Paul Alexander Low
UK based Singer Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paul Alexander Low is a notable up and coming artist with a powerful voice and catchy folk pop songs. A real songsmith with heartfelt and meaningful lyrics and with his songs played on radio stations all across the globe, Paul is attracting music industry attention and has been marked out as one to watch. The debut album “Sunshine After The Rain is due out July 30th
Who inspired you to make music?
I started playing the guitar at 16. I loved music and was heavily into guitar based classic rock like Led Zep, Jimmy Hendrix and my hero was Angus young. However what inspired me to actually start playing was a local musician who played in a small skiffle band that played occasionally in the pub I lived in (yes I lived in a pub 😊 ) . This little skiffle band made up of a singer/guitar player, a guy who played a wash board with thimbles for the percussion and the joker of the band who played a home-made double bass, i.e. a box with a broom handle and a piece of string connecting them that he could pull on to change the tension and play the notes on.
What struck me about this group, aside from the their unusual set up was how they connected with the audience and how much fun they and everyone else had. I chatted to the guitar player, Martin afterwards and told him I was thinking of learning to play. He said something to me that I never forgot, he said “you’ll always have friends if you play the guitar”.
So, I begged my Dad for a guitar who managed to find a secondhand, slightly ropey acoustic guitar and gave it to me saying if I was still playing it in 6 month’s time he would buy be something better. 2 weeks after I started playing I was invited to join the same skiffle band, fortunately 3 chords and enthusiasm was all I needed to get going. My first gig was in my home pub a couple of months later with the same band. I was hooked. 6 months later my Dad did buy me that guitar but I opted for an electric guitar so I could start to emulate my rock guitar hero’s..
What or who inspired you to "Alien Race"?
‘Alien Race’ tells the story of my “clash with culture” in my time as a 1st Year Student at what was then Birmingham Polytechnic, now Birmingham City University. Having grown up in a sleepy village in the English countryside it was like landing on a different planet. I felt like I had arrived in an alien civilisation but clearly I was the alien. It took me a while to settle in but in the end, I really enjoyed my time in the great city of Birmingham. Thinking back to that time inspired the song.
What is your creative process like?
Typically I start with a melody or riff either on the guitar or the piano that I like. Then I will freeform sing anything over the top, when I hit on a melody I like I will then record my rough ideas on a voice recorder. I will then do that several times until a theme or title or subject appears from my subconscious. Then when I have a clear idea for the song I sit and write the lyrics. The whole process can take 15 mins or years…
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
It would be a great songwriter, from the list of living people it would probably be Shawn Mullins who I really admire for his story telling lyrics or if I could resurrect someone from the dead it would probably be Sam Cooke.
What is the most useful talent you have?
Having an ear for music. I didn’t have lessons and I can’t read music so everything I play is by ear, pretty handy.
...and of course your most useless talent is?
Funnily enough its probably the same talent as I am good at mimicking accents from different parts of the world. I can hear them and repeat them but I am not good at learning the languages.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
Probably waiting until my late 40’s to go solo and really try to push my music career forward. I played in various bands and groups but in doing so I had to compromise on my own style and my songs. I kept telling myself, I need to focus on it and spend more time on it but somehow life and other things took over and I never really set the time aside.
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
The music industry has changed radically in the last 10-15 years thanks to the internet. The old barriers to entry have gone in the sense that previously the only way to get mass exposure was to get a record deal. The record companies pretty much controlled the play list on the major radio stations so they largely controlled what was seen or heard by people.
These days there are so many routes to get music out there via the growing number of media platforms. The challenge now is actually getting noticed amongst the crowd. Having great music is now just the starting point. Finding a way to cut though and be noticed requires a whole new set of skills with social media and a lot of hard work.
What do you know about Austria?
I have visited Austria. I have actually been down the Olympic Bobsleigh run at Innsbruck. That was great fun. I have also visited the beautiful city of Vienna. Highly recommended.
Paul Alexander Low is...?
….is a keen martial artist. I have black belts in Kung Fu and Kickboxing. It’s a great way to stay fit at any age and has the advantage that I don’t need any additional security 😊
What’s next for you?
I release my debut Album called “Sunshine After The Rain” on July 30th 2021. The album is a realisation of a life-long dream to release a solo album of my own songs, produced in the way I wanted them to sound, with a full production.
I co-produced the album with Damon Sawyer who runs Crescent Studio’s in Swindon, UK where we recorded the album. He is also a Pro Drummer and man with a 6th sense for sound who has been an integral part of constructing the album and bringing my vision to life. He also helped to organise bringing in the amazing session musicians including Jeremy Stacey (Noel Gallagher, Robbie Williams & Ryan Adams) Rob Brian (Goldfrapp, Simple Minds, Peter Gabriel) and Simon Johnson (Tom Jones, James Morrison, Lana Del Ray).
For me the collection of songs on this album is an honest and heart felt expression of music, sometimes fun and uplifting, sometimes deeply emotional and powerful. I have included those songs that have some special meaning to me or that have struck a real chord with people in the past at live shows. Now I genuinely can’t wait to get the music out there and see what people have to say
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