Very often we’re approached by bands looking for coverage which often comes with their caveat “…but we don’t have vinyl just yet.” But that’s fine—good music trumps the delivery format every time, if you ask me.
Case in point, DC’s Paul Michel whose career we’ve been following from the very early days of TVD and who we rush to mention at every opportunity. AND it just so happens, Paul debuts his recent release “JUNE” on vinyl with a record release show this coming Sunday night (3/6) at Velvet Lounge.
“JUNE for the most part was written a couple years ago when I was touring much more regularly. The songs are higher energy than the previous albums, but at the same time more organic. Though the name on the album says Paul Michel, I really couldn’t have accomplished this album without the help of my friends (in the pic below).
Mike, my drummer, has been with me for 6 years now. His input into the structure of the songs was crucial. Andrew, who did the production work, is responsible for the “sound” of the record – I love the way the production combines elements of both new and old. It sounds like a 70s record with modern tricks, or conversely, a record made in 2011 with a heavy nod to the analog. Sean, who actually has a degree in music, was the guy responsible for the orchestration – he brought the “pretty” elements.
L to R: Andrew Schneider (mixing/production), me, Sean Davenport (keyboards/orchestration), Mike Ushinski (drums/backing vox) (Photo: Jack Jeffries)
It was with this organic sound in mind that I decided to release the record on vinyl. A lot of it was recorded to tape (analog) before being bounced down to the ol’ computer. And you can tell that in the way the bass and drums exude a kind of warmth its near impossible to achieve using computer recording alone. So we mixed the thing for both vinyl and digital (the download is the digi version – compare to the vinyl, both are cool in their own way). And Chad Clark (at Silver Sonya) mastered two separate albums. The attention these guys gave the record really shows, and I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out.
Paul Michel | Everyone Else Isn’t
As for the content of the album, I tried to make it a little more upbeat than the last one. Quiet State of Panic (the previous album) was written in the throes of a breakup, and it shows lyrically. This one is a bit more hopeful, at least conceptually. It’s also much more anthemic. Andrew and I were always searching for ways to make the guitars bigger, the drums more powerful, the strings more sweeping.
On “Surround Me,” we actually ended up micing the hallway outside the studio to get this insanely massive cathedral sound for the drums. Except we had to do it at 2 in the morning, when no one was around. “Statues” has a singalong chorus, and “Pieces” (the album closer) had a full string section, 4 guitar parts (each at least doubled), keyboards, drums, and all of us singing at the same time. Don’t know how Andrew did it, but it must have been a bitch to mix. The end result, I think, was worth it.”
We think so too.
Courtesy of Paul, we’ve got a vinyl copy of “JUNE” and a pair of tickets to Sunday night’s record release party—with Solar Power Sun Destroyer also on the bill.
In the comments, simply let us know why you’d like to be in attendance Sunday night with the brand new vinyl release tucked under your arm and the most compelling and convincing of the bunch wins both the LP and the tickets. We’re choosing our winner on Friday (3/4) at 5PM!
