Paul White – Paul White & The Purple Brain
When a man turns into his own private realm to find inspiration, the results can be quite unexpected. If madness and immersion in a subject matter take over a man, the results can perhaps be more predictable. However, when both are combined, you get someone like Paul White. In this specific case, armed with only a sampler, renowned British hip-hop producer Paul White relied heavily on the eastern musical influences from the entire seminal works of legendary Swedish psyche rocker S.T. Mikael. What emerged from this study is the second album to be released via his own determined One Handed Music label. It also marks his debut in conjunction with Now Again, Paul White & the Purple Brain, which was released back in early June.
For years, Paul White has been gaining quite the reputation as one of the most unique and forward thinking beat-makers in the UK, while in the process continuing to defy categorization. As his discography continues to grow on the foundation of his brilliant debut full length release, The Strange Dreams of Paul White, his sound and even his followers continue to evolve. Known at first as simply a hip-hop producer, White’s beats soon became something more, appealing to audiophiles of all genres. Nowadays, there is no limit to where his beats and his reputation can go, though one thing is for certain, he is working ahead of the curve.
As seen on his previous works and again found here in this primarily instrumental work, the sound-scapes he produces are relatively short in duration (with the longest at 2:23) but lengthy in number. Although his different effects and layers create unique worlds in each ‘sketch’, they all contain the original, overall psych-rock theme. On the opening number ‘Gentle Freak’ he uses a simple and summery guitar riff to form his main layer and from there he continues to form his piece with beat culminating in a track which is unavoidable catchy. On ‘Pride‘ he utilizes the same approach as the opener but creates a dreamy yet psychedelic sound-scape which is truly difficult to describe. He reunites with his hip-hop roots however on ‘Marshen Signals’, though the psych element never strays too far from the source. It’s remarkable how seamlessly White can combine different elements while composing a study as a whole so convincingly. Even on ‘Come Back’ which is the first entrance of a vocal track with its slow groove and ethereal vocals making it especially enjoyable.
Regardless of the track throughout the record, there’s no mistaking it’s the work of Paul White. It’s an incredible piece by one of the most forward thinking producers in ‘hip-hop’ today. The creative and spontaneous nature of his works continues to push the limits of the beat-making world while conversely staying strictly in its own world. It’s this adverse nature and approach to beat-making that gives White the vision and wherewithal to discover new things about his studies and his fantastic purple brain.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/02-Pride.mp3]Download: Paul White – Pride [MP3]