All
his priors and credentials might have suggested Paulmac would give
us an album along the lines of a Moby or Tricky. Even the single
'Just The Thing' suggested that's where he was going. But that's
not what Paulmac has delivered. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium
and with a lifetime playing in bands the 'other' Paul McDermott
has made his name as one of Australia's techno pioneers, ARIA award
winner back in 1995 with Itchy And Scratchy, becoming an in-demand
remixer for Silverchair, Grinspoon, etc.. The 'surprise' is that
with this background, with the ways of modern dance music at his
feet, Paulmac's own first album holds onto two things many a modern
artist in the same place pushes aside - a respect for melody over
the beats, and respect for his singers as more than as just another
plaything to sample and turn upside down. In fact, two of the singers
Paulmac has chosen walk into his musical world come with vocal characters
it would be a crime not to respect - Leonardo's Bride's pure and
sultry Abby Dobson, and Cruel Sea's dirty and gritty Tex Perkins.
The title of the album refers to the Blue Mountains hideaway where
the album was recorded, where Paulmac goes to escape the hustle
and bustle. He says that the album he wanted to create is the sounds
you want to submerge into when a night of pulsing lights and beats
are finished with. Both the highs and the lows. Paul was going also
going through some personal ups and downs. The album's songs reflect
his emotional journey. Throughout, the dancefloor taunts us like
a temptress, determined to lure us into her arms, but we're torn
between her charms and the inner us which the dance beats may drown
out. The temptress is at her most seductive halfway through the
album with 'Set You Fee' ("music sets you free, lets you fuck your
fantasy"). But the album has already transported us into another
world with the ethereal opening track, lyrically and sonically 'above
the clouds'. And straight after 'Set You Free' we hear another seductive
plea, begging us to stay a little longer. The bedsheets on our side
have been pulled back in hope. Paulmac is being pulled one way and
then the other, taking us with him. Silverchair's rhythm section
comes head to head with a real life string section on 'Everywhere
I Go'. He could have just gone to his sampler, but wouldn't have
unearthed the same tension. At the end we've been through much,
but still feel somehow 'Disconnected'. There's more to life and
music - and Paulmac - than a dancebeat.
All
his priors and credentials might have suggested Paulmac would give
us an album along the lines of a Moby or Tricky. Even the single
'Just The Thing' suggested that's where he was going. But that's
not what Paulmac has delivered. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium
and with a lifetime playing in bands the 'other' Paul McDermott
has made his name as one of Australia's techno pioneers, ARIA award
winner back in 1995 with Itchy And Scratchy, becoming an in-demand
remixer for Silverchair, Grinspoon, etc.. The 'surprise' is that
with this background, with the ways of modern dance music at his
feet, Paulmac's own first album holds onto two things many a modern
artist in the same place pushes aside - a respect for melody over
the beats, and respect for his singers as more than as just another
plaything to sample and turn upside down. In fact, two of the singers
Paulmac has chosen walk into his musical world come with vocal characters
it would be a crime not to respect - Leonardo's Bride's pure and
sultry Abby Dobson, and Cruel Sea's dirty and gritty Tex Perkins.
The title of the album refers to the Blue Mountains hideaway where
the album was recorded, where Paulmac goes to escape the hustle
and bustle. He says that the album he wanted to create is the sounds
you want to submerge into when a night of pulsing lights and beats
are finished with. Both the highs and the lows. Paul was going also
going through some personal ups and downs. The album's songs reflect
his emotional journey. Throughout, the dancefloor taunts us like
a temptress, determined to lure us into her arms, but we're torn
between her charms and the inner us which the dance beats may drown
out. The temptress is at her most seductive halfway through the
album with 'Set You Fee' ("music sets you free, lets you fuck your
fantasy"). But the album has already transported us into another
world with the ethereal opening track, lyrically and sonically 'above
the clouds'. And straight after 'Set You Free' we hear another seductive
plea, begging us to stay a little longer. The bedsheets on our side
have been pulled back in hope. Paulmac is being pulled one way and
then the other, taking us with him. Silverchair's rhythm section
comes head to head with a real life string section on 'Everywhere
I Go'. He could have just gone to his sampler, but wouldn't have
unearthed the same tension. At the end we've been through much,
but still feel somehow 'Disconnected'. There's more to life and
music - and Paulmac - than a dancebeat.