything happening and the uncertainty of things, Doe trusts the guidance within when it comes to lyric writing, coming up with melodies, and expressing herself whether it is in sound, color or any other medium.
So, what’s next for you? “It is so hard to plan right now and I am keeping my own expectations at bay because who knows when this is going to lift up, but I plan on releasing an independent record which I am slowly writing and producing alongside Cat Power’s and Elliot Smith’s producer. I am hoping to finish it by the end of the year and hold spaces in sound healing”. She says.