FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN — is one of life’s constants. Becoming a parent, doing your taxes for the first time, and eating a Jack in the Box taco all play a part in testing your will and unraveling what it means to be human. Taking a leap of faith is never easy, but it radically pushes growth (as does reflecting on old behavior). 17-year-old singer-songwriter Anabella Paige faces mystery head-on and without fear, but she also doesn’t mind looking in the rearview mirror. What’s bold, new movement without checking what’s behind you?
Paige is fresh off her first tour opening for ROSIE, a nine-show East Coast trek. In the twilight of her high school career, she’s primed to make some serious waves. Her second single, “This I Miss,” features the layered strings and precise piano keys of “A Prayer” by The O’Jays. Paige’s vocal tones sway from speeding raindrops down a deep lake, drifting away like a fluttering feather.
Read below as Luna chats with the singer-songwriter about her inspirations, “This I Miss,” and what her songwriting process is like.
Photo by Sophie Hur
LUNA: Are you attending school at the moment?
PAIGE: Yeah, I’m attending a school called PCS [Professional Children’s School]. I love it. It’s perfect for what I’m doing because it allowed me to tour in the middle of finals week. I don’t know any other school that would be that lenient or helpful.
LUNA: We’ll get into your touring experience in a minute, but touring mirrors your grade school experience quite a bit.
PAIGE: It was a lot of movement. I was born in South Carolina before moving to Washington, D.C. From there I moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Main Line, PA and then to New York. Nine different schools along the way.
LUNA: What were the circumstances? How did that affect your childhood?
PAIGE: My parents’ jobs always required us to move. I was always thankful for the different experiences because it made me into a person that’s loved change. Whenever things stay the same for too long, I tend to search for something different. That part of me has remained the one constant.
LUNA: What did you grow up listening to? Also equally important, what did your parents listen to?
PAIGE: There was a lot of James Taylor, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra. My dad was also a Deadhead, so it was just a huge assortment. As for me, there wasn’t anything that really shaped my taste. It wasn’t so much listening to that music but loving new music that samples it.
LUNA: No awkward phases during middle school?
PAIGE: I had a country phase. It was short-lived, but it was there. I was really into pop as well, but I tend to associate specific songs with the stages of my life.
LUNA: There’s a lot of singer-songwriter influence in your early days. What was your relationship with singing like?
PAIGE: I’ve always loved to sing but I did a lot of choir, which I absolutely hated. I remember driving to choir practice one time and jumping out of the moving car. Later on, I entered this IMTA [International Modeling and Talent Association] singing competition where I’d sing in front of a panel of music executives. They’d select people they like and record in a studio.
LUNA: Do you remember that performance?
PAIGE: I do. This woman asked me to sing any song just then and there, and I ended up singing “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder.
LUNA: So they picked you, and what was your first studio sesh like?
PAIGE: When I first stepped foot into a studio, I fell in love with the construction of music. The aspect of physically building a song from a foundation excited me. It made me realize I didn’t have to only sing — I could use my artistic skills and innovation to make this hobby a business. I wrote three songs when I was there … I was fourteen. My first single, “Bandage,” was released back in April, and it sounds a lot different now.
LUNA: Let’s talk about your new single, “This I Miss.”
PAIGE: I’ve always been really drawn to samples and was talking to my producer and co-writer, Henry Bloomfield. We started looking at all the available songs to sample and stumbled upon “A Prayer” by the O’Jays. We picked parts of the song that we loved and I picked out two words: “spirit” and “heavenly.” We constructed the song around those two words.
LUNA: “This I Miss” alludes to a relationship. Was it based on personal experience?
PAIGE: I was anticipating the end of a relationship, but I decided to think of it in a new way. It doesn’t have to be this world-ending experience, but rather an end that you can look fondly back on. It was great for what it was and it served a purpose and time in my life. I wanted to capture that sentiment.
LUNA: What was this song’s songwriting process?
PAIGE: I was out at my very parents’ secluded, middle-of-nowhere house in Connecticut. I was listening to the track repeatedly and I kept those two words in mind. I wanted my melody to weave in and out of the track, not just laid on top of the draft. Then I imagined how to capture a heavenly relationship, or a heavenly life in general. If it wasn’t for this sample, I probably wouldn’t have gone to those places or used those words.
LUNA: I was blown away because I thought, “What does this teenager know about the O’Jays? I barely know about the O’Jays,” but I loved the way you and Henry incorporated the instrumentation from the original. There’s a lot of talk about lazy pop music samples lately.
PAIGE: Yeah, sampling is maybe seen as a little controversial nowadays. I think it’s an exciting way to introduce current audiences to old artists. The beauty of music is that we can use and reinvent things we’ve heard before.
LUNA: Are you tired of people telling you that you’re wise beyond your age? I have to keep checking my notes to remind myself that you are still seventeen.
PAIGE: Tired of it? I think it’s pretty flattering and interesting, but I’m never really quite sure how to respond. I can’t say I’m tired of it, but I hope it fuels some of my writing.
