New Paul E. Phonics E.P. Coming soon! - Blog

Off to a good start...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:42:16 -0800

...and just in time with this blog post. An informal New Year's Resolution was to be more consistent with the blog posts this year, at least one a month, so here it goes for January 2012.

The latest Paul E. Phonics single "The Chameleon (New Skin)" was included in a New Year Mixtape on Dark Compass and received a nice little write-up on the great music blog Schallgrenzen. And a very pleasant surprise happened this week when another flattering artlcle appeared on Klangwelt, a German music blog dedicated to electronic music. Here's a translation:

"Paul E. Phonics' The Chameleon offers a round of fine music somewhere between wave and post-punk combining electronic beats with the depth of 80s dark wave. Anyone interested in this kind of music can listen to the full stream and download it for free.

It’s always worthwhile to have a look at Schallgrenzen blog. With The Chameleon, Paul E. Phonics has conjured up a tune that will appeal to fans of dark music and synth freaks alike. This description pretty much says it all:

Post-punk with electro sounds, serrating guitars and vocals straight out of the cold chamber.

Paul McCormick is the real name behind the alias Paul E. Phonics. Through his music he expresses his passion for post-punk, electronica, progressive rock, industrial and film scores. Something for Bauhaus fans maybe?

The Canadian has been living in Berlin since 2000 where he ended his search for new inspiration. Until 2009 he could be found playing in various bands or alone with his acoustic guitar in the smaller clubs around Berlin. But in 2009 he decided to start anew and equipped with guitar, keyboards, vocals and a laptop, he started his own label. After the release of the A Fragile Peace EP, he has followed up with the new single The Chameleon as a free download." January 26, 2012

Another great event was the long-awaited (at least for me after postponing it several times) launch of the new project "Postcards From A Past Life". This is a very different musical direction than anything else coming from 5th Estate Music but it is not at all a "new" direction. In fact it's the exact opposite, going back to my roots as a more traditional singer/songwriter and involves re-working and re-recording some of my older songs in an alternative country, folk-rock, Americana kind of style. The debut E.P. "Volume 1" was released on January 23 with 5 songs all being offered for free. There will be no active promotion for this project. Like "Union Of Resonance" it will simply be there if someone wants to find it and will be expanded as time allows. Hopefully a second E.P. will be ready by the end of the year.

And that's about it for now but stay tuned. Lots more surprises on the way very soon!

The year in review

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:31:38 -0800

A quick scan of the blog archives indicates that I was a bit lax with the blog writing in 2011. Perhaps that had to do with being busy actually making things happen - or at least trying to. It was an eventful year, one that really had the feeling that things are slowly starting to come together and fall into place. And what exactly did happen? Let's take a look...

- Things started off a bit slow, but the idea for a 4 song E.P. from Paul E. Phonics was developed and work began on "A Fragile Peace".

- A new project started that involved going back and reworking older songs in a more traditional form. These were meant to be included in a songwriter portfolio and no official release was planned. That idea has changed a bit and will be explained.

- During this time, new pieces were being created and added to Union Of Resonance on a monthly basis - so all in all studio work was being carried out on three fronts. A very busy time.

- "A Fragile Peace" was released on May 12th.

- In June I headed back to the homeland to visit friends and family and attend North by Northeast. It was my first experience with a music conference. Some aspects were interesting and useful, others not so much. But I did get three great nights of concerts included with my pass which made it all worthwhile.

- Upon my return I knew I had a lot to do. Paul E. Phonics T Shirts were designed and soon made available in the shop. I started with more live booking efforts which were not so fruitful but did result in one really good concert. More on that later.

- The summer in Europe was pretty poor which ironically fit well with a new single Paul E. Phonics had just finished during the "A Fragile Peace" sessions. I decided that a quick spontaneous release of "The Summer (That Never Was)" might have good results considering how relevant it was and I was right. This release got more attention than any other so far and was profiled on several blogs and played on quite a few podcasts.

- Paul E. Phonics live at Madame Claude in Berlin on Oct. 22nd. A great little club and a fun show. Made some new friends, got offers for remixes and recorded some live video footage. All in all a success.

- A lot of studio work went on from September to December to finish off even more Paul E. Phonics material. These new songs are all basically finished and definitely mark a new chapter in the Paul E. Phonics repertoire. Release will be some time in 2012.

- During these final sessions, two older songs were remixed (and to some extent re-recorded). One shall remain a surprise for some time early next year, but the other is obviously "The Chameleon (New Skin)", the first anniversary remix of the title track from last year's E.P. It was released on Dec. 13th as a free download and has garnered a bit of attention so far. A little holiday gift from Paul E. Phonics and 5th Estate Music.

- During the second half of 2011 Union Of Resonance took a back seat but there were still a few pieces added to the collection.

