Polly Paulusma

Polly Paulusma released her debut 'Scissors In My Pocket' on Bjork's label One Little Independent to critical acclaim in 2004, supporting Bob Dylan and Coldplay as the album’s reputation grew.

She subsequently released four studio albums and four sister-albums, scored a film soundtrack, founded a record label (Wild Sound) which has supported the work of nine other indie-folk artists, and produced records by other artists such as Harry Harris, Stylusboy and Mortal Tides. She has done a PhD on Angela Carter's folk singing (published by Bloomsbury) which her fourth album 'Invisible Music: folk songs that influenced Angela Carter' renders in musical terms.

Her fifth album 'The Pivot On Which The World Turns' (2022) and its sister-album (2023) began developing a new style that incorporated spoken-word and song as one unit, leading to her extraordinary sixth studio album 'Wildfires', produced by the legendary Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Laura Marling, Ray Lamontagne), which brings this to fruition. ‘Wildfires’ will be released in spring 2025.

Paulusma teaches songwriting and poetry for Cambridge University and songwriting for the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, where she is Associate Professor of Song and Literature.


About 'Pivot' (2022)

“the work of a master songsmith” — UK Folk Radio 2022

“quite possibly her best album” — Shire Folk 2022

“an immense heartbeat with an eternal pulse […] recall[s] the blanketed starlit texture of Nick Drake’s warm ‘Northern Sky’ with a bit of John Martyn’s ‘Spencer The Rover’ in its melodic soul” — folking.com 2022

About 'Invisible Music' (2021):

The Guardian/Observer **** 'a vibrant, insightful tribute'
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show 'intoxicating... an impressive album that really deserves to be heard'
Shire Folk 'one of the landmark releases of the year’
FATEA ‘a truly fascinating album and a joy to unpick its layers’
Folk Radio UK 'a terrific traditional folk album and a fascinating insight into Carter’s creative process'

About older albums:

Uncut (2004) **** 'Astonishingly mature debut from Britain’s brainiest new singer-songwriter [...] Scissors in my Pocket is an album for connoisseurs of grown up songwriting, littered with arresting references, both literary and musical. […] Joni Mitchell gave up songwriting after 1994’s Turbulent Indigo. A decade on, we may finally have found a worthy successor.'

Uncut, December 2004 – 100 albums of the year
“Never mind all the fuss about Joss Stone and Amy Winehouse. As far as Uncutis concerned, the finest young British female singer-songwriter to emerge over the last 12 months is the brainy Cambridge graduate Polly Paulusma, with a debut album of mature and literate songs brimful of emotional resonance, potent melodies and meltingly heartfelt vocals.”

MOJO (2004) **** 'complete, pure and personal'

Nic Harcourt, Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW (2004) 'the best album to come out of the UK this year'

Daily Telegraph (2004) 'outstanding'

Allmusic.com (2004) 'a spectacular debut'

Ruth Barnes, 6Music (2012) 'pure folk pop genius'

Rolling Stone USA (2004) 'an enchanting debut of understated, intelligent folk pop'