A. K. Paul | |
---|---|
Birth name | Anup Kumar Paul |
Born | 1986 (age 37–38) |
Origin | Rayners Lane, London, England |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer, instrumentalist, bass player, recording engineer |
Instrument(s) | Bass, Synthesizers, Guitar |
Years active | 2011-present |
Labels | 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" [2] 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". [3] [4] [5] [6] 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. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
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. [12] [13]
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. [14] 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." [15]
Paul is credited as providing additional vocals and sound design on Jai Paul's demo recording "BTSTU", as well as mastering the track. [16] 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.
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. [17] "Jasmine (demo)" received critical acclaim in the media, with Pitchfork featuring the song as a "Best New Track" [18] within an hour of its appearance on SoundCloud, The New York Times praising its "Prince era sensuality" [19] and The Guardian describing the production as "amazing". [20] The song appears on the soundtrack to the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V .
Paul collaborated with Hackney vocalist Nao on a song called "So Good". This was the first time Paul applied the moniker A. K. Paul. [21] In November, Miguel posted a photo of himself with A. K. and Jai Paul on Instagram, marking a rare appearance from both artists. [22] Also in November, singer Jones collaborated with A. K. on a song called "You". [23]
A. K. returned with another production credit. This time on Miguel's album Wildheart for the song "Flesh". [24] He also co-wrote three songs on Maverick Sabre's second studio album Innerstanding.
In March 2016, A. K., Jai Paul and Muz Azar announced the Paul Institute, a record label and musical incubator. [25] This was accompanied by the release of the single "Landcruisin'", a song by A. K. Paul, via text messages and a website. [26] "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". [27] 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." [28]
Paul collaborated with Guernsey born DJ Mura Masa with the track "Who Is It Gonna B" on Mura Masa's debut album. [29] A. K. Paul also reached out to British R&B artist HIRA - working on production on the single "Eve" alongside Craze and Hoax. [30] 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.
After a period of inactivity attributed to a legal fight, Paul released the final version of "Be Honest" in July 2020. [31] He also worked on releases of Paul Institute artists Reinen and Ruthven.
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." [32]
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. [33]
A.K. co-produced the track "Monsoon" on British artist Wesley Joseph's album GLOW, and was also featured in its music video. [34] [35]
Song | Artist | Credit | Album | Release Date | UK Singles Chart | Certification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"BTSTU" | Jai Paul | Writing/Production/Background Vocals | Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) | April 2011 | - | - |
"Jasmine" | Jai Paul | Writing/Production | Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) | March 2012 | - | - |
"Higher Res" | Big Boi | Bass/Recording | Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors | December 2012 | - | - |
"Next To Me" | Emeli Sandé | Co-writing/Bass | Our Version of Events | February 2012 | 2 | Platinum |
Jessie Ware | Guitars/Bass | Devotion | April 2013 | 105 | ||
"Nirvana" | Sam Smith | Writing | Nirvana (EP) | January 2014 | - | - |
"So Good" | Nao | Writing/Production/Vocals | So Good E.P. | December 2014 | - | - |
"You" | JONES | Writing/Production | Indulge (EP) | June 2015 | - | - |
"FLESH" | Miguel | Writing/Production | Wildheart | June 2015 | - | - |
"Give It Up", "So Free" and "Mother" | Maverick Sabre | Writing | Innerstanding | October 2015 | - | - |
"Landcruisin'" | A.K. Paul | Writing/Production/Mixing/Mastering | Landcruisin' | March 2016 | - | - |
"Trophy" | Nao | Writing/Production/Vocals | For All We Know | July 2016 | - | - |
"Rising Water (A. K. Paul Remix)" | James Vincent McMorrow | Production/Additional Vocals | We Move | 29 September 2016 | - | - |
"Eve" | HIRA | Production | Eve/Rarri | 12 May 2017 | - | - |
"Who Is It Gonna B" | Mura Masa | Writing/Vocals | Mura Masa | 14 July 2017 | - | - |
"Evil" | Ruthven | Production | Evil | 16 November 2017 | - | - |
"Mystery" | Fabiana Palladino | Production | Mystery | 16 November 2017 | - | - |
"Hypothalamus" | Ruthven | Production | Hypothalamus | 25 July 2018 | - | - |
"Shimmer" | Fabiana Palladino | Production | Shimmer | 25 July 2018 | - | - |
