By Jeff McCord/KUTX Music Editor
“If you don’t like it, change it /
If you can’t find it, make it /
The only thing holding you back is your own limitations.”
These lyrics reflect the revelations of 26-year-old Eimaral Sol (real name: Laramie Pouncy), off one of the selections from her acclaimed debut album, Sol Soliloquies, released last year. They sound like a woman bristling with confidence.
For the upcoming one year anniversary of her album, Eimaral has some special things in store.
“I’ve gotten opportunities from the album. I’m working in studios in L.A., working in studios in New York. And that’s been really cool. On the one year anniversary, though, we’re going to put out a lot of stuff. I don’t wanna say too much, but I’m really excited about it.”
Yet things weren’t always this promising. Much of the material for her album was written at the end of a difficult time for the singer.
Eimaral, who excelled at choir throughout public school, began to write and record her own music in Houston. “I was recording cover videos on YouTube, which eventually turned into me putting out singles. It just so happened that producer Russell Guess and his team took me under their wing. They were working out of Sugarhill Studios, and they allowed me to develop as an artist in that space. I have a lot of music that probably will never come out.”
Eventually, Sol would release several well-received singles, and she began eyeing Los Angeles as a place to further her education and music career.
You know what they say about plans.
“I graduated from college and was applying to schools in California. But before I could make the move, I found out I was pregnant. I’m from Killeen, so I ended up going home.”
Eimaral’s son Zevin was born during this crucial year off.
“I had a lot of adversity against me. Even some of the people I was working with in Houston, when I told them, were kind of like, so what are you going to do now? I’m a strong-minded and highly competitive individual, so when I started realizing that people were counting me out because of that, I really took that on.”
“I took the time that I needed to come to peace about what’s happening, and how I was going to adjust by myself, my life, my mindset, in order to keep doing what I felt drawn to do, but also to be the best mother I could be. I didn’t want my child to have limitations. I did not want to feel like he couldn’t do certain things, or that even he prevented me from being able to do certain things. No child wants to make their parents feel that way. I know firsthand. So, I just kept going. I took a year hiatus, but during that time, I was still writing. I was still recording.”
Eimaral moved to Austin in 2017, released a single, “OTW” in 2018, and her debut album, Sol Soliloquies, in March of last year. Musically, it’s a deep, soulful slice of modern pop, expertly arranged. Lyrically, in an age of dark cynicism, it’s a reprieve. It seems surprising, given her recent experiences. Has she always been this optimistic?
“Not necessarily. I feel like I have to counter everything that I’ve encountered. I love my family. It’s just growing up, I encountered so much resistance and tension. For me, I wanted to transcend all of that. And I felt the only way for me to accomplish that was to sell those kinds of scenes. If I stayed in that mindset, that’s what I was going to keep receiving. I put lessons and notes to myself to get myself through situations. And it just so happened that it resonated with other people that were going through whatever they might have been going through. We do have plenty of music that basically fills the space on the other side. There’s nothing wrong with that. We need to be able to express all facets of ourselves. But there was an opening, in my opinion, for soul music that was feeding the soul and not just feeding the doubt in your soul.”