- And getting back to the songs for the songwriter portfolio. I mentioned something in the last post about a "new project" and this is where it comes from. I actually thought it would be out by now but I decided not to rush it and instead it will be revealed in January. 5 of the 7 songs recorded during those sessions will be included along with a thorough explanation of where they come from and why I am choosing to put them out there now.

And that about says it all. It's been a great year. Thanks to all of you who helped out with your support!

Happy Holidays! See you in 2012!

Long time coming...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:53:19 -0800

It's been quite a while since the last post and there's quite a bit to tell, so here it goes...

The trip to Toronto for NXNE was a great time but the jury is still out on whether these kinds of conferences are really worth it. The highlight(s) were the shows in the evenings, lots of great bands (and lots of mediocre bands that sounded good but kind of like a lot of what you've already heard) and the warm summer nights were great for strolling around checking out as many shows as possible. I was very pleased to see a lot of really good venues, some new, some old, indicating a much healthier live music scene than a few years ago when I was last there.

Once back in Berlin it was time to get back to work. The first step was to get some Paul E. Phonics T Shirts ready for the shop. After a few test designs, it was decided that The Chameleon cover art would be a good way to go. You can check them out here.

And the summer here was quite a bit different than in Toronto. While my friends in Canada were battling a heat wave of record proportions, we here in Berlin were nearly drowned by constant rain and blown away by gale force winds. Not much of a summer at all. But the good thing was that it led to inspiration and the idea for a relatively spontaneous release of a new Paul E. Phonics single, "The Summer (That Never Was)". It was released on Sept 8, 2011 and was the first song to get a "real" video. The video is a very D.I.Y. effort created from footage I took around my neighbourhood during some storms and also some footage of me skulking around my apartment and singing in the studio. Not a bad effort for a first try if I do say so myself. You can check it out below.

The single has received a bit of attention and got some decent reviews. Here's a sample:

" You can still find them, those mysteriously good musicians in Berlin. Like, for example, Paul McCormick a.k.a. Paul E. Phonics. The Canadian made his way to Berlin like so many before him and the atmosphere he has created in his new single “The Summer (That Never Was)” shows that he deserves a hearty welcome. Moody synth soundscapes, half heroic, half tragic, attempting to describe the rainy summer of 2011 in Berlin. Although, the past few weeks haven’t been half bad, but all the same. If you like 80s style melancholy, you’re in good hands with Paul E. Phonics."
(Dorfdisco, Sept. 15, 2011)

" A summer that wasn’t one is the subject of „The Summer (That Never Was)“ and looking back it could be that Paul E. Phonics (the musical alter ego of Canadian Paul McCormick) might not be far off the mark. But this musician is definitely not off the mark with the rhythm and a moody mix of post-punk, electronica and alternative rock that brings to mind bands like Depeche Mode, New Order and IAMX. In any case, absolutely worth a listen!"
(OhFancy, Sept. 8, 2011)

And things just keep getting better. There are plans for a new side project, something that started back in the spring when I recorded some of my older songs in a much more "traditional" way. I wasn't sure what I would do with them, in fact I wasn't planning on every playing them again, but the whole process was fun and interesting and I see no reason why I shouldn't share them. So in a month or so there will be a new project added to the list here at 5th Estate Music. It will be something like "Union of Resonance" in that I will be adding to it only when I have time. An ongoing labour of love if you like.

And speaking of Union of Resonance, even though there was a short break, I did find a bit of time to finish off an experimental piece inspired by the volcanic landscape of Timanfaya National Park on the island of Lanzarote (where I was lucky enough to spend a week last March). You can check that out here.

And I guess that's it for now. Enjoy the video and stay tuned for more!

Paul E. Phonics profiled on "Schallgrenzen"

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:01:22 -0800

It appears that the limited promotional efforts for the latest Paul E. Phonics E.P. "A Fragile Peace" were not totally in vain and a great little article on Schallgrenzen - a major German music blog - was published last week. If you can read German check out the original here or check below for the English translation...

"Paul E. Phonics - A Canadian in Berlin

Paul E. Phonics is the musical alter ego of Paul McCormick which has burrowed itself deeply into post-punk, electronica, progressive rock, industrial rock and film scores and from time to time pleases the world with new songs. Or brings it down depending on how you take it. Because the music isn’t exactly happy. It comes from Berlin and from complicated circumstances. “A Fragile Peace”. Twilight, gloom, a hint of light casts shadows, wafting guitar, noisy, reverberating vocals, dramatic. The Bitter End.

McCormick left his home in 2000 in search of new musical inspiritation. Like many others he ended up in Berlin. After years of playing in various bands or alone with his acoustic guitar, roaming the city, gigging in cafés and clubs, he decided in 2009 to try out a new idea. Guitar, keyboards, a laptop and his own label through which he releases his music and sells self-produced CDs and T shirts. It doesn’t get any more indie. The new EP “A Fragile Peace” is available as a free download through Bandcamp. CDs of other releases are available in the online shop."

