Polly Paulusma (born 10 November 1976) is an English singer-songwriter.

Career

Her first album, ''Scissors in my Pocket'', was largely recorded and produced by herself at her home. A second album, ''Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites'' (a virtual anagram of the title of the first album) features the same tracks, four of which were recorded with a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

(and without guitars or percussion); the rest at a gig in Manchester, England, where she supported

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

. She has also supported other artists on tour including

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

and

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

and played at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 2005. As well as using computer-based methods to self-produce her first album, Paulusma and her management have arguably made good use of the internet and contemporary methods of distribution to reach a larger potential audience: signed to

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

, two of Paulusma's tracks ("Over the Hill" and the live version of "She Moves in Secret Ways") were issued as free

downloads In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

through Apple's

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. This has possibly led to greater exposure for a niche artist on a UK-based

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

than might otherwise have been expected or previously possible. Paulusma has also used her profile at Myspace, her own website, blogs on both websites and a link to a

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

on the latter to connect with her fans and keep them up-to-date on her touring and recording plans. Paulusma's third album ''Fingers and Thumbs'' was released in the June 2007 with its corresponding sister album ''Fights and Numbers'' as an iTunes-only digital download. Paulusma founded a small record label called Wild Sound Recordings Ltd in 2012 and in 2012 released ''Leaves from the Family Tree'' with its corresponding sister-album ''The Small Feat of my Reverie'' in 2014. Since 2012 Wild Sound has signed nine indie folk artists including Maz O'Connor, Stylusboy, Harry Harris, Matthew The Oxx,

Dan Wilde Dan Wilde (born 24 December 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Blackpool, now living in Cambridge. He has released three solo albums so far, including ''With Fire in Mind'' and ''Rhythm on the City Wall'', which was relea ...

and Mortal Tides. Performing and writing, Paulusma also supervises Cambridge English undergraduates in Practical Criticism as part of the English Tripos, and is also a postgraduate CHASE scholar at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

where she is researching the influence of traditional folksong on the writings of the British novelist

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

Personal life

Paulusma is the daughter of medieval historian

Jonathan Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Pro ...

. Her first son was born on 10 November 2006 (coincidentally Polly's own birthday) and her second son was born on 1 August 2008. The cover shoot was done when Polly was 38 weeks pregnant. Her son was born on 1 August 2008. Paulusma and her husband, Mick Paulusma, lived in the thinnest home in London for 12 years. Located in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

, the 7-foot-7-inch-wide (2.31 m) home was where Paulusma recorded her first album ''Scissors in my Pocket'', as well as the demos for ''Fingers & Thumbs''. Since 2010, the couple has lived in Cambridge, England.

Discography

*''Scissors in My Pocket'' (2004) *''Dark Side'' (2004, single, with B-side) *''Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites'' (2005, live) *''Fingers & Thumbs'' (2007) *''Fights & Numbers'' (2007, iTunes only) *''Leaves From The Family Tree'' (2012) *''The Small Feat of My Reverie'' (2014) *'' Invisible Music - Folk Songs That Influenced Angela Carter'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulusma, Polly Living people English folk musicians English women singer-songwriters 1976 births