PAUL DEN HEYER – “TECHNICOLOR SUMMER SUNSHINE”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
We often look to the UK for signs of what’s to come and the current state of music, but very few bands can simultaneously embody the essence of music past, present and future all in a single composition. Enter Liverpool-based indie pop artist Paul Den Heyer, who has just released his debut album ‘Everything So Far’ via A Turntable Friend Records.
Today we have the pleasure of premiering the new video for the album’s lead track ‘Technicolor Summer Sunshine’ – a masterpiece that brings light and lofty feelings as if it were an intoxicating cocktail of the best of Mojave 3, Slowdive and Neil Halstead’s solo work, Mazzy Star, The Byrds and the most hazy dazy of musical output from Creation Records’ legends The Telescopes. Oh the sweet sound of sunshine. Den Heyer has found himself a rich seam of gold with this debut release. We’d be unwise to mine it.
Paul Den Heyer is perhaps best known as frontman of 90s Liverpool band Fishmonkeyman, who produced the indie-hit ‘If I’ve Told You Once’, signed on with Warners and Virgin Music, and kept up active appearances on TV, radio and on the road. More recently, he is known as producer for Sunstack Jones and member of The Red Sided Garter Snakes with former members of The Chameleons, Bauer, Puressence and Inspiral Carpets.
Paul Den Heyer creates moody acoustic landscapes and melodic miniatures with fantastic harmonies and a rich set of instrumentation. ‘Everything So Far’ is his first solo release, made with the help of good friends and recorded during a summertime spent on the Wirral peninsula.
He describes his musical style as ‘Britanicana’. Indeed, his music blends British folk songwriting with 60s/70s American psych-pop, drawing on Influences from Syd Barrett, Nick Drake, John Martyn and Richard Thompson with a tip of the hat to Neil Young and The Flying Burrito Brothers. His shoegazing 90s background also peeps through in his simple production.
“Everything So Far is a personal collection of songs triggered by a sequence of recent family and friend bereavements and a health scare of my own 5 years ago. Such things (as the members of Spinal Tap in their movie state) give a person ‘too much fucking perspective’ and often put them into an introspective state of mind. This was certainly the case with me and was enough to make me write my first new songs in almost 20 years,” says Paul Den Heyer.
“The songs came thick and fast and effortlessly, unusual for me, and were recorded quickly in between sessions for a Sunstack Jones album I was working on in the summer. Hence, the band feature on the LP heavily as they were good enough and only too happy to help out. Wouldn’t have happened without them!”
‘Everything So Far’ is available on digital platforms, including iTunes, Bandcamp and Spotify with worldwide distribution through London’s SRD (Southern Record Distributors).
It will be available as a limited 9-track CD in gatefold, and also on limited run vinyl in your choice of black or milky-white. Both options come with a download code, while vinyl orders also come with a lyrics sheet. The album can be obtained at https://pauldenheyer.bandcamp.com/album/everything-so-far or www.roughtrade.com/gb/music/paul-den-heyer-everything-so-far
Check out the whole album here:
Paul Den Heyer
[Video]
(A Turntable Friend Records)
Release Date: June 14, 2019
Artist Links
Photo Credits: Ian Holmes
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