Thanks Peter!

2011, the story so far...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:33:08 -0800

2011 is nearly half over and so far it has been a busy and very productive time. All of the current projects have been worked on and some new ones have been added to make things even busier and next week it's off to Toronto for a visit to NXNE and to see some old friends.

A Paul E. Phonics four song E.P. entitled "A Fragile Peace" was released on May 12th and has been played on a few podcasts. A free download is available at www.5thestaterecords.com or through Facebook at the Paul E. Phonics Band Page.

Another goal was to get some older songs recorded for a "songwriter portfolio" and seven songs were finished. To keep the melodies and lyrics more transparent they were recorded in a more traditional form with acoustic guitar and some backing elements, mostly organs, bass and drums which gave them a more singer/songwriter feel. However, alternative versions of two have already been created and are much more in line with the kind of releases that have been coming from Paul E. Phonics. Perhaps these will be included in the Paul E. Phonics live set and released on a future E.P.

Speaking of the live show, steps have finally been taken to get that going at full speed and if all works out there will be some live shows this autumn and Paul will not be alone on stage. More info on all that when the details are worked out.

Union Of Resonance is also going strong but had to take a back seat for a while to get other things done. But there is finally a new entry, a nice little guitar instrumental called "A Brief Escape". Stop by and check it out.

5th Estate Music has also undergone some internal changes and once the details are worked out there will be more about that. I'll just say that soon the Berlin Office will not be the only one and leave it at that for now.

So as you can see there has been quite a bit going on here and the second half of 2011 promises to be even busier. But before all that it's time to enjoy a little travelling, a bit of business at NXNE and then some camping to get reacquainted with nature for a few weeks. As they say, all work and no play...

A Taste Of Their Own Medicine...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:11:06 -0800

I've written about this subject before, the fact that in Germany the major labels and the royalty collections agency GEMA have made the online experience here frustrating by blocking content unless they get licensing fees for it. And most often the fees they expect are so high that no one is willing to pay them. I don't know how many times I've been reading a blog that refers to a new song or video only to click on it and be greeted by the annoying message: "We're sorry but this video is not available in your territory" or something to that effect.

Well, it seems that some clever programmers over at Nerd Industries have taken it upon themselves to even the score. They have developed a bit of code that can be added to a website's source code which will block anyone trying to access from IP addresses at the major labels and GEMA. A very novel idea and the only reason I won't actually use it here is because I'm too lazy to install the source code and I really don't think anyone from these instituions is interested in what is going on here at 5th Estate Music anyway.

But maybe I'll get around to it if I have a bit of spare time in the future...

Catching up with the times...

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:56:09 -0800

Wow! It's already mid-February and I'm just getting around to the first post for 2011. How time flies. Been pretty busy in the studio and office, working on new music and trying to promote the "old" which is really kind of new, i.e. The Chameleon E.P. I have to admit that this kind of thing sometimes feels like a thankless task but at least there has been some podplay and a feature in a very local music e-zine. I've been trying to figure out why more doors aren't opening and realizing that I've been knocking on the wrong ones, thinking like I did five or six years ago, not really giving myself enough credit. I think it's time to move on to a new neighbourhood so to speak, start the process over on a new level and figure out where the right doors are. Not an easy thing to do but obviously what has to be done.

And a lot of this process has had me re-evaluating the role of "social networks" in getting the music heard. Most music industry "gurus" believe they play a pivotal role and I admit that they are helpful on some level. But with the "new" Myspace becoming a total mess with a crappy interface transplated from the iMeen acquisition and the most annoying pop-up ads I've ever experienced are people really logging in anymore? I dread it every time I do it now and have seriously considered stopping altogether. It does feel like a bit of a ghost town there now and really seems to be just a bunch of bands and musicians trying to sell their music to each other. And where have all the rest of them gone? Over to Facebook if they weren't already there which is not a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. My first experience with Facebook was a few years ago when I wanted to make a page for Fine Print Pariah and I couldn't believe the complications I went through to get that done. And there was no support either so after sending a couple of emails to try to figure out what I was doing wrong and not hearing anything back I just left things as they were and forgot about it. About a year and a half ago when everybody was going absolutely nuts about FB I figured I better get things set up properly and I did, somehow. But I still find the interface bland, boring and not very well organized. I've also had problems with sending emails through FB and the more I learn about how the site operates the more I dislike it. But the problem is that EVERYBODY is there! I only have a personal page there because I had to have one to set up the pages for 5th Estate Music et al. but I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise. I just don't get it. If I want to interact with people I prefer to do it face to face or to send a private email with a special pic or whatever. But all this posting on "The Wall" for all to see and comment on just feels too unnatural to me. Maybe I've just reached my limitations concerning how involved I want to be in Web 2.0 or 3.0 or whatever the hell it is now.

