Meet Olivia Perez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Perez.

Olivia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My project is called PEARLS and PERILS. I was born in Colorado and have been making music and performing in Denver since I was 15 years old. I began performing in a band called Gloam circa 2003. We fused experimental electronic beats with live instruments. Old Five Points and the Brighton Blvd area is where were we played most of those early shows. After playing sometimes we’d go with a huge group to the late Stage 2 on Welton and get fried chicken and 50 cent tequila shots- it had a disco ball, there were giant mirrors and crushed velvet walls. They played really raunchy R n B so loud we couldn’t hear each other talk and we’d dance. This is one of my favorite memories of being in Denver at that time. After Gloam went on an indefinite hiatus I created Pearls and Perils as a way to continue writing music in the meantime. This project combines glitchy beats with  darker elements of electronica and sweeping, enveloping synths. I produce and perform all the instrumentation myself. I have also collaborated with many other artists. My first live performance as Pearls and Perils was for the Titwrench festival at the Mercury. Denver has really changed over the years, but I am embracing the new and hoping those who have just arrived here feel welcome and get the chance to experience and support all of the hidden gems this community has to offer.

Has it been a smooth road?
I’m not going to lie, it has been a rough one for much of my life but I can say that it has taught me to be incredibly adaptable. I have moved constantly much of my life; mostly within Colorado but never staying in one place for too long. I find most peace when living in the mountains or on open space. I guess now I have come to accept more of a gypsy’s way of life. My great grandmother, Lillian was a troubadour who traveled with a group of entertainers in the early 1900’s. Maybe I’m following in her footsteps. Recently, I’ve been traveling the USA. I have been camping in the national forest and also on BLM lands. After visiting friends in California I had hoped to drop anchor in Portland but ended up being robbed by some kids living in an encampment. The windows were broken into and though the generator was the greatest loss, they took the last of the food, water supplies, a blanket and a bunch of other small items too- leaving the electronics and music equipment by some strange grace. The reason I tell this story is because, though greatly thwarting my traveling partner and I’s plans it brought me back home to Colorado and I can’t help but think they must have needed it more than we did. This, among some other incredible hardships and setbacks has made it very trying at times. Some people don’t understand living the way I do, but it is a position I think many DIY and grassroots artists may find themselves in at some point of their lives. Is it fair that so many artists are tortured? We may find ourselves in compromised or dangerous living situations more often.

Not that I am complaining at all. There are so many beautiful, sacred, strange experiences I have had while living in the Queen City and among the wild. These greatly out number any hardships I have faced. I am beyond grateful for the beautiful homies I have played shows with, stayed in their homes and on their couches, and for those who fed and housed me, you know who you are. It is all paying off tremendously, finally.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
What sets Pearls and Perils apart from the others? Well, this is not a fad or hobby- this is something I live, sleep and breathe every day and have done so for a very long time. I started making electronic music in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Synth and experimental electronic was more a niche genre. Now, synth music is having a resurgence and becoming popular again. I try not to follow any particular trends because things come and go out fashion so quickly, so who cares? I can’t let those kinds of things cloud my vision. Authenticity is key, for me at least.

I create first and foremost because of my own need to constantly transform and to live free. It’s an exploration of magic and power. That is why I use scorpion imagery, and why I sing about poison and counter poison. Transforming, confronting the shadow is not easy but there are great gifts therein. I think we have to leash our demons before we can be of service to others and the earth as a whole. I stand by the axiom – It is the job of the artist to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed, but I think it is also the job of an artist to entertain and delight their spectators by tapping into creative forces greater than themselves in order to see a higher perspective. Ultimately people just want to have fun and see something new. I hope to push the boundaries by making the live shows even more dramatic, for the performances to become more like art installations.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the memories, my friends and the old haunts. What do I like least about the being in the city? The memories and the old haunts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pearlsandperils.bandcamp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pearls_and_perils/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PearlsandPerilz/
• Other: https://youtu.be/WMM57RPA8Ho, https://youtu.be/kpdzpOPNK_Q, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WMM57RPA8Ho

Image Credit:
Amanda Gostomski, Michaela Perez, Rick Lee.

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