Details:
genre:
- Blues
- Acoustic
- Rock
- Folk
- Ambient
- Soul
location:
Chelmsford Essex, United Kingdom
bio:
On his 17th birthday Paolo packed up his bags and moved to Amsterdam where he roughed it for a couple of months before landing a job hosting an acoustic night at a local red light district bar, The Doors Café. Over the next two years Paolo honed his skills and built up the venues reputation as a mecca for travelling musicians. It was in the autumn of '98, after nearly two years in Holland, that he received an invitation to live and play in Chicago, Illinois. After six months touring with his band ?Racecar?, Paolo returned to the UK and began setting up ?The Morenas?, an eclectic, rock-orientated collective from the Essex coast. The band's first break came when they represented Xfm and Lauren Laverne in the Cannonball 8000 from London to Monte Carlo in their 1970's New York police car and headlined the after-party in Monaco. Their antics were shown on ITV1 and, along with sharing festival stages with the likes of The Levellers, they started to attract attention. Their first single Coming Home received great reviews and national radio plays off the back of this attention. After a Channel 4: 4Play feature their second single, ?It Shouldn?t Mata?, was released and received favourable press in publications as diverse as Music Week and OK Magazine along with even more radio interest which secured endorsement deals with Fender, Warwick and Orange County. The Morenas supported Martin Grech (Island Records) for his album launch and a UK tour with INME (V2) and The Beta Band to name but a few. Paolo played a cameo role as John Lennon in a Channel 4 drama about the life of Princess Margaret. 2006 saw the band release their first EP, Dance for Your Dictator followed by a live radio session on cult DJ Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show. It was another six months before the album ?The whole and the Half' would be released and has become something of a cult classic.
It would be four more years before Paolo's next project 'The MightySmall'. The concept seems to of been doing away with band members all together and rather than reverting to samples and loops he creates them whilst performing. He's kind of like a one man band, but without the cymbals strapped to his knees.
After the audio assault of Paolo's last project 'The Morenas' this is a complete style change akin to the early Bowie albums, and what an effect it seems to of had. Paolo's voice and powerful expression is holding it all together whilst he flirts with guitars and choruses of voices. From the bluesy early sixties style 'Who cares for you?" to the dark hypnotic power of 'The Doors' with 'Mean Old City' the music is engaging and electric. I was transported to an africana style (Think 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight') by the track 'One More Night' then calmed by the melancholy 'Hightimes'
I felt as though I had started my evening in LA and after a brief stop over in London, I ended up in Jamaica. Around the world in eight songs? A mix of melody and rhythm, sweetly and soulfully tainted by the melancholy.
You've got to see, hear this.....
website:
http://www.paolomorena.com
