Paul Thomas Saunders recently had two of his songs used on the Feel Good soundtrack, of which I felt immediately drawn to. An incredible musician, with more music on the way, here is our interview below:
Me: I found your music through spotify suggesting I'll Come Running, it's now one of my favourite songs. Where did the inspiration for the song come from?
PTS: I think of that song as two separate entities within itself really, with a distinction between how it came about sonically and then the origin of the song itself. It was one of the first songs I worked on after my album Beautiful Desolation, which was quite a drawn-out and introspective experience. So with I’ll Come Running, I wanted to make something that felt immediate to myself and that didn’t require the same amount of pedantic attention to detail – I was just trying to make something that made me excited about music again.
As a song, it’s just a desperate love song, about somewhere in between the first throws of love and becoming utterly dependant and entangled within a partners life.
M: One of your biggest songs according to spotify is Appointment in Samarra. When making that song, did you feel it would be the one to blow up?
PTS: Thank you! It’s done okay for itself I suppose, but I’ve actually never fallen in love with that particular recording of it. I do remember feeling something I’ve chased ever since though, when I’d finished writing it in a damp basement in Leeds, it was the first time I felt inexplicably confident that I’d written something I was proud of. That’s the only way I can describe it, for me, when I create something, my internal dialogue almost tries to convince my more logical self that its good... when its not, but there’s a more visceral satisfaction that I felt for the first time with Appointment in Samarra that I try to use as a benchmark for what I’m happy to release.
M: When starting music, did you think you'd have the success you've had?
PTS: I’m not sure what I’ve had is ‘success’ in a traditional sense, but I am endlessly surprised at whatever it is I have achieved. When you start making music, it’s hard to picture what you think ‘success’ will be - for me, the act of making music is just an essential part of my existence, and to have the fruits of that validated from time to time by others, however many or few still really warms my soul.
M: Despite great numbers on your music, including almost 30k listeners a month, you haven't released music for a few years - why is that?
PTS: It’s been a strange few years, navigating various aspects of life, and I suppose its fair to say however important music is to me, it is a single aspect of my life amongst others. So, partly, I’ve been concentrating on those other aspects and partly, I’ve just been working on how I make music, how I write music and how I want the next chapter that to look. But, I’m there now I think and will not be so dormant over the coming years.
M: Can we expect any new music?
PTS: I have a new album that’s in the final stages of mixing and mastering, so yes, it’s all coming.
M: Did the pandemic affect the making of any music?
PTS: It did, but not necessarily in a bad way actually. I’d started making an album in late 2019 in a variety of places, with a co-producer. Then, with the pandemic, I just started to trust myself more as a sole producer and engineer. I still worked with others remotely, but became really comfortable making creative decisions without having someone else to use as a soundboard. It’s opened up a lot of freedom for how I feel about creating music in the future.
M: I've found that all your covers for singles/albums/eps are all very different. When making a cover idea, what do you do?
PTS: I generally have a crisis about every single cover and piece of artwork, hideously over analyse it and as a result end up with a total lack of cohesion between each release. But, I like them all in their own way. I’m a little erratic creatively, so it makes sense that this is reflected in things like artwork. I’ve been working with some amazing artists on the upcoming releases though, that I’m really excited about sharing.
M: Your song I'll Come Running was also on the Feel Good soundtrack. What was that like for you?
PTS: It was a total dream. Mae Martin is just a genius and Feel Good is such a bursting heart of a story. To have something I’ve made in anyway associated with that series is a real privilege, and I hope that even in a small way my music can embody the kind of openness and warmth that I experienced watching Feel Good.
M: Out of all your songs, which in your opinion is the best and why?
PTS: It definitely changes from time to time, but some of fondest memories of my music is playing A Lunar Veterans Guide to Re-entry live with my band. We used to close with that song, and it just felt really good sometimes. There’s times when you’re playing with a live band that you can feel it just works, and it was usually playing that song when I felt that.
M: i like to end on a more fun one - if you could write a song for any show or movie, what show or movie would it be?
PTS: I like that question a lot. Basically anything Jim Jarmusch has ever made or will make, that would be the dream collaboration. Or anything Noah Baumbach writes, or anything that Greta Gerwig is involved in. I just like TV and movies that don’t start from a place of assuming that the audience won’t meet you half way. I think it’s important not underestimate you’re audience, so most of the art I like, whether its something visual or music, tends to follow that ethos
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