The Paul Institute, the musical project founded by brothers Jai and A. K. Paul, have released an EP titled Summer 2020. The new collection of experimental pop and R&B songs includes A. K. Paul’s previously released ‘Be Honest’ – which was one of our favourite tracks of the week – as well as a batch of new songs from Paul associates. Listen to the EP below, and scroll for the visuals for three of the songs and invividual statements for each track.
In addition to ‘Be Honest’, the EP features songs by Hira, REINEN, Ruthven, Fabiana Palladino, and Pen Pals. The Paul Institute also aired a special on Beats 1 today (August 4) called ‘Magical Thinking’.
The project is also prompting fans to register once again at their site for updates: “welcome to the paul institute,” a message reads. “previous enrolees must re-enrol due to new privacy laws.”
PAULINST0009DS _ A. K. Paul – ‘Be Honest’
“This is a song about giving up control for a moment, allowing yourself to feel something beyond what you’ve known. It’s a song about liking something you didn’t think you would like, feeling something you didn’t think you would feel – and as you come to your senses being faced with the prospect you’ve only half lived…”
PAULINST0012DS _ Hira – ‘Unreal’
“The winter of 2018 gave the ice to this song. Lighted in the glow of a person who no longer shines inward, this song was composed in the hashish of an individual who becomes abstract in search of some superficial superstition…”
PAULINST0013DS _ REINEN – ‘Shadow Knight”
“Shadow Knight is a ritual ceremony, a synchronic chorus of chaos; It’s a twisted night odyssey as seen through the cat’s eye, with his ability to transmute in body and mind for the prowl. The groove surreptitiously moves with his stealth mission through the supernatural, from the back streets to the eTHERjUNGLE. This ominous opera is an homage to my majestic Chartreux, Bluey Dragon Twist via the freaky lens of CatLady3020.”
PAULINST0011DS _ Ruthven – ‘Have You Decided?’
“It’s narrated in the form of a heart-on-your-sleeve kind of romantic gesture. The narrator doesn’t feel like they deserve love, but in this case, believes they’ve found the real thing. The other is very present throughout the song but stays silent despite giving ‘affection’. Though the song has a romantic feel, the declaration of love remains unanswered.”
PAULINST0010DS _ Fabiana Palladino – ‘Waiting’
“I wrote Waiting a few years back. I was playing my old Teisco shark-fin guitar a lot and wanted to write my own version of a new-wave guitar tune. I was listening to Joe Jackson, Squeeze, early Police… and then I heard ‘When You Were Mine’ by Prince – a perfect mix of that new-wave sound with the funk he brought to it. Prince’s song is about a love triangle but mine is from the perspective of a broken android left behind in a destroyed city. She’s sick of waiting for her human lover to come back for her. She’s the voice of my own real-life frustrations with that feeling of endlessly waiting for things, both mundane & extraordinary, to happen… for work to pick up, for boys to text back, for life to start!”
PAULINST0014DS _ Pen Pals – ‘Dynasty’
“When rival values create rivals. Contempt is rising, delusions charge anger, and jealousy is in denial. Dynasty is simple, and its voice preaches against exceeding simplicity”. Pen Pals is the newest recruit to the Paul Institute, a culture fusion between the jungles of Bermuda and streets of Heathrow; a duo comprising Keen Collard and Mahir Mistry. Recorded in its entirety over video conference software, ‘Dynasty’ celebrates the origins of both artists, their fibre optic friendship, and the international sound clash.”