Paul K

One of the most stirring nights of 2017 was seeing Paul K perform his ‘Omerta’ at the Old Church St Pancras. A fabulous blend of electronic music with a string section and a light show that was better than anything else I saw that year. During the show he played a couple of numbers from his next album ‘The Fermi Paradox’ and I have to say that I have been slavering at the leash waiting to hear this.

Fermi was the scientist who first split the atom but he is almost more famous for asking the question (I paraphrase) “If there are so many millions of stars out there with planets that are similar to Earth but millions of years older, then why have we never been visited by them?” or, to put it more simply, “where is everyone?”

The theme of this album is essentially to ask that question and the music Paul K has created to ask it is utterly wonderful, hitting emotional points across the entire spectrum and occasionally leaving me aghast at the bleakness of the soundscape and the wondrous points of light within the blackness.
The theme is applicable to life here on 21st century earth as well – when there are so many billions of people in the world and so many ways to connect to them, why do so many people feel isolated and alone?

Again, he is combining electronic music with strings and samples as well as conventional drums and guitars and making music that is uniquely Paul K. There are moments of familiarity but this is unique in its form and coherence.

Reviewing the album is a nightmare because while there are conventional start and stop points for the different tracks, they are not really suitable for picking out. Rather, this needs to be listened to as a piece with movements and no other distractions.

I think – for me - that this will turn out to be one of the most listened to albums of 2018. Every time I listen I find new directions, new elements of the theme and a different way of looking at the night sky and the world around me.

Devastatingly brilliant.