"Be Honest" | A.K. Paul | Writing/Production/Mixing/Mastering/Vocals | Paul Institute - Summer 2020 | 28 July 2020 | - | - |
"Shadow Knight" | Reinen | Writing/Production | Paul Institute - Summer 2020 | 29 July 2020 | - | - |
"Have You Decided?" | Ruthven | Writing/Production/Mixing/Mastering | Paul Institute - Summer 2020 | 30 July 2020 | - | - |
"Cheers Mate" | A.K. Paul | Writing/Production/Mixing/Mastering | SoundCloud release | 12 April 2021 | - | - |
"Wake Me Up", "2001", "Summer Sky" and "Looking High" | Foals | Production | Life Is Yours | 17 June 2022 | - | - |
"Monsoon" | Wesley Joseph | Production | Secretly Canadian/EEVILTWINN | 20 April 2023 | - | - |
Adele Emily Sandé,, known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father, Sandé rose to prominence after being a featured artist on the 2009 track "Diamond Rings" by rapper Chipmunk. It was the first top 10 single on the UK Singles Chart for both of them. In 2010, she was featured on "Never Be Your Woman" by the rapper Wiley, which was another top ten hit. In 2012, she received the Brit Awards' Critics' Choice Award.
Jai Paul is a British songwriter, record producer and recording artist. His early demo "BTSTU" led to his online discovery and a subsequent recording contract with XL Recordings. Together with its follow-up "Jasmine", these songs have been regarded as influential on underground as well as mainstream pop music in the 2010s.
"BTSTU" is a song by British songwriter and record producer Jai Paul. A demo recording of the song received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010 after having been uploaded to Paul's MySpace page, as well as receiving numerous plays on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The BBC's Zane Lowe made "BTSTU (Demo)" his Hottest Record in the World. On the strength of this demo, Paul was long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll.
Our Version of Events is the debut studio album by Scottish recording artist Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though Our Version of Events is her first album release, Sandé has been active in the industry since 2009, most notably appearing on singles by Chipmunk and Wiley. The album features R&B, soul and pop music.
Lianne Charlotte Barnes, known professionally as Lianne La Havas, is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for whom she sang backing vocals. In 2010, La Havas signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting, before releasing any music. La Havas' debut studio album, Is Your Love Big Enough? (2012), was released to positive reviews from critics and earned her a nomination for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll and awards for the iTunes Album of The Year 2012. She has released two other studio albums since, Blood in 2015 and Lianne La Havas in 2020. She was nominated once for a Grammy award in 2016 and twice for Brit Awards, in 2017 and 2021. She currently lives in London.
The discography of R&B and soul recording artist Emeli Sandé consists of five studio albums, thirty singles and twenty-one music videos
Alexander George Edward Crossan, better known by his stage name Mura Masa, is a Guernsey-born electronic music producer and songwriter. Crossan is best known for his 2016 song "Lovesick", which reached number one on the Spotify Viral charts in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2022, he produced the single "Boy's a Liar" by PinkPantheress, which peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Neo Jessica Joshua, better known as Nao, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from East London. Her sound has been described as soul combined with electronic music, funk and R&B. Nao coined the term "wonky funk" to describe her style. She released her debut album, For All We Know, in 2016, her second album, Saturn, in 2018, followed by her most recent album, And Then Life Was Beautiful, released in 2021.
"Be Alright" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande for her third studio album Dangerous Woman (2016). Grande co-wrote the track with Tommy Brown, Victoria Monét, Khaled Rohaim, Nicholas Audino, Lewis Hughes and Willie Tafa, while its production was handled by Twice as Nice and Brown. "Be Alright" was released as the first promotional single from the album on March 18, 2016. In terms of music, the song is inspired by the 1990s deep house and influenced by R&B and Chicago house. Lyrically, it is a carefree song about being optimistic. The track was performed live for the first time on Saturday Night Live, with choreography inspired by the vogue style of ballroom culture; the same choreography was adopted by Grande during her Dangerous Woman Tour, in which the song served as opening track. Grande also performed the song as a part of the setlist during her Sweetener World Tour; a live version is included on the tour's live album, K Bye for Now .
