Ian Paulin
Ian Paulin’s business card says, simply, ‘intriguing older guy does lots of creative things’.
He’s performed at top festivals and venues in Oz and overseas. He’s been an artist, activist, academic and community worker. His songs are powerful journeys always performed with his unique, rational passion and a true sense of fun. Something magical always happens when Ian plays. You’ll be glad you came.
“An outstanding songwriter and performer. Powerful, finely-crafted songs - a captivating entertainer”. Jackson Richter, Musikhalle [Laeiszhalle] Hamburg.
“Ian Paulin is a storyteller of gentle, sparkling charm and warmth” - Daniel Crowe, Thornbury Local, Melbourne.
MEET THE SONGWRITER - 5 QUICK QUESTIONS:
Why do you write songs? (When/why did you start writing and what keeps you going?)
A: My older brother, David, took me to a folk concert in the neighbouring town one afternoon. I was about 13. There was this room packed with people, not just playing music I hadn’t ever heard, but many of them playing songs they’d written themselves. So, I guess I grew into that experience, not knowing it was anything other than ‘what ya do’. The best kind of songs were always the ones that took me into a life lived by someone, or to a place where that living was going on. They were always little quests or adventures. I guess that’s what they still are for me … what gets me out there … looking, learning, wondering, laughing, crying. What’s that Kahlil Gibran saying about us being here to laugh all our laughter and weep all our tears?
How would you describe the emotional world or themes your songs tend to explore?
A: I stay interested in the story someone’s in. Even my very political songs, and many of them are, need to be, well I need them to be, grounded in a life … Sometimes that life pops up in front of me with its story and its view of justice. Or I go look for what’s happening and do the troubadour thingy. Wasn’t it Carol Hanisch who said something about ‘the personal is the political’? I think I was 14 when someone gave me a crumpled up copy of her essay …
Which artists or songwriters have had the biggest influence on your musical journey?
A: Well, the biggies: Peter Gabriel, Cohen, Joni Mitchell. They’re natural story spinners but kind of deep too. But the odd ones like The Doors, Lindisfarne. Michelle Shocked, her ‘88 album Short Sharp Shocked, anything by Bruce Cockburn. He’s got a wonderful live double album. But melodically it’s a bit obscure … I loved Josquin des Prez and Palestrina vocal pieces … beautiful. I like Erik Satie’s piano pieces, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell again … if my hands won’t play it today I study on it, obsess about it, until I get it tomorrow.
Describe your songwriting process. How does a song usually begin for you?
A: It’s always the story. Something, someone impacts me and it buzzes around my brain until the story is clear … the point of it is clear … but the music is usually tinkling around in all that mushy thinking for a while. Then I usually straighten out the lyrics, a bit like poetry, and sometimes totally poetry until I’m sure it’s done. Then I’ll go back to the guitar, sometimes piano, and work it till I’m sure they lie like lovers together.
If you were to be stranded on a desert island and could only take two albums with you, what would they be?
A: 'Fog on the Tyne' by Lindisfarne and 'Passion' by Peter Gabriel.
