In Convo with: Nathaniel Paul’s about his latest single ‘It’s All A Rage’ which is a chaotic track of genre-bending goodness.
“Fizzing with pure energy, Nathaniel Paul is crafting an intoxicatingly varied discography, and with a debut album planned for the coming summer, we can’t wait to see what comes next.”
Nathaniel Paul’s latest single ‘It’s All A Rage’ is a chaotic track of genre-bending goodness.
Known for being the frontman of the Brooklyn-based duo The Bergamot, this is his second foray into the world of solo releases. Written in lockdown while the band was busy co-producing a documentary, it takes inspiration from the persistence of weeds in rejection to humanities panic in the pandemic. Constructed of a heavier sound than his dreamy debut, this latest guitar-based frenzy feels like the indie rock cousin of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Taking psychedelic, crunchy riffs and combining them with the euphoric energy of bubbling chords and an explosive chorus.
Fizzing with pure energy, Nathaniel Paul is crafting an intoxicatingly varied discography, and with a debut album planned for the coming summer, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
What is the musical inspirations behind releasing music as a solo project rather than as The Bergamot?
I wish I could tell you that there was a grand plan being executed here, but honestly it started with a question: what makes sense this year? Why does this year seem to defy all logic? That’s where the thought process began in March. I mean, honestly, what the hell is going on? My life crumbled in a matter of two weeks. It was the most difficult time of my professional career. What was there to look forward to in lockdown?
So I began doing what I love most: writing. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I did not leave the studio for three months. I would write until my eyes literally couldn’t stay open. The first song was a real let down, but I was cool with it. In a way, I needed the first song to be shit. I needed to learn to be alright if everything I did in quarantine was pure garbage. If that was my baseline, I could manage to do it every day and be fairly happy with the results.
My overarching goal was still to write the best music of my life and finish a new record for The Bergamot. I would start there and see where this madness would take me. And after finishing The Bergamot’s new record in about two months, now I’m just focused on revisions and producing the songs.
So at that point, the question became: now what? I usually just write songs and then put them on in the car just to see what else I can come up with. Maybe I’ll show a few friends, throw them on a hard drive, and see if they ever rise up to the top. And there comes a time when the amount of material you’re sitting on becomes so large that the process of holding it all in becomes almost physically painful. I would wake up at night and think, what would happen if I just put some material out there? Maybe under a new name? Maybe my own name?
After writing a full twelve or so songs for The Bergamot, more songs just kept pouring out, and I needed a place for them to go. Even if they weren’t the right fit. And one song, “Virtues,” just stood out to me and everyone else I played it for. It seemed complete, finished. I didn’t say it was good, which is not my job, but at least it was done. So Jillian and I sat down and decided to release it under the name my mom used when I was up shit creek with her: “Nathaniel Paul.” It gave me a sense of purpose and freedom that I really needed during Covid and the wreckage it dealt my career.
The Bergamot album is still full speed ahead, and Mayflies is doing really well for us. It’s still changing our lives by the day. I don’t currently have any plans to tour as Nathaniel Paul, or the ambition to play any shows. That could change, just like the world changed this year. Maybe I’ll feel called to do some solo shows, but if that does happen, I’m not going to force it. If it happens, it happens. The most important thing is that the Nathaniel Paul project allows me to release tons of music, and that’s what I love to do. So here’s to you, 2020. Go fuck yourself.
The music video is brilliant. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?
Man, I’m just an artist with my back up against the wall. In one of my inspirational late night journeys on the interwebs, I came across a really intriguing website called Pexels. It is one of the largest collections of license-free videos on the internet. It’s mostly home videos and stock footage intended for business marketing and stuff. But I started digging. There’s a lot of really strange stuff on that site, but some gems, too.
After a few days I came across a Russian producer based whose alias is CottonBro. His work stood out for many reasons [WHICH?] and just connected with me immediately. I started watching everything. He’s producedloads of story-type films, all silent. Right away I was trying to figure out the best way to bring his visuals to life. Of course, the resounding answer was to make them into music videos.
I tinkered around with many of them for days, making all sorts of weird stuff. I’ve refined my video editing skills a bit since working on The Bergamot’s documentary, so it was really fun playing with the visuals. When I saw the footage that now comprises “Virtues” and “It’s All A Rage,” I knew they needed to be something more. And when I combined the songs and the visuals, it just felt like pure magic. They instantly felt connected and interwoven. It was as if they were made for each other. A match made in heaven. CottonBro and Pexels really made this possible. Being a musician ravaged by COVID with no budget to make videos, I guess it was just destiny for me to find these.
How has Covid affected you and the music scene / culture you are a part of?
Totally. It’s been decimated. Completely imploded. Venue owners are emailing us all the time about permanent closings, temporary hiatuses, et cetera. Very seldom is it good news. I mean, it’s really, really bad. I can’t emphasize enough how much that the music industry, at least the realm that we are a part of, will really look completely different after all of this is over. Take Martyrs’ in Chicago--for years, the owner has been stepping away to pursue other avenues, even before the pandemic hit. That club is where we got our start. I hope they can make it through, but who can say? These 100-300 person venues are vanishing by the day. Old, new, hip, bogus--almost all of them gone. That’s going to make it really hard on the artists who would usually play these spots. The whole ecosystem is under threat. If we can’t figure a way to help these venues and bands out, I see a lot of darker days ahead for music in the U.S. So yes, I’m very worried.
What are you most looking forward to for 2021?
Life. Hopefully, life can resume a somewhat normal flow. I am releasing my first full length album under Nathaniel Paul on March 24. The first two singles, “Virtues” and “It’s All A Rage,” just dropped on Nov. 3rd and Nov. 20th, respectively. The Bergamot will be releasing a new record as well. The lead single, “Make It Last,” was just released on Tower Records in October. We are also working on a full-length holiday performance (on YouTube) and record (on Bandcamp) that we’re releasing in December. Finally, we are getting ready to release our documentary State of the Unity in 2021. It’s been over four years in the making. So we’re busy, despite everything. Can’t wait to share everything with you soon.