PAUL SHEVLIN BIOG JANUARY 2010
Paul Shevlin is an 18 year old singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, currently
living in the City of Belfast. His music is piano centred and so far has upheld a "noguitar" policy. He writes honest and creative music with influences ranging from Ben
Folds to Nina Simone.
Although the genre of Paul’s music is hard to place, one reviewer recently came
close with the term "indie-soul", a description that is now used as a reference point
for Paul's tunes.
Before he started along his solo career path, Paul played in a number of different
bands including playing bass in a folk band and on another occasion, synth for a pop
rock band. Paul tried to write songs for those bands, but everything he came up with
didn’t quite fit. Perhaps wisely he decided to hold on to those efforts for the future.
Paul continued to write music but kept his work to himself. It wasn't until his parents
sent a demo CD to BBC Radio Ulster without his knowledge that things changed. It
was around that time that he began to think seriously about a career in music. He
learned about his first radio play while sitting in class at school and wasn't aware of
how the radio station had managed to get hold of his songs.
Since then Paul has self-released a number of demo singles, with more recent
singles being available to purchase. Originally all of his works were produced with the
sole intention of demonstrating his talents to the Music Industry. However, after a
significant amount of radio play and a lot of positive feedback from music journalists,
it became clear that there was a commercial demand.
Paul and his enthusiastic three piece band played Northern Ireland’s most loved
festival, Glasgowbury, in the summer of 2010. Towards the end of the year he had
the privilege of sharing the stage with one of his first musical inspirations, Duke
Special. He has recently recorded sessions for BBC Radio 1 ‘Introducing’ and BBC’s
Across The Line program, as well as a TV debut on Irish Music program Blas Ceoil.
A UK tour is planned for the of Spring 2011 to coincide with the launch of his new
single ‘Backfire (Set Them All Alight)’ which will be released on Di Di Mau Records
on 28th March. He is also working on new material with singer-songwriter James
Flannigan who is currently signed to B-Unique Music. With rapidly growing interest,
2011 looks like it could be a big year for Paul Shevlin.
Paul Shevlin Music Facts:
In 2010, profile views of Paul’s MySpace (www.myspace.com/paulshevlin) jumped
from 2,000 hits to 22,000 hits.
Paul’s fans are predominantly female in age bracket 13- 17.
Paul writes a new song every week.
Paul is in his first year at Queens University, Belfast studying Music
Technology
Quotes:
"Paul was joined on stage by a drummer and bassist and the three shared gentle
banter between each unabashedly romantic and wonderfully constructed song that
veered between piano pounding intensity and softly tinkling melancholia..."
James Gracey, BBC Radio Ulster Across The Line
“Paul Shevlin and his band follow up with arguably the stand out performance of the
evening. Exuding a youthful confidence, his effortlessly beautiful voice, accompanied
by hook laden and precise pop songs seem to captivate a previously distracted
audience”
AllGonePop.Com
"Paul is obviously a talented musician and at the tender age of 17 produces some
excellent piano driven melodies..."
Piewatch.co.uk
"Paul Shevlin, the guy behind a piano creating an addictive storm about him, is
attracting attention from Radio One's Introducing show as well as Across the Line on
Radio Ulster. Songs like 'Goodmorning' and 'Won't Last the Night' make you want to
do nothing but tap your feet and feel the need to constantly lift your jaw off the
floor..."
GiggingNI.Com
“Something a bit special”
Rory McConnell, BBC Radio 1 ‘Introducing’
“Paul Shevlin - he's a bit handy. Young chap from Ballymena. Plays piano with
swooping aplomb. He cites Duke Special and Ben Folds as influences, and this you
can surmise by hearing the music. He also has a tight little band that slams and rolls
and on his current release, 'Lift Up Your Head', all this is beautifully demonstrated…”
Stuart Bailie, BBC Radio Ulster
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