A. K. Paul Explained

A. K. Paul
Birth Name:Anup Kumar Paul
Origin:Rayners Lane, London, England
Instrument:Bass, synthesizer, guitar
Occupation:Singer, songwriter, record producer, instrumentalist, bass player, recording engineer
Years Active:2011-present
Label:Paul Institute

A. K. Paul (born 1986) is an English singer, songwriter and producer from London. Paul came to prominence in 2011 as a contributor to his brother Jai Paul's debut single "BTSTU (Edit)".[1] The following year he also worked on "Jasmine (demo)" and "Higher Res" with Jai and has since co-written and produced for various artists.

Paul is the recipient of two Ivor Novello Awards, which he received in 2013 for his work on Emeli Sandé's track "Next to Me".[2] [3] [4] [5] In 2016, A. K, Jai and Muz Azar announced Paul Institute, a record label and musical incubator, and its first release was A.K's debut track "Landcruisin'". In 2023, A.K. performed live as a part of Jai's debut performances at Coachella and subsequent tour.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Early life

A. K. Paul grew up in Rayners Lane, London, with his younger brother Jai Paul, also an acclaimed producer and songwriter. He is credited as a collaborator on Jai's early singles, and said that when Jai initially sent "BTSTU" to him, it "changed the way" he thought about music.[11] [12]

Career

A. K. Paul was first credited as a co-writer on his brother Jai's debut and second single, which were released in 2011 and 2012. A. K. has worked with numerous artists as a musician, songwriter and producer. These include Nao, Sam Smith, Miguel, Foals, Big Boi, HIRA, Maverick Sabre, Jessie Ware, JONES, Daniel Avery, Wesley Joseph, Reinen, Ruthven and Emeli Sandé.[13] Paul is a multi-instrumentalist and has often contributed bass parts to tracks, alongside production and songwriting credits. One of A. K.'s collaborators, NAO, said of the Paul brothers: "They’ve been sonic pioneers and broken all the rules about how you write, arrange and mix, but not at the expense of musicality. I think most artists working within alternative funk, R&B or indie music have tried to work out how they do it, but it’s not anything you can recreate."[14]

2007–2011

Paul is credited as providing additional vocals and sound design on Jai Paul's demo recording "BTSTU", as well as mastering the track.[15] The demo received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010, leading to significant UK national radio play. In 2011, Jai Paul's record label XL Recordings gave the demo an official release as "BTSTU (Edit)" to favourable reviews.

2012

Paul is credited as providing bass guitar and sound design for Jai Paul's 2012 release, "Jasmine (demo)". He also mastered the track, as with Jai Paul's debut release. "Jasmine (demo)" received critical acclaim in the media, with Pitchfork featuring the song as a "Best New Track"[16] within an hour of its appearance on SoundCloud, The New York Times praising its "Prince era sensuality"[17] and The Guardian describing the production as "amazing".[18] The song appears on the soundtrack to the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V.

2014

Paul collaborated with Hackney vocalist Nao on a song called "So Good". This was the first time Paul applied the moniker A. K. Paul.[19] In November, Miguel posted a photo of himself with A. K. and Jai Paul on Instagram, marking a rare appearance from both artists.[20] Also in November, singer Jones collaborated with A. K. on a song called "You".[21]

2015

A. K. returned with another production credit. This time on Miguel's album Wildheart for the song "Flesh".[22] He also co-wrote three songs on Maverick Sabre's second studio album Innerstanding.

2016

In March 2016, A. K., Jai Paul and Muz Azar announced the Paul Institute, a record label and musical incubator.[23] This was accompanied by the release of the single "Landcruisin'", a song by A. K. Paul, via text messages and a website.[24] "Landcruisin'" was the Paul Institute's first release. The song premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show before receiving digital, streaming, and 7-inch vinyl releases. Most music critics gave the song favorable reviews, comparing it to the works of Prince, D'Angelo, and Miguel. It managed to enter the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart. James Vincent McMorrow reached out to A. K. Paul after listening to "Landcruisin'", calling it "a huge record".[25] James asked Anup to put his own twist on the lead single from We Move, "Rising Water". The result was something extraordinary, James wrote in a statement to Complex. "He said to me after it was done that he's never done something like this before, lifted an entire vocal from an already written and produced song and then flipped the chord structure and premise of the song."[26]

2017

Paul collaborated with Guernsey born DJ Mura Masa with the track "Who Is It Gonna B" on Mura Masa's debut album.[27] A. K. Paul also reached out to British R&B artist HIRA - working on production on the single "Eve" alongside Craze and Hoax.[28] 2017 also saw the introduction of a new A. K. Paul demo track entitled "Be Honest" which was aired on an Apple Beats 1 broadcast of a live Mura Masa performance and DJ set.

