‘Naked Rabbit’ by Paul Dill
An artist with a keen eye and a free spirit brings light into the darkness of everyday life with his music. His songs, sometimes delicate, sometimes furious, draw inspiration from the poetry of Biermann, the rawness of Bukowski, and the uniqueness of Gaudi, while breathing in the depth of Hertha Müller. In his folk-rock tales, Paul Dill transforms everyday thoughts into poetic musical collages with his wild guitar artistry. Drawing from the unpredictable, he travels the world, enriching it with his melodies.
On this Good Friday, a day inviting quiet contemplation,
Paul Dill breaks with expectations and releases his new song ‘Naked Rabbit.’ Far from any silence, the title is imbued with a captivating folk-rock vibe that inevitably grabs attention. Yet,
behind the catchy melody lies an unexpected twist: a bold critique of the censorship of artists deemed politically unacceptable. With an ironic pen, Dill sketches a scenario where art and society need realignment to fit into a predetermined mold, while the chorus calls for empowering the rising generation in their courage and audacity. It’s a plea not to blindly surrender to the arms of unconditional political correctness from the outset. ‘Naked Rabbit’ by Paul Dill stands like a lighthouse in the stormy times of censorship and political conformity, guiding aspiring artists around the world to express their unadulterated truth.
Like an earworm that sneaks into the depths of consciousness, it marks the beginning of a melodic journey so infectious it conquers hearts by storm. Yet what started as a harmonious symphony soon turned into a dance with the shadow of censorship and a call to battle, where each note is a signpost and every word a spark of rebellion.
Lastly, there’s an artwork for the song, inviting the viewer to dive into the depths of ambiguity and discover the message behind the depiction of ‘Naked Rabbit.’ In conclusion, it would be a cultural disregard not to recognize the entire work of ‘Naked Rabbit’ as extraordinary and special.
Q&A
Who is Paul Dill as a person behind the artist, and what or who sparked your passion for music?
I am a lover of humor and the unexpected. Pointing out absurd things in day to day situations, especially with people that do not know me, is one of my favorite habits. If not with my guitar or piano I spend my time reading, playing football, chess or beach volleyball. I started playing piano when I was 5, because my older sister took lessons.
With 11 I started writing german hip hop with a friend in school. This turned into the first band, where I picked up the bass and later the guitar. The music I listened to came from my step father. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, Bill Withers. He also got me my first guitar and showed me everything he knows.
I spend a year as a teenager in the US with a music driving family in a village near St. Louis. Later fought myself in and out of every University. Always choosing the career path of the greatest resistance. Went from American Studies and Philosophy to Film Music and later Autonomic Composition. After an early release of the Conservatorium I studied Dutch Philology and gave Philosophy another shot. Since 2013 I have been working as a composer for contemporary dance, which has been a well of great inspiration.
What are the key elements or major influences that have shaped the sound and style of your music?
The major influences of my music are The Beatles, Jeff Buckley and Bill Withers as well as modern colleagues as Big Thief, Aldous Harding and Ben Howard. Major element is the experimentation with the guitar. For many years I have been inventing new tunings and exploring fingerstyle guitar playing.
Telling a story in a unique but catchy way is important to me. I love to come up with word constructions.
Writing for many years for contemporary dance and theater has brought to me the love for improvisation, different ways to approach a topic and widened my horizon in terms of performing and the importance of claiming space or leaving it for others to fill. Poetry from writers like Charles Bukowski or Herta Mueller have a big impact on my music.
Your latest track, “Naked Rabbit,” is a catchy indie folk tune with a serious message. What was your muse or inspiration?
I like to address topics that I find relevant, especially when they are not the usual themes for popular songs, while telling the story in form of a catchy song, to appeal to a wide audience. I wrote the song a few years back. But the topic is still very present. It’s a criticism towards the censorship of artists that are considered politically unacceptable. I believe the artist and the art need to be separated.