"Landcruisin'" is a song by English musician Anup Paul, professionally known as A.K. Paul. It was released as his debut solo single on 24 March 2016. Written and produced by Paul, it is an R&B track backed by synths, guitars and percussion, whose sonority was likened to that of various artists.
For All We Know is the debut studio album by British electronic singer-songwriter Nao. It was released on 29 July 2016 by RCA and Little Tokyo Recordings. It has guest features by Abhi//Dijon and A. K. Paul, and received critical acclaim upon release.
"Lovesick" is a single by Guernsey-born music producer Alex Crossan, under the alias Mura Masa, featuring vocals from ASAP Rocky. It was released on 30 September 2016, by Universal Music, Polydor and Anchor Point Records, as the second single for his self-titled debut album.
Mura Masa is the debut studio album by Guernsey-born music producer Alex Crossan, under his alias Mura Masa. It was released on 14 July 2017 by Polydor, Interscope, Downtown and Anchor Point Records. The album was produced and recorded by Crossan from 2014 to 2016, and has guest features by A. K. Paul, ASAP Rocky, Bonzai, Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens, Damon Albarn, Desiigner, Jamie Lidell, NAO and Tom Tripp. It received nominations for Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Recording Package at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
This is the discography of British producer Mura Masa.
"Jasmine" (sometimes referred to as "Jasmine (Demo)") is a song by Jai Paul, first released in 2012 as a digital download.
Leak 04-13 is a demo album by British musician Jai Paul, released as his debut project. It was released on 1 June 2019 through XL Recordings, marking seven years since Paul last released solo music with the 2012 single "Jasmine". The album consists of demos intended for what would have been his debut studio album, Bait Ones. However, it was initially leaked from a low-quality CD-R stolen from Paul and sold through Bandcamp under the unofficial title Jai Paul on 13 April 2013. A City of London Police investigation—along with direct cooperation from Bandcamp and PayPal—could not uncover the leaker's identity, and Paul characterised the incident as traumatic, taking an extended hiatus from music. In later years, Paul felt comfortable with officially releasing the album as sequenced by the user who originally stole and illegally uploaded it.
Blane Muise, better known by her stage name Shygirl, is an English singer, DJ, rapper, songwriter and co-head/founder of record label and collective Nuxxe. Shygirl's music incorporates elements of dance music, industrial hip-hop, experimental pop, grime and deconstructed club. She has also been associated with the hyperpop music scene. Shygirl rose to prominence after working with close collaborator and friend Sega Bodega, as well as other well-known experimental producers Arca and Sophie, and gaining attention from the likes of Rihanna, who has used various Nuxxe tracks for her Fenty Beauty commercials and fashion shows. Shygirl has released various singles since 2016, and two EPs titled Cruel Practice and Alias. Her debut studio album Nymph was released on 30 September 2022 to widespread acclaim from music critics.
"Just for Me" is a song by English singer PinkPantheress. It was produced by Mura Masa and released on 13 August 2021 through Parlophone and Elektra as the fourth single from her debut mixtape To Hell with It. Prior to being released, a snippet of the song posted to TikTok by PinkPantheress went viral on the platform. The bedroom pop, 2-step garage, and alternative pop song is a spiritual successor to PinkPantheress's song "Pain", and is written about her unhealthy obsession with a crush.
Victoria Beverley Walker, known professionally as PinkPantheress, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including bedroom pop, drum and bass, alt-pop, and 2-step garage.
Glitch Princess is the second studio album by Singaporean musician Yeule, released on February 4, 2022. The digital version of the album clocks in at more than five hours of music, primarily due to the inclusion of the final track, "The Things They Did for Me Out of Love", a four-hour ambient track. The album received critical acclaim from music critics.