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>>About Paul Wilkes
"He'll go far" Sir Paul McCartney
Them’s the facts. So here’s the story. In many ways it’s a story that’s just beginning, because since being acclaimed by fellow scouser Paul McCartney as a super-talented teenager, Paul Wilkes has been on a journey of highs and lows simply trying to find a way to get the sound in his head and the brilliance of his live performances down on a record. That may sound straight forward enough, but not so when you're trying to make music of the finest quality, and not just trying "to be famous".
Along the way he's not had it easy; he's played hundreds of gigs around the UK and Ireland - some to ten people - some to thousands; won awards for his songwriting; stacked shelves in a warehouse for minimum wage; released some acclaimed EP's on his own independent label (which are now sold out); had his music used on major TV programs for ITV (without a publishing deal); been a labourer on building sites; been played on BBC Radio 2 (UK) and numerous stations in the US; built relationships with a group of top-notch musicians and composers; been on the dole; and been likened to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Maryn, Nick Drake and Richard Ashcroft. Not bad for someone who's always claimed to "never sound right"! But now he says “I'm now recording stuff that I'm proud of; that truly sounds like me.".
So why would someone who’s not yet got a record deal or any industry machine behind him go and record an album? “I've recorded EP’s in the past, but I just don't feel as though 4 tracks reflects me musically. I'm an album artist. Which is what all the great pop artists are in my opinion. I wanted to make a recording that reflected me, and that’s what I've done. Whether it'll be my actual proper debut album remains to be seen, I might the chance to work with a great producer when I get a deal. So what this record is, is me saying “this is me”. And so the story really begins... The Paul Wilkes LP
After many an hour spent in the studio and being disappointed the results, Paul decided to give it a go himself using his own home studio equipment he'd built up over the years. “People always seemed to buzz off my demos more than my studio stuff, and I preferred it too. It was closer to what I had in my head.” He says “So I took inspiration from the likes of Damien Rice and Polly Paulusma and just got cracking making my own recording. And I feel it’s worked.” “Once I knew it was working though I didn't want to rush into anything. The best thing about the recording was letting it just happen.” He says. And it is the sound of something that has grown organically, with Paul meeting musicians as the record progressed. “I already had my mates from ‘the Drunken Boat’ of course - Scott (Mamiron) working his magic on pedal steel, Bob (Picken) on harmonica and bowed bass, and Bren (Moore) on drums. Bren then put me onto to Brian (Rice) to play bass, who then brought in his girlfriend Louise (Whitlow) to do some backing vocals.” “On the production front I bounced a lot of ideas off Bren, my older brother Ben, and Andy Scott, who also scored the strings for me who brought in the superb string quartet, and who also put me onto John (Barber), my pianist extraordinaire!” “It was a great approach to recording. Like when Brian came into do bass I had him plug in and do a take after 10 minutes, when he hadn't even heard the tune before. He made a joke of this but I said people play best when they don't expect it. I don't know why, it’s a more free approach to the song. I wanted the music to sound live and capture moments, and think recording this way has done that.” Track listing;
All tracks are now available to download for free here when you join the mailing list. Performers:
Credits:
Thanks:
Also, I simply couldn't have done the recording without the support of my family and my friends. Damon Horrill has been a star, backing me and putting me touch with a lot of the musicians who've played on the record. I look forward to continue to work with pollen8 - www.pollen8.eu - in the future. Previous Releases
Walkin' The Long Road (EP)
"Brilliant" Paul Du Noyer, Word Magazine
"Relentlessly warm, comforting and easy to listen to, this surpasses David Gray and Damien Rice by a mile" musicOMH.com
"These songs are personal, slices of life, intimate and satisfying, they travel roads suggested by Nick Drake... no hyperbole, you could say Raymond Carver to James Blunt’s Barbara Cartland." americana-uk.com
"One listen to the 'Walkin’ the Long Road' EP and it’s pretty clear that Paul Wilkes stands for the Music without the Bullshit... immerse yourself in the Music, it’s really quite lovely" 5/5 Crud Magazine They've Got Nothing On You (EP)
"Amazing… With an air of Neil Young and possibly Richard Ashcroft, Wilkes goes from strength to strength. Finally, a singer/songwriter that deserves such a title; Paul Wilkes, they've got nothing on you” 5/5 ClickMusic.com
"They've Got Nothing On You EP is a fine suite of rootsy folk in the vein of Bob Dylan and Neil Young... we may have a young John Martyn in the making" HOTPRESS Magazine
"Here is a prodigious talent… Anyone who can enter a genre as mired in repetition and cliché as that of the solo singer songwriter and produce something fresh and vital deserves nothing but acclaim" 5/5 Is This Music?
"In a world when only mediocrity is required, he is making touching, life affirming singer songwriter musings yet without sounding 'like the rest' or hitting that blandness that the most plow into when they run out of ideas... he will go far. Just sit down & relax. Take the time out to listen to a man who writes from the heart." theplasticashtray.co.uk |
Finally at the age of twenty four Paul Wilkes gets something down on record that he considers worthy of being called album quality. But it's not his 'debut album proper'; "It an album in the sense that it's 40-odd minutes worth songs on a CD" Paul says "but it's not 'my debut album', simply because it's not being released as such. I don't have a record deal at the moment, although I'm working on that. I'm a musician, not a marketer and I just want people to hear my music, so for now I'm just giving it to people, for free."