Do you concur that a “wordsmith” such as yourself finds the richest tales in the unfolding of everyday life, merely by being an observant spectator?
Being an observer plays a big role for my writing. I tend to carry a notebook in my pocket, to always be able capture an absurd or beautiful conversation of strangers. I also love to sketch in a very fast way, without any technical ability, to take a snapshot of what I see.
How was it working with Jules Buckley and Ivo Vollering?
I have been working on and off with Jules Buckley for many years. It’s such a great inspiration and pleasure. We tend to start out with a song idea that I usually bring on guitar. With Naked Rabbit I had the verse and the chorus. Jules has the incredible ability to hear what a song needs. ”Let’s find a part that anybody will whistle on their way home from work“, I remember him saying. The wonderful sing-along-bridge is a total Buckley. All his arrangement experience makes the work feel so effortless. Time always flies and we tend to allow every kind of idea. In the end of a session with Jules I am always amazed by the amount of inventions. The starting point of the album was a track called Peace, that we produced in his studio over the period of 6 month. It has a beautiful film music like development. In the process we decided to record every sound exactly how we wanted it to be on the record. Hardly using any effects or compression.
We wrote several songs on the upcoming album together, and he has been the main adviser in terms of arrangements and the mix.
Ivo Vollering is the partner in crime I have always hoped for. We started working on this album more than 3 years ago. We met during music Uni in the Netherlands, played together for a while, lost touch for 6 years, and found each other again during the pandemic. We are both drawn to fingerstyle guitar playing, and play the same Martin.
When Ivo decided to produce my debut album, I couldn’t believe the dedication he was willing to give. I always wanted to do an album with a unique sound and songwriting, but never found the time or right producer. We started meeting 4 times per week, sometimes for 14 hours. Laying down 18 tracks in his studio. We captured 2 songs per week, playing all the instruments to the point that a drummer could play to it, in a way that it keeps the dynamic of a band studio performance. We finally found our drum master in Chris Hill (former drummer for Alice Pheobe Lou), who completely blew our minds. We were planing to rent a big studio for the drums. But Chris managed to record all the tracks remotely from his beautiful studio at Tracking Farm. He followed our biggest inspiration for the drum sound, Big Thief’s James Krivchenia, perfectly and was able to record all the drums, without us ever being in the same room together.
It’s also the second single from your upcoming debut album ‘Courage is a Curse.’ What can our readers expect from it?
‘Courage is a curse’ is my debut album and the best work I’ve done yet. I always dreamt to dedicate the time to really create a unique album. With a special sound throughout all the tracks, well worked out lyrics with topics that you don’t usually hear in popular music.
We were inspired by albums like Ben Howards, ‘Forget were we where’ or Big Thief’s, ‘Capacity’. The lyrics as well as the songwriting have a lot of collage like layers, a little bit like Abbey Road, by The Beatles. Inspiration is drawn from my favorite poets like Charles Bukowski or Herta Müller.
With songs that seem tailor-made for live performances, will your fans have the opportunity to see you live on stage?
The fixed show at the moment is the release concert in Berlin at Privatclub 7.6.24. I will play a tour in the summer and also a few small festivals TBA. My son was born 3 weeks ago, and from August on our little family will move to Spain for half a year, where I will also be playing concerts.
Who would you love to talk to about music, whether they are alive or not?
John Lennon, I know I am not alone with that. But I feel a very strong connection to the way he wrote songs and also used absurdity and plenty of humor in his reflections on life.
What are some of the projects or plans that you have in mind for the near future?
Play this album live as much as possible. It’s been such a pleasure to work so extensively in the studio. But music needs to be performed. And I really feel the need to play my music to as many people as possible.
Also my wife has a dance company Cia. Irene Cortina for which I have been writing and performing the music for many years. A lot of the songs stories arrive from our projects and touring, mainly through Spain. I am looking forward to make another piece as well and perform while we are on the road.
photo credit: Oleg Hollmann
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