Ok, I've gone a bit off topic now but I just had to get that off my chest. The important thing is that there is more new music on the way so stay tuned and stay real.

Year end roundup...

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:53:59 -0800

Another year has come and gone, a great time to take a look back and take stock of what has been achieved and make plans for improvement in the new year. In general it was a very productive year here, in some cases despite setbacks and problems. But things were taken in a couple of new directions and all indications seem to be that this was the right move. Here's a quick recap of what happened:

- Paul E. Phonics was introduced and a series of demos were put online. Feedback was pretty good so everything seemed to be right on track. Work began on a debut E.P.
- As more time and attention was given to Paul E. Phonics the amount of time and energy left for Fine Print Pariah diminished and it was clear that a choice would soon have to be made.
- By early May the debut E.P. from Paul E. Phonics looked like it was ready to go and the release date of June 1, 2010 was set. This was obviously a premature decision and a few setbacks in the final stages of production forced the re-sheduling of the release to June 15, 2010.
- The Shock & Awe E.P. was released and shortly after 5th Estate Music was profiled on a major German music blog, Schallgrenzen.de
- An important goal was to have some sort of release show and arrangements were made with a local record store to do this in mid-June. This date had to be re-scheduled at the last minute due to a conflict with the store owner's schedule.
- The show was re-scheduled for mid-July but was cancelled yet again at the last minute due to the owner of the store taking ill.
- The release show was re-scheduled again and finally took place on Sept. 4 but was only a minimal success considering that the release was long past, the promotional effect of the Schallgrenzen review had long worn off and people were basically tired of going out after a very long World Cup. At least that was my take on it. But it was a lot of fun and the performance was good even if I do say so myself.
- Work continued on a follow up E.P. with the goal of getting it out before the end of the year.
- In October it was obvious that Fine Print Pariah didn't really fit into the grand scheme anymore and the decision was made to put the project on "permanent hiatus".
- In November a project I had in mind for a long time finally was made real and "Union Of Resonance" was launched. Four installments were completed with many more to come in 2011.
- Also in November I was contacted by Lee Crisman of Pluto Radio and asked to do some hosting. I figured this would be a one time only thing but it has worked into a regular gig with more to come in 2011.
- And finally, although it went right down to the wire (and to be honest, there were many times when I thought it wouldn't happen) the second E.P. "The Chameleon" was released on Dec. 16.

So as you can see, it has been quite an eventful year here. I'm definitely looking forward to the holidays for a bit of r & r and a chance to get organized before the start of what should prove to be an even more eventful year for 5th Estate Music. Expect more music from Paul E. Phonics, more random creativity on Union Of Resonance and, if everything works out, a brand new project!

Happy Holidays and all the best in 2011!

Let it snow, let it snow...

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:31:48 -0800

Winter has hit hard and early here this year as you can see by the photo below and it looks like it's going to be a long one. But there has been lots going on here so no point in dwelling on the negative...

A few weeks ago the new site "Union Of Resonance" was launched and there are now three installments for you to check out if you're in the mood for something a bit different. At least one more installment will go online this year with plenty more to follow in 2011 so stay tuned.

And another big development will be the release of the next Paul E. Phonics E.P. called "The Chameleon". The six song E.P. will be released on Dec.16, 2010 and will be free until the end of the year, kind of a Christmas present.

I've also been busy doing some guest hosting at Pluto Radio, a great undeground internet radio program. After two successful shows I have been invited to do more so it looks like this is going to work into a somewhat regular gig. If you're into real alternative music that you won't hear on any traditional radio station, you should definitely check this out.

All for now...

Changing times...

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 03:52:16 -0800

It's autumn yet again and always a good time to reflect on how the year is going and get ready for the long winter ahead. This process has involved some heavy decisions here and as you will see if you look around the website has been changed just a little bit to be more open, informative and transparent. As the saying goes: "It's time to put the cards on the table."

The first decision was the heaviest, and that was to put Fine Print Pariah on permanent hold in the form of an "indefinite hiatus". Kind of a non-decision in that respect but a tough one all the same considering there will be no new music or any other activity for that project for a very long time, if ever. A bit sad but all just part of the internal natural selection process going on here. Survival of the fittest!

On a brighter note, a brand new project is in the works and is taking shape nicely. It will still be a little while before anything goes public but it will definitely be this year so stay tuned!

And yet another project is in the works. This one still needs a lot of thought and preparation but could end up being the successor to Fine Print Pariah. We'll see how things go. Look for a late winter or early spring launch for this one.

And Paul E. Phonics - the current focal point of 5th Estate Music - is going strong. Recording of the next E.P. is basically finished and mixing will start soon. Can't really set a release date yet but it will definitely be this year. And a video for "Shock & Awe" is now online, check it out below.

All for now!