I first heard of the artist Uncool Paul when I heard his track Cortina Conception last year and knew I had to eventually get him to do an interview. Thanks for taking part in the blog mate, can you tell us about your musical background, where we might have heard your work before and how would you describe your style?
I guess I'm a bit of a mish-mash, stylistically. I am equally influenced by artists like The Human League, Wire, Rose Royce, Stereolab and The Specials. I try to reflect that as much as possible in my songwriting. Literature also plays a big role, I like to be as lyrically engaging as possible. I can read a Will Self book (for example) and be as enamoured with his use of sarcasm and droll wit as I would be with hearing a chord progression or melody.
I was a guitarist in a punk band for a long time but I'm a bit of a control freak and was never really satisfied with what could be achieved with that whole Guitar, bass and drum setup. It was fantastic live, very energetic and fun but I needed something more interesting, more artistic, more expressive, so I reinvented myself as Uncool Paul.
Has the whole Covid thing and lockdown impacted you creatively at all, and how have you coped over the past 18 months?
Absolutely, yes. When lockdown first took over our lives, I looked at it as free time and an excuse to work on my music and knocked together an album (Some Disgusting Normal) in that first month or two. It was really a way of seeing what I could do with the tools I had and where I was creatively, it was the equivalent of dipping my toe in the water.
On the back of that album, I released two further albums (Limon & Leme and How We Walk) which were a much better representation of myself as an artist. But yes, it was all essentially born out of that bad situation of being in lockdown.
I noticed that you have recently brought out an album, what inspired you to make it?
With my latest album How We Walk, the initial idea was for it to be a snapshot of life during a pandemic and how we have had to re-evaluate a lot of our actions. A lot of the lyrical content is directly about that but I was also on a bit of a creative roll so there's a bit of diversion here and there, but it works well.
Musically, I just wanted to make a great catchy pop record that had no guitars on it. Not unlike Speak & Spell by Depeche mode, that album was kind of an ongoing reference point to me during the recording process. I also had no budget whatsoever, but I never back down from a challenge, most of the parts were recorded on my mobile phone, it's quite an achievement really.
Where can folks get to listen to your music?
Limon & Leme and How We Walk are on the majority of streaming sites, the most popular being Spotify:
You'll have to dig a bit deeper to find any of the older work, it's well hidden for a reason haha.
Can you list your social media links?
What's next for you?
I'm currently working on an album, provisionally entitled Seagoat Mind that will hopefully be released early next year. The initial lyrical content is a lot darker than my previous material and is more about looking inward and expressing my own mental state.
I am in the process of exploring sounds to use, but I'm thinking softer, stranger, more dreamlike textures. There will definitely be live bass rather than synth bass, and more live instruments generally, including guitars. Watch this space.
Anything else you'd like to add about the project, or a message for the readers?
Yes, everything that exists is a result of bonding, human kindness is a choice and whoever you are, whatever you think of yourself, you are far better.
Thanks for reading. Stay uncool 🥸✌
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