Melancholy shadowing optimism. Jangly guitars to atmospheric sounds. Paula Toledo's dreamy, melodic pop songs will take you on an intimate journey framing a mixed landscape of travel, discovery, love & the restlessness of staying in one place.

One may call it happenstance that only four years prior, after reaching a state of disillusionment in her life, she would be called back into the world of music & travel to France on more than one occasion. "It was a real turning point in my life. I literally quit my desk-job in Tourism with nothing else waiting in the wings. I felt so lifeless. So..." she laughs, "I took to painting my walls." During the menial task of painting, Paula's voice was heard through the walls of her apartment by neighbors who happened to be French singer/songwriters. In search for a back-up singer, they were intrigued and when they learned that Paula also spoke French, they enlisted her for their tour of France.

One could say that happenstance and Paula would once again meet, recently to finish recording & mixing her debut album 'Stay Awhile' in France with Irish producer David Odlum (The Frames, Josh Ritter, Gemma Hayes)... but upon closer inspection, one will notice a singer/songwriter who is drawn to discovering and creating all things new. It is Paula's honest & child-like love of creating that continues to draw people to Paula's music.

With just a five song EP released, music supervisors have licensed Paula's songs for three consecutive seasons of '15/Love' (YTV in Cda./U.S. & in France on France 2), 'Secret Lives' (LifetimeTV in Cda./U.S. & feature film in theatres in Asia and Europe), 'Missing' (LifetimeTV in Cda. U.S.) and two consecutive seasons of 'Renegadepress.com' (Global in Cda.). When her 5 song EP found its way into the hands of another musician who was also the Creative Director for Larrivée Guitars, he asked Paula to appear in a Larrivée Guitar Ad and featured her in a full colour, double-page ad in several music magazines; 'Acoustic Guitar', 'Canadian Musician', 'Women Who Rock', 'Inside Connection' and 'Rockr Grl'. The magazine coverage, which spanned across North America, led readers to her website and spawned on-line purchases for her EP.

As one of six children, Paula learned at an early age that things wouldn't be handed to her easily. So at ten years old, when her parents told her they couldn't afford to pay for her guitar lessons, she struck a deal with her musical older sister - guitar and singing lessons in exchange for cleaning her bedroom. Years later, in spite of being underage, Paula would sneak into Montreal bars as the lead singer of an alternative-ska band & put those musical skills to use. When the band broke up she decided to follow her parents wishes and go to university. Quickly becoming restless in her sophomore year, she took a few crash courses in Spanish & impulsively hopped on a plane to finish her studies in Barcelona, Spain. While in Barcelona, she would skip classes and frequent Sangria bars so that she could borrow guitars hanging from the ceiling and perform for locals.

With the same type of impulsiveness & focused learn-by-doing attitude that landed her in Spain, Paula set out to record and co-produce her album with Jonathan Anderson (Jack Harlan, Stabilo, Maplewood Lane, Hinterland).

Prior to beginning her album, Paula would meet Irish producer, David Odlum at a show in Seattle where he was performing. Being a big fan of his music, Paula didn't want to leave without passing on her appreciation. She passed on her thanks and left the band a copy of her EP. Months later, David would drop her an email, requesting a replacement copy of her EP, which had been unfortunately tucked away in his lost luggage.

Paula forwarded David another copy of her EP and pre-mixed songs from her upcoming album with a note asking David if he would consider completing & mixing her album. David agreed but when scheduling & budgeting challenges made it difficult to work in Vancouver, Paula devised a resourceful Plan B which unexpectedly landed her & Jonathan in a 19th century farmhouse & barn in rural France, otherwise known as Black Box Studios.

In her continued Do-It-Yourself approach, Paula finished her debut cd 'Stay Awhile' and plans to released it on her independent label, Holy Toledo Records in February 2006.