2020

After a period of inactivity attributed to a legal fight, Paul released the final version of "Be Honest" in July 2020.[29] He also worked on releases of Paul Institute artists Reinen and Ruthven.

2021

A.K. uploaded a single on SoundCloud called "Cheers Mate" on 12 April 2021, which included a note that said: "additional voices from Reinen, K. Ustinov and 'Ohhh... yeah!' vox was recorded circa 1990, my dad on production."

2022

A.K. was credited as a producer (and additional producer) on four tracks from English rock band Foals' seventh album Life Is Yours, which released on 17 June 2022, via Warner/Transgressive/ADA.[30]

2023

A.K. co-produced the track "Monsoon" on British artist Wesley Joseph's album GLOW, and was also featured in its music video.

Discography

SongArtistCreditAlbumRelease DateUK Singles ChartCertification
"BTSTU"Writing/Production/Background VocalsLeak 04-13 (Bait Ones)April 2011align="center"-align="center" -
"Jasmine"Writing/ProductionLeak 04-13 (Bait Ones)March 2012align="center"-align="center" -
"Higher Res"Bass/RecordingVicious Lies and Dangerous RumorsDecember 2012align="center"-align="center" -
"Next To Me"Co-writing/BassOur Version of EventsFebruary 20122Platinum
Guitars/BassDevotionApril 2013105
"Nirvana"WritingNirvana (EP)January 2014align="center"-align="center" -
"So Good"Writing/Production/VocalsSo Good E.P.December 2014align="center"-align="center" -
"You"JONESWriting/ProductionIndulge (EP)June 2015align="center"-align="center" -
"FLESH"Writing/ProductionWildheartJune 2015align="center"-align="center" -
"Give It Up", "So Free" and "Mother"Maverick SabreWritingInnerstandingOctober 2015align="center"-align="center" -
"Landcruisin'"A.K. Paul Writing/Production/Mixing/MasteringLandcruisin'March 2016align="center"-align="center" -
"Trophy"Writing/Production/VocalsFor All We KnowJuly 2016align="center"-align="center" -
"Rising Water (A. K. Paul Remix)"Production/Additional VocalsWe Move29 September 2016align="center"-align="center" -
"Eve"HIRAProductionEve/Rarri12 May 2017align="center"-align="center" -
"Who Is It Gonna B"Mura MasaWriting/VocalsMura Masa14 July 2017align="center"-align="center" -
"Evil"RuthvenProductionEvil16 November 2017align="center"-align="center" -
"Mystery"Fabiana PalladinoProductionMystery16 November 2017align="center"-align="center" -
"Hypothalamus"RuthvenProductionHypothalamus25 July 2018align="center"-align="center"-
"Shimmer"Fabiana PalladinoProductionShimmer25 July 2018align="center"-align="center"-
"Be Honest"A.K. PaulWriting/Production/Mixing/Mastering/VocalsPaul Institute - Summer 202028 July 2020--
"Shadow Knight"ReinenWriting/ProductionPaul Institute - Summer 202029 July 2020--
"Have You Decided?"RuthvenWriting/Production/Mixing/MasteringPaul Institute - Summer 202030 July 2020--
"Cheers Mate"A.K. PaulWriting/Production/Mixing/MasteringSoundCloud release12 April 2021--
"Wake Me Up", "2001", "Summer Sky" and "Looking High"FoalsProductionLife Is Yours17 June 2022--
"Monsoon"Wesley JosephProductionSecretly Canadian/EEVILTWINN20 April 2023--

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Various - XL Recordings Sampler 2011. Discogs. 9 August 2011 . 8 August 2020.
  2. Web site: 2013-05-16 . Ivor Novellos 2013: Winners in full . 2023-05-03 . Digital Spy . en-GB.
  3. News: Emeli Sandé's unstoppable rise compounded by two Ivor Novello awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20170711094317/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/emeli-sand-s-unstoppable-rise-compounded-by-two-ivor-novello-awards-8620412.html . 2017-07-11 . limited . live. 17 May 2013. The Independent. 8 August 2020.
  4. Web site: Anup Paul | Credits. AllMusic. 8 August 2020.
  5. Web site: Archive The Ivors The Ivors Academy Champions of Music Creators . 2023-04-29 . The Ivors Academy . en-GB.
  6. Web site: 12 years after his first single, Jai Paul plays his first hometown show . 2023-05-11 . Crack Magazine.
  7. Web site: Dazed . 2018-08-03 . Meet the artists of the Paul Institute . 2023-05-03 . Dazed . en.
  8. https://soundcloud.com/a-k-paul/landcruisin/ © 2016 Paul Institute
  9. Web site: Staff . BrooklynVegan. Jai Paul played his first headline shows ever at Knockdown Center & Brooklyn Steel (pics, setlist, video) . 2023-05-03 . BrooklynVegan . 27 April 2023 . en.
  10. Web site: 2023-04-17 . Jai Paul performs first-ever live show at Coachella 2023 . 2023-05-03 . DJMag.com . en.
  11. Web site: A.K. . Paul . 14 years ago my brother sent me a demo that changed the way I thought about music. I was studying music at uni at the time.. But there were and still are so many lessons in BTSTU. . Instagram.
  12. Web site: Jai Paul's Brother Is Producing For This Promising New London Singer . 2023-05-16 . The FADER . en.
  13. Web site: A.K. Paul . 2023-05-03 . Discogs . en.
  14. Web site: Dazed . 2017-09-12 . How Jai Paul changed the sound of pop with just two songs . 2023-05-03 . Dazed . en.
  15. Web site: YouTube. Jai Paul - BTSTU. 2011-04-21. 2017-08-06.
  16. Web site: Jai Paul: "Jasmine". 30 March 2012. Pitchfork. 20 May 2012.
  17. News: New Releases . . 13 April 2012 . 13 April 2012.
  18. News: New Music: Jai Paul – Jasmine (demo) . The Guardian. 13 April 2012 . 13 April 2012.
  19. Web site: Listen: Nao vs. A. K. Paul - So Good. ClashMusic.com. 24 June 2014. 27 July 2016.
  20. Web site: A.K. Paul Surfaces on Miguel's Instagram. Pitchfork.com. 13 November 2014. 27 July 2016.
  21. Web site: A.K. Paul & Jones x "You". ProductOfSociety.org. 18 November 2014. 27 July 2016.
  22. Web site: Miguel - Flesh (Produced by AK Paul). DetailsofmyLife.net. 13 July 2015. 27 July 2016.
  23. Web site: Jai Paul and Brother A.K. Paul Launch New Project Paul Institute. Jeremy. Gordon. Pitchfork.com. 21 March 2016 . 8 August 2020.
  24. Web site: Bowe . Miles . 2016-03-24 . A.K. Paul reveals first Paul Institute release: 'Landcruisin . 2023-05-03 . Fact Magazine . en-US.
  25. Web site: Premiere: James Vincent McMorrow Teams Up With AK Paul To Remix "Rising Water" . 2023-05-03 . Complex . en.
  26. Web site: Premiere: James Vincent McMorrow Teams Up With AK Paul To Remix "Rising Water". Complex.com. 8 August 2020.
  27. Web site: Mura Masa's Album Will Be a Plethora of Delights, Including AK Paul, Bonzai and A$AP Rocky. Vice.com. 26 April 2017 . 8 August 2020.
  28. Web site: Eve by HIRA | HIRA | Free Listening on SoundCloud . 8 July 2017 . 19 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181219095754/https://soundcloud.com/hira_world/eve . dead .
  29. Web site: Listen to A.K. Paul's new song "Be Honest". 2020-07-28. Thefader.com. en.
  30. Web site: 1 March 2022 . Foals detail new album Life Is Yours . 2 March 2022 . Consequence.